Brent Bowden knew something went wrong when he heard the thump. Not the first thump -- no, Bowden has heard that thousands of times, the sweet sound of football meeting foot, another punt spiraling downfield.

He heard it again yesterday when he punted from Virginia Tech's 37-yard line, his Hokies up two points with 1:59 remaining against East Carolina. This punt felt as good as any other. But an instant later, he heard something strange -- a second thump. "What's going on?" he wondered.

The moment seemed so odd because never before, not even in high school, has an opponent blocked Bowden's punt. He spun around just in time to see the back of T.J. Lee's jersey -- a white No. 7 set against purple fabric -- as Lee raced toward the end zone.

Bowden couldn't believe what just happened, even as he walked off the field, his chinstrap unbuckled, tongue hanging out. Harsh reality struck when he watched the replay on the big screen, along with a sideline full of teammates who were stunned into silence, their mouths agape.

They left the field at Bank of America Stadium that way a few minutes later, after Tech's offense went three plays and out on its last drive, sealing East Carolina's 27-22 win over the No. 17 Hokies in the season opener for both teams.

The Pirates soaked coach Skip Holtz in ice water, celebrating their first victory over a team ranked this highly since they upset No. 9 Miami in 1999. The Hokies were left wondering how they blew a 22-13 lead in the final 7:41. (Before yesterday, they were 152-16-1 under 22nd-year head coach Frank Beamer when leading after three quarters.)

Beamer cannot recall losing a game because an opponent blocked a punt in the final minutes and returned it for a touchdown. He won't have to look far for the reasons it happened yesterday.

His offense scored just two touchdowns -- one after it began a drive at East Carolina's 25-yard line. The Hokies penetrated the Pirates' 20-yard line on their first two drives and came away scoreless. Senior quarterback Sean Glennon threw two interceptions in the first half.

"Overall, do I feel like I played good 90 percent of the time?" Glennon said. "Yeah. But a senior quarterback has got to play good 100 percent of the time."

Tech's defense allowed 369 yards. It surrendered more than that in just three games last season. Quarterback Patrick Pinkney dissected the Hokies: 19-of-23 passing, 211 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions. On the possession before Lee's touchdown, he led the Pirates on a nine-play, 73-yard scoring drive that cut Tech's lead to 22-20.

"We missed a lot of tackles out there today," Beamer said. "A lot of tackles."

But the blocked punt will hurt worst of all a cruel role reversal for Beamer, whose teams are known for game-changing special teams plays. (His Hokies have returned 15 punts for touchdowns.)

Lee, a senior in his first game on the punt-block team, lined up on the edge of the line, to Bowden's right. He ripped past Jonas Houseright and raced toward Bowden, who saw Lee out of the corner of his eye but wasn't worried because he sees rushers on most punts.

Lee launched himself into the air and stuck out his left arm. Thump. He frantically scanned the grass around him for the ball. When he found it and scooped it up, he expected someone to pull him down from behind. But as he started to run, he felt nothing, not even a hand grazing his jersey.

"When nobody grabbed me in those first 10 yards, I knew we had a chance," he said.

In the stands, everyone gasped -- half in glee, half in horror. On Tech's sideline, the Hokies sprung from their bench to watch the game unravel. "My heart dropped," tailback Kenny Lewis Jr. said. And near the 37-yard line, Bowden began to understand that something very bad was happening as he saw that No. 7 jersey move farther and farther away from him, leaving him no chance of reaching it.

"By the time I realize it's getting blocked," Bowden said, "it's too late."