Bowling in a big way
HONOLULU — Ben Hartman's kicking is a lot better than his sense of humor.
Hartman kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired and Chris Johnson set an NCAA bowl record with 408 all-purpose yards to give East Carolina a 41-38 victory over No. 24 Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl on Sunday night.
During a timeout called by the Broncos to put pressure on the kicker, Hartman told a joke to third-year coach Skip Holtz, just as he did before hitting the game-winner against North Carolina on Sept. 8.
"He goes, 'I've got a good one this time,"' Holtz said. "When he told me, I laughed but it wasn't worth it. I was just trying to get him to loosen up a little bit."
After Hartman split the uprights, the Pirates stormed the field in celebration and chased after the kicker, who dashed toward the locker room to avoid being piled on by his teammates.
"I had a game-winner against North Carolina and that's the last time I'll let them jump on me," he said. "It's like a bunch of tractor trailers on top of you."
Hartman said he wanted to make the kick for the seniors, especially for Johnson.
"I felt good going out there. I felt real confident," Hartman said. "I just knew if I did my thing, it was going to go in."
Johnson ran for 223 yards, caught three passes for 32 yards and returned six kickoffs for 153 yards. But he committed a costly fumble late that almost sent it to overtime. It was his first fumble of the season.
With East Carolina trying to run out the clock near midfield, Marty Tadman scooped up Johnson's fumble and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown to tie it at 38 with 1:25 left.
The Pirates took possession at their 39 with 1:16 left and drove to the 17 to set up Hartman's kick.
"We can't give a team 30 points and play terrible in the first half and expect to win," Tadman said. "We didn't deserve to win the game."
The Pirates (8-5) earned their first postseason victory since the 2000 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl and first win over a ranked opponent since beating TCU in 2002.
"I'd love to stand here and beat my chest and take credit but this is a story about the group of young men that were extremely determined to turn this program around," Holtz said.
The Broncos (10-3), making their sixth straight bowl appearance, almost repeated their last-minute magic from last season when they stunned Oklahoma in overtime in the Fiesta Bowl to finish 13-0.
But this time, it was the Broncos who fell a little short without any trick plays and an ailing Ian Johnson. Johnson, who was nursing a sprained left ankle, finished with 11 yards on four carries.
It was Chris Johnson who stole the show.
"I wasn't worried about the Johnson versus Johnson thing," he said. "I just wanted to come out here and get a win ... and show who we are and that the year they beat Oklahoma that was last year's team and this is a different team."
Johnson had 181 rushing yards in the first half, including a 68-yard TD run that put East Carolina ahead 10-7. He also caught a screen pass from Patrick Pickney and went 18 yards for a score to make it 24-7.
"It feels good to end my career like this. I wanted to come out here and show the country that I am the best back in the country," said Johnson, who was selected the Most Valuable Player and broke the all-purpose yards record of 359 yards set by Alabama's Sherman Williams against Ohio State in the 1995 Citrus Bowl.
