WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) -- East Carolina (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 19 AP) played one of those "prove 'em wrong" games against Army on Saturday, and the Pirates came away feeling pretty good about themselves.

"We heard people say it was inevitable we'd lose because of the big win last week, but we came out ready to play," said David Garrard, who threw for 300 yards and a touchdown in East Carolina's 33-14 victory over Army. "The guys responded and we just proved everybody wrong. We had a lot of fun out there."

	Kevin Miller celebrates his 52-yard field goal for East Carolina.

The big win last week was a 27-23 come-from-behind upset of Miami, which took place at Raleigh, N.C., after Hurricane Floyd prevented the Pirates from returning to their campus in Greenville, N.C., following a win over South Carolina on Sept. 18.

"They said we'd have a letdown after the deal last week," coach Steve Logan said as his Pirates are off to their best start since 1976, when they opened 5-0 and finished 9-2 under Pat Dye. "The story was already written. But they came here on a business trip. No monkeying around. They had a good look in their eye before the game, and the kids fought through it all."

Garrard, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound sophomore with 628 yards and four TDs in his last two games, was 24-of-34 against the Cadets (1-3), who had a tough time running the wishbone against the Pirates. Garrard threw a 62-yard TD pass to Powell in the first half to build a 16-0 halftime lead, and East Carolina added fourth-quarter TDs on a 40-yard fumble return and a 46-yard return of an onside kick.

Kevin Miller had four field goals for the Pirates, matching a 14-year-old school record set by Jeff Heath against Texas-Arlington.

"I wanted to exploit their secondary a little more, but I'm throwing the ball and I'm happy," said Garrard, who connected with nine receivers, led by Jamie Wilson's six catches for 40 yards.

Garrard also carried 10 times for 25 yards but admitted he made several mistakes by failing to pitch the ball to one of his backs. Because of that, the Pirates were held to 52 yards rushing. His passing more than made up the difference. He finished with 325 total yards, while Army had 380 total yards, 163 in the final quarter.

"I thought our defense played good enough to win," Army coach Bob Sutton said. "We made it tough for them to score touchdowns. But East Carolina plays hard. I give them credit for that."

If not for two penalties, the margin of victory would have been larger. Kevin Stokes returned punts 89 and 61 yards for apparent scores, but the first was called back because of an illegal block and the second for holding.

On a sun-drenched day on the banks of the Hudson -- one of the nicest days the Pirates have seen since Floyd drenched eastern North Carolina more than two weeks ago -- East Carolina took charge from the start.

Unable to reach the end zone on their first three possessions, the Pirates came away with a 9-0 lead on Miller's field goals of 30, 29 and 52 yards -- the last a Michie Stadium record for an Army opponent.

Then Garrard hooked up with Powell. As he was being dragged down from behind, Garrard hit Powell on a crossing pattern just over midfield. Powell shook off two Army defenders, bounced off a third and followed a blocker into the end zone with 8:13 left in the half.

"I'm just glad I was able to make a play like that," Powell said. "It took me five games to do it."

Miller's fourth field goal, a 48-yarder in the third quarter, gave the Pirates a 19-0 lead before a wacky fourth quarter saw each team score two TDs.

Army's Michael Wallace ran 6 yards for a TD with 9:33 left and quarterback Joe Gerena scored from a yard out with 3:53 remaining. In between, Norris McCleary picked up a fumble caused by a blindside hit on Gerena by linebacker Kevin Ward and scored from 40 yards. After Gerena's score, Matt Parker's onside kick bounced up, fell to the ground and was scooped up by Marcellus Harris, who raced 46 yards untouched to score with 3:44 left.

The Pirates finally play a real home game next Saturday, when Conference USA rival Southern Mississippi visits Greenville. The Golden Eagles have won three straight over the Pirates, and Garrard remembers last year's 41-7 loss too well.

"If there's any game I don't want to lose, it's Southern Mississippi," Garrard said. "We had tough times against them in the past and I really want to go out there and play well. Everything has to go right for us next week, because they're going to be ready for us."