Not many football fans around the country gave East Carolina much of a chance to beat Boise State in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl yesterday.

Once the Pirates took a 24-point lead early in the second half, not many expected the game to come down to a field goal on the final play.

But that's how it played out as East Carolina running back Chris Johnson set an all-time bowls record with 408 all-purpose yards and Ben Hartman kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired in a 41-38 victory over Boise State before 24,079 at Aloha Stadium.

"This is a story of a group of young men that were 1-11 (in 2003), 2-9 (2004) and they said enough is enough," said third-year East Carolina coach Skip Holtz.

Once the ball sailed through the uprights, Hartman sprinted to the south end zone.

"It was a mission because I didn't want to get jumped on and dog-piled on because after a game-winner earlier this year it was 10 minutes before I got off the ground," Hartman said in reference to a 39-yarder in a 34-31 win over North Carolina on Sept. 8.

Boise State, which trailed 38-14 after a 3-yard run by Brandon Simmons with 9:02 left in the third, tied the score at 38 when safety Marty Tadman returned Johnson's fumble 47 yards for a score with 1:25 left.

"I always know my teammates got my back and they know I got their back," Johnson said. "I carried them in the beginning of the game and they carried me at the end of the game."

Johnson, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior, finished with 28 rushes for 223 yards, three catches for 32 and six kickoff returns for 153.

He broke the record of Alabama's Sherman Williams, who had 359 all-purpose yards against Ohio State in the 1995 Citrus Bowl.

"It feels really good to break that record and get a win against the No. 22 (in the coaches' poll) team in the country," he said.

Johnson, who displayed exceptional lateral movement and acceleration, had 18 rushes for 182 yards in the first half for East Carolina, the runner-up in Conference USA's East Division.

"What the rest of the country saw today is what we've seen the past three years," Holtz said. "I'm president of the Chris Johnson Fan Club."

Johnson scored on a 68-yard run in the first quarter and an 18-yard pass from Patrick Pinkney in the second quarter.

"He's a good player," Tadman said. "We made him look good tonight. We missed tackles. Defensively, that's on us."

Johnson's 30-yard kickoff return gave the Pirates the ball at the 39 on their final possession. The key play of the drive was a 36-yard completion from Rob Kass to Jamar Bryant down the left sideline, which put the ball at the Broncos' 23.

East Carolina (8-5) advanced the ball to the Broncos' 17, and Boise State used its final timeout before the kick.

During the break, Hartman and Holtz had time to talk.

"He told another bad joke after they tried to ice him and he kicked the field goal," Holtz said.

Boise State (10-3), the Western Athletic Conference runner-up, finished with 368 yards of total offense after a slow start.

The Broncos had four three-and-outs and an interception to open the game. Their initial first down came six minutes left before halftime.

"That was very frustrating," Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. "It was 2 1/2 quarters before we started to play."

Jeremy Avery, who finished with 10 carries for 71 yards, added: "We came out flat in the first half. We got it going in the second half, but it wasn't enough to get the 'W.' "

Broncos quarterback Taylor Tharp was 30 of 44 for 270 yards and two touchdowns.

Ian Johnson, Boise State's normal starting running back, was limited to four carries for 11 yards because of an injured ankle. Also, leading receiver Jeremy Childs didn't make the trip because of a suspension.

Pinkney finished 12 of 19 for 118 yards and a touchdown for East Carolina. Kass came on in the second half and was 1 of 3, hitting the key 36-yarder to fuel the winning drive.

Holtz said he was going to play Pinkney the first four series of the game and go from there.

"After the first four series we were feeling good so we stuck with him," Holtz said.

East Carolina also won the turnover battle: The Pirates lost one fumble while the Broncos threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles.

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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