Junior Lance Ray’s 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the third quarter sparked a run of 21 unanswered points to propel East Carolina to a 35-13 non-conference victory over Appalachian State in the season opener for both teams at sweltering Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium… Ray’s score followed a 41-yard Drew Stewart field goal that trimmed the Pirate lead to 14-13 with 2:35 remaining in the period… E-C-U quarterback Rio Johnson
— who made his first career start to open the contest — added a four-yard T-D pass to Justin Hardy
and a six-yard scoring run of his own on the Pirates’ next two possessions to put the game away… East Carolina’s special teams units and defense helped overcome a sluggish offensive start that generated just one touchdown and 144 total yards in the first half… Free safety Chip Thompson’s 45-yard fumble return put the Pirates on the scoreboard early in the second stanza before Hardy’s 43-yard punt return set up the second score – an 11-yard toss from Johnson to Andrew Bodenheimer with 7:58 remaining in the half…