MILITARY BOWL PRESENTED BY NORTHROP GRUMMAN

Maryland vs. East Carolina

December 29, 2010
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 38,062 Kickoff Temperature (2:34 p.m. EST): 47° F

Maryland
-FS Eric Franklin recorded his first career interception
-WR Kevin Dorsey’s 45-yard touchdown in the first quarter was the longest reception of his career
-FS Adrian Moten recorded his first fumble recovery of the season
-LB David Mackall recorded his first career interception
-RB DJ Adams’ four rushing TDs is his career high as well as the team’s season high. The last Terrapin to rush for four TDs in one game was Chris Downs in 2002.
-RB Da’Rel Scott’s 91-yard TD run is Maryland record (Bruce Perry, 80 yards, at Wake Forest, 11/29/03)
-Maryland’s five rushing TDs is a season high (four vs. Virginia)
-RB Da’Rel Scott’s 200 yards rushing is a personal best and Maryland best this season. It is the first 200-yard performance for a Terrapin since Bruce Perry ran for 237 at Wake Forest on 11/29/03.
-Maryland’s 297 yards rushing is a team best for this season

East Carolina
-CB Emanuel Davis recorded his first interception of the season on the first play of the game
-WR Lance Lewis extended his ECU single-season TD reception record to 14
-WR Dwayne Harris extended his ECU single-season reception yardage record to 1123
-WR Lance Lewis 11 receptions put him in second place on the ECU single-season receptions list with 89
-WR Lance Lewis 137 yards receiving put him in second place on the ECU single-season reception yards list with 1116
-QB Dominique Davis surpassed 600 passes for the season (extending his ECU single-season record to 609)
-WR Dwayne Harris surpassed the 100-reception mark while extending his ECU single-season reception record to 101
-DB Derek Blacknall set a career high with 11 total tackles.

Bowl Records
-Today’s attendance of 38,794 surpasses the previous record of 28,777 set in 2008
-Maryland’s 51 points (UCLA, 31, 2009 vs. Temple)
-Maryland RB Da’Rel Scott’s 91-yard TD run, preceded by a 61-yd TD run (Rich Belton – Wake Forest, 35 yards, 2008 vs. Navy)
-Maryland RB Da’Rel Scott’s 200 yards rushing (Kevin Harris – Wake Forest, 136, 2008 vs. Navy)
-Maryland’s combined 297 yards rushing (Wake Forest, 239, 2008 vs. Navy)
-East Carolina QB Dominique Davis’ 268 yards passing (Kevin Prince – UCLA, 221, 2009 vs. Temple),
-East Carolina WR Lance Lewis’ 137 yards receiving (D.J. Boldin – Wake Forest, 66, 2008 vs. Navy and Nelson Rosario – UCLA, 66, 2009 vs. Temple)
-Maryland’s 32 yards rushing allowed (Temple gave up 93 yards, 2009 vs. UCLA)
-Maryland’s D.J. Adams’ 4 total touchdowns (Josh Adams – UCLA, 2, 2009 vs. Temple)
-Maryland’s Demetrius Hartsfield’s 13 tackles (ties Ross Pospisil – Navy, 2008 vs. Wake Forest)

MILITARY BOWL POST-GAME QUOTES

Ralph Friedgen, University of Maryland Head Coach

“This team is destined for great things.

“I have three daughters and 120 sons. I am going to miss these kids.

“They just started to get good. I am disappointed I am not going to be there.

“If you have to go out, this is the best way to do it. I am happy to watch this team and I wish them the very best. I am with them in spirit every step of the way.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to win the football game. I feel that it is a privilege to work with these kids, and these coaches.

“I really appreciate the fans’ support, especially today. It means a lot to me. All the kind emails, texts and letters I have received the last 10 days have been very overwhelming. It has been an emotional week but I have really gotten to a point that I wanted to get this game over with and get on with the rest of my life.

“I really cherish these kids. We were 2-10 and now 9-4, I hope in the Top 25. They really have a chance to be something special. That is something I will miss, watching them grow and mature.

“It’s been a little surreal. To be honest, I am a little bit overwhelmed. I had no idea that people even thought that much of me. Just even going down to the lobby of the hotel, people stop me for an autograph or a picture. I feel very special.”

