Offense's explosion carries No. 16 Hokies past East Carolina

Cam Phillips set a school record and Josh Jackson tied one in Virginia Tech's 64-17 win

September 16, 2017

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Virginia Tech receiver Cam Phillips set a school record for receptions in a game and quarterback Josh Jackson tied a school record with five touchdown passes to lead the No. 16 Hokies to a 64-17 non-conference victory over East Carolina at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday.

With the win, the Hokies moved to 3-0 on the season. East Carolina fell to 0-3.

Phillips caught 14 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns. His 14 receptions broke the school record of 13 shared by Nick Cullen (Southern Miss, 1990) and Donald Wayne Snell (Cincinnati, 1985).

Jackson completed 24 of 31 for 372 yards. His five scoring tosses tied the school record previously held by Bryan Randall, who threw five in a triple overtime loss at Syracuse in 2002, and Jerod Evans, who threw five against BC last season.

The Hokies trailed 17-7 in the second quarter, but a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Phillips started an avalanche of points. Tech scored 50 unanswered, including touchdowns on all five of its third-quarter possessions.

Tech finished with 675 yards of total offense. It scored the most points and recorded the most total offense under head coach Justin Fuente.

TECH-ECU NOTES

• The Hokies scored on 11 of their 14 possessions against the Pirates. They scored on nine straight possessions at one stretch – with six possessions ending in touchdowns.

• Phillips’ 14 receptions gave him 192 for his career and enabled him to move past Jarrett Boykin (2008-11) into second place on the Hokies’ all-time list for career receptions. He needs just 19 more to move past Isaiah Ford for the school record.

• Phillips’ three touchdown receptions early in the second quarter marked the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th of his career. He moved into a tie for eighth place with Sidney Snell (1978-80) on the school’s all-time list.

• Phillips has caught a pass in 30 consecutive games.

• Joey Slye’s three field goals against the Pirates gave him 69 for his career, enabling him to become Tech’s all-time leader in career field goals. Slye broke Shayne Graham’s previous mark of 68 set from 1996-99.

• Speaking of Slye, his 15 points against ECU gave him 352 points for his career. He needs just 20 points to move past Graham and become the school’s all-time leader in that category.

• Greg Stroman’s second-quarter interception marked his first of the season and the sixth of his career. The interception set up a 37-yard field goal by Joey Slye with 1:03 left in the first half that gave the Hokies a 23-17 halftime lead.

• Trevon Hill’s second-quarter sack marked his first of the season.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech returns to the friendly confines of Lane Stadium next Saturday to take on Old Dominion in the team’s final non-conference game of the season. It will mark the first meeting between the two in-state foes. The game kicks off at 2 p.m.

For updates on Virginia Tech football, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Football and on Instagram @HokiesFB