CCU defense leads way in victory over Central Connecticut State

Dealing with a bevy of injuries at key positions, Coastal Carolina’s offense had somewhat of a tough time moving the ball against Central Connecticut State.

In the end, though, it was the Chanticleers’ performance on the defensive side that helped save the day.

Senior linebacker Alex Scearce scored a pair of touchdowns to lead the way for Coastal Carolina – which ended up being outscored by the Blue Devils on offense – as the Chants did just enough to come away with a 33-25 victory Saturday over Central Connecticut State at Brooks Stadium.

“It’s huge, obviously. It’s great when the defense can come up and get turnovers,” said Scearce, who tied a program record for interceptions returned for touchdowns in a single season with two. “Especially when it’s not the same offense we’ve had because we haven’t been able to put up as many points as we want to. That means we have to step up and make big plays on defense. I’m glad I was fortunate enough to do so tonight.”

Coastal Carolina (5-2) was without star running back De’Angelo Henderson, who was held out of the game due to an AC joint sprain in his shoulder due to a hit in the fourth quarter of last week’s win over Gardner-Webb.

Standout offensive lineman Chase Tidwell was also held out after hurting his ankle early on last week.

Even without Henderson and Tidwell, the Chants managed to gain 206 yards on the ground – now the fifth time the team has reached the 200-yard plateau in seven games.

Senior Kenny Daniels, who has been mainly a standout special teams player during his tenure at Coastal Carolina, ended up with a team-high 76 yards on 25 carries and now has 207 yards and two touchdowns on 45 carries on the season.

“I feel like it was solid,” Daniels said of his performance. “I didn’t make as many big plays as I wanted to, but I made some third-down conversions and made that catch at the beginning. I feel like I did fine for the opportunity I was given.”

The Chants have been dealing with a lack of depth at quarterback also as starter Josh Stilley and backup Chance Thrasher were each ruled out for the year early on in the season and backup Avery McCall is expected to miss the season as well after suffering a hand injury in Week 3.

Despite the issues, junior signal caller Tyler Keane has filled in nicely as the team’s starter and owns a 64.3 completion percentage (58-of-84) with eight touchdowns, two interceptions and 649 yards in seven games (four starts) this season.

Keane – a former Myrtle Beach High standout – was 7-of-15 for 141 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 61 yards on 11 carries Saturday.

“There were a lot of quarterbacks ahead of Tyler, so I’m proud of his effort. Going in there, he keeps his poise and he’ll make his plays,” CCU coach Joe Moglia said. “He’s not that big, he’s not the fastest guy in the world and doesn’t have the best arm in the world but he’s a winner. He was a winner when he played at Myrtle Beach High School; he’s a winner for us now.”

Meanwhile, Scearce made his presence felt early on Saturday. He scored the game’s first touchdown on a 4-yard interception return and put Coastal Carolina up by three scores with a fumble recovery in the end zone early in the second frame as he had a lot to do with the Chants entering halftime with a 23-3 advantage.

Central Connecticut State, however, outscored Coastal Carolina 22-10 in the second half as the Blue Devils ended up cutting the deficit to one score in the fourth quarter.

But the vastly improved Chants’ defense held on for the victory.

“I think we came out fired up in the first half. They’re a good team when it comes to passing and you can see why. They’re good at executing screens and stuff like that,” Scearce said. “I feel like we missed some tackles that could’ve changed those numbers significantly on those screens and stuff. I think our defense is playing great, and compared to years in the past our guys are committed to it and I think we’re only going to get better and better each week.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2016 at 8:26 PM with the headline "CCU defense leads way in victory over Central Connecticut State."