CLINTON, S.C. -
Presbyterian College football gave Coastal Carolina good field position in two
of the first three scoring drives as the Chanticleers took a 35-7 victory on
Saturday afternoon at Bailey Memorial Stadium. The Homecoming defeat drops the
Blue Hose to 0-6 overall and 0-2 in the Big South while Coastal moves to 2-4 in
its Big South opener.
"In the end, we've got to give credit to Coastal Carolina
today," said head coach Harold Nichols. "Every game is tough in the Big South. I'm
happy that we finished the game with good effort. We were in position to turn the momentum
sometimes today, but we couldn't get the big play at times."
Myron Gary started the game for PC at quarterback and was
used interchangeably with freshman Ryan Singer who saw his first collegiate action
on Saturday. Gary was 9-for-19 through the air for 77 yards and an
interception, while Singer was 10-for-14 passing with 133 total yards and a
pair of interceptions.
"Both of our quarterbacks played well at times today," said
Nichols. "I'm proud of the way both of them stepped up today."
Trailing 7-0 in the second quarter, PC received the ball on
a punt on CCU's 48. Lance Byrd started things off with a four-yard rush. Singer
ran for nine yards on the next two plays for a first down. Singer then hit Joey
GIlkey on his first career pass.
After a penalty, Singer drilled Tyler Robbins for a 21-yard completion and a
first down to the CCU 23. Another penalty set the team back to the 33 and
Singer drove the team to the 14, setting up a fourth and one. A PC time-out was
called and the team called a bootleg. Singer sold the fake, rolled out to his
left and had a short and deep receiver.
He was unable to get the ball to either as he was sacked for a four-yard
loss, giving the ball back to the visitors.
CCU wasted little time, driving 82 yards on four plays in just 1:22 for a 14-0
lead. Singer started the next series, hitting Arthur Williams and Michael Ruff
on back-to-back passes for a first down. The Blue Hose managed another first
down on a penalty, but Singer was intercepted at the 48, ending the drive.
The Chanticleers cashed in on the miscue and scored three plays later for a
21-0 advantage with just 2:28 to play in the half. The Chants consolidated the
advantage into the halftime break.
Coastal took the ball to open the second half and marched 74-yards down the
field in nine plays to extend the lead to 28-0 with just 3:55 gone from the third
period. A 13-yard touchdown pass capped the drive.
A 26-yard Ruff kickoff return to the Blue Hose 42-yard line
put PC into excellent field position. Trandon Dendy ran the ball eight times
for 34 yards before Gary ultimately powered for a two-yard touchdown run. The
run was Gary's first career rushing touchdown.
He had 18 yards on the ground total in the drive which spanned 6:36.
Two drives later for PC, Singer engineered a seven play,
79-yard drive which took PC down to the one yard line. The drive included a
36-yard completion from Singer to Robbins and a 13-yard Singer scramble. The
push was put to a premature end when Singer was intercepted in the end zone for
a touchback.
Coastal Carolina put the game on ice in the ensuing drive by
going 80 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown. The drive took 6:38 and gave the
Chanticleers a 35-7 victory.
"We're still on track," said Nichols. "We're going to work
on cleaning up the issues but we will move forward."
PC travels to Gardner-Webb next Saturday to face the
Bulldogs starting at 1:30 p.m.