“I was hoping they would make a statement. Most of my talk last night was about being picked last in the ACC after finishing third. We needed to send a message so that this erroneousness could be put to rest.

“Our kids came out and played great against a good offense. They really showed up.

“What I’ll take away is…Maryland is an interesting place. The loyal followers you have here are very loyal. They will be with you through and through. You don’t have as many as you have at other schools, but I have some great friends I will cherish for the rest of my life.

“We have great kids. When they can improve your life and make you smile, that is something you will miss.
“There are a lot of plusses for playing this bowl. We got to spend Christmas with our families. We have a lot of area kids here and I think they got to see some parts of the area they might not have.

“We would like to thank the Military Bowl for inviting us. A lot of other bowls passed us over. We finished 9-4, not many teams coming out of a bowl can say that.

“I would say this year and my first year [were the most gratifying]. Three years ago we graduated 31 kids and we underachieved that year. But when you lose 31 kids, it’s not like the NFL, there is a hole in your program.

“We started 24 freshmen last year, so we needed to build up. It’s hard to just sustain it for a long time. You have to have a good quarterback. I think that is very very important. I would say this year [was most important of my career] because of the low expectations from everyone else. I knew we could do it this year.

“[The most important part of today] I wanted to savor being in the locker room with the kids. Wish them all the best and tell them that I would always be there for them. That was probably the hardest thing I had to do all day.”

Da’Rel Scott, Senior Running Back, 2010 Military Bowl MVP

On the offensive game plan…
“Just trying to attack them anyway we could, just attack them on the ground and make some plays.”

On being a Maryland football family…
“I feel like he [Coach Friedgen] is a great coach, but it is a business and it was a business decision. I love him to death and I am glad I got to play with him for my last season. I am glad we could send him off with a win.”

On the emotion involved in this game…
“At least we got a chance to play in the post-season. Being 2-10 last year, this was a huge chance this year.

“We just wanted to make sure we sent Coach Friedgen out with a bang.”

Alex Wujciak, Senior Linebacker

On the Gatorade showers…
“Coach Friedgen was the first to get it. He was on everyone’s list. Coach Brown got it too.”

On stopping East Carolina’s offense…
“I think we had a good game plan going in. We had three and half weeks to prepare for them, so we were able to watch a lot of film. “

On what Coach Friedgen said after the game…
“He didn’t get as bad as I thought he would. He said our prayer after the game. He thanked all of us. He told us we could call him whenever we want and that he would be there for us for the rest of our lives. He just broke it down one last time.”

Ruffin McNeill, Head Coach:
“Coming into the season this year we lost 30 plus kids [starters from last season].
“The kids worked hard. The coaches worked hard. They fought hard and we’ll get better.
“The offense made lots of progress this year.
“We’ll bounce back…We’ll be OK.
“It was a tough game. I thought we had the first half. The defense played well, but we struggled offensively.

“We had a great preparation and we fell short.

“What Ralph has done over there has been magnificent. It was an emotional win for them and I think a lot of Ralph. He is a really good football coach and he did a great job for them. I wish him well and hats off to Maryland.

“I thought the blitzes were not anything new. The time off may have hurt us but again, Maryland did a good job. I can’t take anything away from that. We could have executed better.

“My first season has been a whirlwind. This year has been the most challenging year of my career. Coming to ECU was a blessing and I couldn’t ask for a better place [to coach] or opportunity. These kids accepted the challenge and worked hard.

“The plan was to finish strong. We didn’t finish and end properly. We have things to work on and we will. I promise you that.

“Hats off to Ralph. No excuses.”

Dominique Davis, Junior Quarterback:
“They just whooped us, plain and simple. From the first play all the way until the end.

“We have a few freshman redshirts that will step up and take us to the end next season.

“This was by far the best game for Maryland.”

Dustin Lineback, Senior Linebacker:

“Hats off to Maryland. They are a quality run team, and we just couldn’t finish.

“It is always a downer to lose the last game, but the sky is the limit.

“We came off with a couple of turnovers, but we tried to make plays. It’s always frustrating to lose, but you just have to take advantage of it.”