Takeaways from Coastal Carolina’s win over Florida A&M

What it means

While the spotlight was on Coastal Carolina halfback De’Angelo Henderson as he broke three records – including a Division I mark – Saturday, the Chanticleers also proved they can come out strong to begin the game as they led by 29 at halftime before rolling to a 49-10 victory over Florida A&M.

It was a good sign for Coastal Carolina, which trailed Lamar (Texas) by 11 points at halftime in the season-opener before scoring 35 unanswered points to win.

“I feel good. Last week at halftime, we were down by 11 points so we had to make sure we brought everything together, understood what we were doing and get after it,” Chants head coach Joe Moglia said. “We were up significantly [this week] as far as halftime score, and sometimes you lose concentration – I don’t think we did that.”

Looking ahead

Facing one of the tougher FCS programs in the nation, the Chants travel to Alabama to take on Jacksonville State – which is coming off a 34-14 loss to LSU – on Saturday at 2 p.m. It’s the first meeting between the teams.

Henderson will enter the contest with an NCAA Division I record for most consecutive games with at least one TD (28), and can extend it if he finds the end zone.

Meanwhile, Chants sophomore quarterback Josh Stilley will be making his third career start after impressing in his first two – both wins.

“We know that’s a big game on our schedule. I think we definitely have some more things we can polish up from what happened in this past game just now,” Stilley said. “I think we improved upon last week as far as execution as an offense and I think if we keep improving, we have a good shot of taking down [Jacksonville] State next week.”

Game balls

Running back De’Angelo Henderson: Breaking three more records, the senior solidified himself as one of the greatest to put on a Coastal Carolina uniform as he rushed for 128 yards on 13 carries and had three touchdown.

Henderson’s 28 straight games with at least one touchdown passed Virginia Tech’s Lee Suggs (27) for the NCAA Division I record. Henderson also passed former kicker Josh Hoke as the program’s all-time leading scorer (302 points), and passed Aundres Perkins for most rushing touchdowns (47) in school history.

Linebacker Laqavious Paul: Replacing junior Shane Johnson – who left the Lamar game with an ankle injury – the true freshman succeeded in his first collegiate start as he racked up a team-high nine tackles.

Safety Richie Sampson: In just his second game back from missing over a year and a half due to a shoulder injury, the fifth-year senior got his second interception of the year – which he returned 52 yards – and also picked up five tackles.

By the numbers

20

Career 100-yard rushing performances for Henderson, which is also a program record. Former halfback Lorenzo Taliaferro – who now plays for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens – is second on the list with nine game of 100 yards or more on the ground.

36

Points scored in the first half Saturday for Coastal Carolina, which only had three points in the season-opening win over Lamar.

120

Florida A&M’s Devin Bowers picked up 120 yards on the ground, including a 70-yard rushing touchdown.

3

Combined points allowed by the Chants in the second half after two games.

This story was originally published September 11, 2016 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Takeaways from Coastal Carolina’s win over Florida A&M."