Recap: East Carolina vs. Navy

Greenville, NC (Sports Network) - Keenan Reynolds ran for 81 yards and three touchdowns as the Navy Midshipmen conquered the Pirates of East Carolina, 56-28, in non-conference play at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Reynolds also converted 3-of-5 passes for another 51 yards and a couple of scores as Navy (5-3) recorded a season-high 563 yards of total offense. With the decision the Academy posted a fourth straight win and the fifth in the last six outings after opening 2012 with setbacks against Notre Dame and Penn State.

The Pirates (5-4) were paced by Reggie Bullock who scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground, while Shane Carden connected on 19-of-29 passes for 194 yards and a score, but was sacked three times and intercepted once as the team had a two-game win streak snapped. Vintavious Cooper produced a team-best 121 yards and one touchdown on 18 rushing attempts.

Navy moved out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a 17-yard TD run by Marcus Thomas and a five-yard score by Noah Copeland.

In the second frame ECU responded with back-to-back touchdowns of its own as Carden hit Justin Hardy with a nine-yard TD pass and Bullock slipped into the end zone on a two-yard run to knot the score at 14-14.

Capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive that used nearly five minutes off the clock, the Midshipmen moved to a 21-14 advantage as Reynolds scored the first of consecutive rushing touchdowns, this one from one yard away.

The visitors began the second half just as they did the first as Reynolds made his way into the end zone on a two-yard run. Reynolds also had a one-yard TD run later in the period, with a 15-yard scoring pass to Casey Bolena in between to give Navy a 42-14 edge heading into the fourth.

Cooper's 15-yard TD run for the Pirates stopped the bleeding momentarily, but Navy came right back with a 20-yard TD pass from Reynolds to Geoffrey Whiteside and a 33-yard TD jaunt by Ryan Williams to run the score to 56-21.

Midway through the final period Bullock scored on a five-yard run for the Pirates, but by then it was already too late.

The scoring total for the Midshipmen was their highest since dumping this same East Carolina squad in an unsightly 76-35 decision two seasons ago when Navy ran for 521 yards and eight touchdowns.