University of Memphis Athletics
Post-game Notes for Memphis Football Win Over ECU
Oct 07, 2000 | Football
Oct. 7, 2000
Recap???Box Score??Photo Gallery
MEMPHIS, TENN. -
QUOTING HEAD COACH RIP SCHERER:
"This was a special win in a lot of ways. I am proud of the way the team played on offense, defense, and the special teams. We jumped on them early on offense, the defense kept them on their heels all afternoon. Even on special teams, we gave up some plays but we also made some plays. Needless to say, I am proud of my son Scott for the way he played but this is not a one man game. I am proud of the way everyone rallied around Scott. The line blocked for him, Sugar ran the ball great, it was an entire team effort. It was a magical first quarter, we just didn't keep it going enough and made it a lot more interesting than it needed to be."
On Scott Scherer: "I told Scott Tuesday that there was a good chance to start, I told him Wednesday that there was a real good chance and I told him Thursday that he was, but I was afraid if East Carolina found out they would try to blitz real hard inside."
"Scott made some nice throws and some guys made some plays. Scott did a nice job and I am really proud of him"
On David Garrard: "Garrard is a great player. He was C-USA preseason player of the year, and he showed why today."
* SCHERER GETS FIRST CAREER START: Sophomore quarterback Scott Scherer, the son of head coach Rip Scherer, got his first career start against East Carolina. Scherer replaced Neil Suber who was injured in the Southern Mississippi game. Suber had become the Tiger starter at Army after Travis Anglin was hurt in the win over Arkansas State. Scherer had appeared in three games as a quarterback prior to the ECU contest. His most extended duty came in the 1999 Tulane game when he led the team to a late fourth quarter score. Scherer completed his first six pass attempts and finished the game hitting on 18 of 25 passes for 175 yards.
* SCHERER SCORES FIRST CAREER TD: Sophomore quarterback Scott Scherer scored his first career touchdown on a six-yard run in the first quarter of the ECU game. The reserve, who was playing in place of the injured quarterback Neil Suber, engineered back-to-back scoring drives to open the game.
* SANDERS RETURNS TO ACTION: Tiger tailback Jeff Sanders, who has battled an ankle injury throughout the season, returned to his starting role in the Memphis backfield against East Carolina. Sanders had started six games for the U of M over the past two years and the Tigers have won all six games. Sanders, who rushed for 29 yards on the first series, scored on the opening series of the game on a four yard run to give Memphis a 7-0 lead.
* LEWIS GETS FUMBLE RECOVERY: Senior defensive tackle Calvin Lewis registered his second fumble recovery of the season when he gathered up a David Garrard fumble during the first quarter of the ECU game. Nose tackle Marcus Bell stripped Garrard of the ball and Lewis recovered. It was Lewis' second fumble recovery of the season.
* WHITE PUTS UP POINTS: Junior All-American kicker Ryan White added to his career field goal total when he booted a 20-yarder in the first quarter of the ECU game. White has now made seven of nine attempts this season including his last six consecutive attempts. The 2000 Playboy All-American has made 36 field goals in his career and is ranked third on the Tigers all-time list ahead of Don Glosson (1983-85).
* GARCIA CONTRIBUTES AS RECEIVER: True freshman receiver Darren Garcia, who was a prep quarterback at Millington High School in Memphis, caught his first career pass in the second quarter of the ECU game. The speedy receiver hauled in an 18-yard pass from Scott Scherer on a third down and 11 situation for a key first down.
* BELL GETS SECOND CAREER PICK: Senior nose tackle Marcus Bell gained his second career pass interception in the ECU game when he picked off a David Garrard pass at the ECU 20 yard line. Bell had his only other pass interception in the 1999 UAB game, which Memphis won 38-14 in Birmingham.
* SANDERS REACHES 100 YARD MARK: Sophomore tailback Sugar Sanders became the first Tiger back to rush for 100 yards in a game since Gerard Arnold gained 138 yards against Army in the tenth game of the 1999 season. Sanders had 29 carries for 132 yards and one touchdown in today's game with ECU. It was Sanders first career 100 yard game. The Miami, FL, native had a previous career high of 96 yards rushing against Arkansas State in 1999.
East Carolina Coach Steve Logan On Memphis QB Scott Scherer: "Outstanding young man who has a lot to be proud of. He was not asked to do a lot, but what he did do, he did effectively and got them in the endzone early and did his job."
Not having ECU defensive leader Pernell Griffin for today's game: "I felt good about the defense once they were stabilized. I though they played real hard. Memphis just took it to us in the opening drive. The we turned the ball over a couple of times, and just like that there were 17 points on the board. I was proud of how they played down the stretch and didn't allow any points in the second half."
On Memphis' football team: "We dug ourselves a hole against a good football team and they made all the plays they needed to win the game. They ought to be commended and congratulated. We just have to go home and regroup and get ready for the next football game."
QB David Garrard Thoughts on the football game: "We didn't - and I didn't myself - come out the way that I thought we should have. We just have to get back and get this out of our heads and prepare for next week against Army."
On Memphis' Defense: "They played excellent today. I thought we could have done some things on them, but we got down by too many points too fast which prevented us to get into our game plan and make some different things happen. Once you get down 17 points, it makes game plan execution very hard to happen. We just didn't execute like we should have."
