Coastal Carolina rallied from an 8-7 deficit with a touchdown late in the fourth quarter and held off a Blue Hose charge to defeat the Presbyterian College football team, 15-8, in action tonight in front of 8,927 fans at Brooks Stadium.
PC falls to 2-7 overall and 1-3 in the Big South, while Coastal Carolina improves to 5-4 and 2-3 in the league.
After Coastal Carolina took the opening drive 64 yards in just over three minutes for a touchdown to go up 7-0 with 11:31 remaining in the first quarter, PC responded with a drive that looked promising. The Blue Hose marched to the CCU 37-yard line but a Ryan Singer interception cut the run short.
The Coastal Carolina drive was short-lived as quarterback Aramis Hillary was sacked and PC's Xavier Boatwright forced his first career fumble. Derren Evans collected his first career fumble recovery on the play and ran it back 12 yards to give PC great field position at the CCU 14-yard line.
The CCU defense held its ground and PC was forced to settle for a field goal, a 37-yard score by Aaron Mayes, with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter.
The next two drives for both teams resulted in punts with PC the next team to score with a field goal late in the second quarter. The Blue Hose started on their own 23-yard line and used 13 and 16-yard passes to Joey Gilkey to help them drive to the CCU 20-yard before the a short one-yard run and two incomplete passes forced PC the attempt its second field goal.
Mayes connected on his second 37-yard field goal to cut the CCU lead to just one, 7-6, with just 6:23 to go in the second quarter.
A botched punt with just under two minutes to go in the half gave PC the ball at its own 29-yard line, but in their first play with 1:35 to go in the second quarter, the Blue Hose fumbled, giving CCU the ball at the PC 33-yard line. After a PC pass interference call, Coastal had the ball at the Blue Hose 20-yard line but was unable to cross the end zone.
The Chanticleers attempted a 41-yard field goal but it was blocked by Brian Davis, the fourth of his career, and the Blue Hose were able to preserve the one-point deficit heading into the locker room.
After a quiet beginning to the third quarter, Morgano sailed a 46-yard punt that went out of bounds at the CCU one-yard line. The Chanticleers took over and on the first play Travis Small was tackled for a loss by Donnelle Williams in the end zone for a safety, the first for the Blue Hose in their Division I history, to give PC the 8-7 lead.
The very next drive PC, which started at its 34-yard line, drove the field, making it to the CCU 13-yard line before Singer fumbled the ball and recovered it at the 25. Mayes came in to attempt a 42-yard field goal but it was blocked by Josh Norman, who returned it to the PC 49-yard line.
Coastal went nine plays that spanned the next 3:11 of the fourth quarter and advanced to the 25 yard line where Grant Clayton attempted a 42-yard field goal, which sailed just left of the goal post for the miss.
With 5:34 left in the game, PC punted to the Coastal 46-yard line but a catching interference put the ball at the PC 39-yard line. Three plays later Jamie Childers connected to DeMario Bennett for a 35-yard touchdown catch and the ensuing two-point conversion was successful as Coastal Carolina took the 15-8 lead with 4:48 remaining.
PC attempted a comeback that started at its own 25-yard line. Singer hit Jeremiah McKie for a 20-yard catch to highlight a drive that made it to the Coastal 14 before a fourth and eight failed, giving Coastal Carolina the ball for the final nine seconds.
Byrd rushed for 94 yards off 20 carries to lead the Blue Hose on eh ground, while McKie's two catches for 24 yards paced the air attack. Singer went 18-for-31 with one interception and 137 yards. Williams led with eight total tackles, two of which were for a loss. Justin Bethel recorded seven tackles and two pass breakups. Mark Williams and Xavier Boatwright each had a sack on the night as well.
The Blue Hose rushed for 109 yards, edging Coastal Carolina's 71 on the night. PC also led in the air 137-123 and ended eth game with 246 total yards, compared to 196 for the Chanticleers. The Blue Hose also controlled time of possession, 31:00 - 21:58, and had five more first downs, 17-12.
Leading Coastal Carolina on the ground was Travis Small who rushed for 64 yards on 13 carries and, while Bennett paced team in receptions with two for 41 yards, including the 35-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Aramis Hillary went seven-for-eight as quarterback for 76 yards. Andre Jacobs led defensively with seven tackles.
The eight points scored was the lowest this season and the lowest since a 37-7 loss to Stony Brook last year.
The Blue Hose return home for the final two games of the season, the first against VMI, Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. The game will be televised on WMYA M TV-40, with the radio broadcast on WLBG 860-AM.
