How Coastal Carolina football emphatically improved to 3-0 against Arkansas State
Thirty-two plays, 177 yards, and 16 minutes and 35 seconds of game time.
Those are the cumulative dominant numbers of two drives sandwiched around halftime that led to one of the most impressive victories in Coastal Carolina football history on Saturday at Brooks Stadium.
The Chanticleers improved to 3-0 and knocked off perennial Sun Belt Conference power Arkansas State 52-23 for its most points ever scored against a Sun Belt foe.
“What a great win for our program and our team,” CCU coach Jamey Chadwell said. “It’s the first time this year we faced some adversity. We were down, we were behind, turned the ball over. . . . But I’m proud of our guys, they kept fighting, kept believing.”
The Red Wolves (1-2) have five conference titles since 2011 and nine consecutive seasons with a bowl game appearance, and defeated Kansas State on the road earlier this season. Coastal has finished 2-6 in league games in each of its three previous seasons in the Sun Belt.
“We’re trying to take over the Sun Belt,” CCU junior outside linebacker Jeffrey Gunter said.
Coastal responded to two early deficits and led 17-14 when it embarked on the longest scoring drive in CCU football history – in terms of both plays and game time – of 18 plays and 94 yards lasting 8:38.
The Chants stretched the lead to 31-17 by taking the opening kickoff of the second half and driving 83 yards in 14 plays over 7:57.
The two monster drives contributed to CCU’s massive advantage in time of possession of 41:21 to 18:39, and the Chants outgained A-State, which had its previous two scheduled games canceled because of coronavirus issues within its program, 539-385.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Grayson McCall was again impressive, completing 20 of 29 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 44 yards on 17 carries, although he threw an interception and lost a fumble.
Coastal fell behind twice early, committed its first three turnovers of the season and allowed its first sack, but just about everything else went right for the Chants on Saturday.
“I knew [we] were competitive, but you worry about how we’re going to handle adversity and today we handled it extremely well,” Chadwell said. “Last year we’d have fell apart when all that was happening, and that didn’t happen. Nobody put their chin down, they kept fighting, kept striking. Our big deal is strike the stone and our guys did that. They kept striking for four quarters and I’m proud of the victory.”
Arkansas State scored the game’s first touchdown on a 33-yard pass from Logan Bonner to 6-foot-5 Dahu Green at the back of the end zone. An 82-yard, five-play scoring drive included a 35-yard pass to Brandon Bowling, giving CCU its first deficit of the season.
CCU tied it at 7 on the next offensive play, a 72-yard TD pass from McCall to tight end Isaiah Likely, who streaked down the right hash against single coverage.
A missed 44-yard field goal attempt by Blake Grupe gave CCU possession at its 34, but McCall fumbled a handoff exchange and the Red Wolves cashed in three plays later on a 21-yard Bonner pass to Bowling cutting across the middle in the end zone for a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter.
Coastal responded to tie the game at 14 with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a 12-yard C.J. Marable touchdown run on a pitch to the left from McCall 3 minutes into the second quarter.
Special teams got the ball back for CCU on the ensuing kickoff, as Massimo Biscardi popped up a short kick that landed between Red Wolves at the 31 and was recovered by freshman Charles Steele. The recovery led to a 42-yard Biscardi field goal that gave CCU its first lead of the game 17-14.
The program’s longest drive was capped by a 3-yard McCall pass to Marable on a roll to the right with a minute left in the first half that gave CCU a 24-14 halftime lead.
The Chants converted a pair of third-and-2 situations as well as a fourth-and-1 during the drive.
“We had done some things offensively but we were bad, too,” Chadwell said. “That took a lot of the clock out and I think that got in their minds, ‘Hey we’re going to have shorter possessions,’ and I think they started rushing a little bit.
“You don’t come in planning, ‘Hey, I want to keep the ball this long.’ But it definitely helps for sure.”
One of Tarron Jackson’s two sacks in the game at the CCU 48 was the final play of the first half.
The opening drive of the second half concluded on a 3-yard McCall TD pass to graduate transfer Kameron Brown.
CCU converted 10 of 17 third downs and its one fourth-down attempt in the game, and also scored touchdowns on all five of its red zone possessions that reached the A-State 20-yard line.
The teams traded several possessions with turnovers in the third quarter.
Defensive tackle Rolan Wooden II forced the second turnover of the game for CCU with a hit on running back Jamal Jones, and safety Braden Matts recovered the fumble.
A-State took the ball back four plays later, however, when Anthony Switzer intercepted a McCall pass into traffic over the middle after McCall scrambled to his left.
Coastal regained possession on a fourth-down Gunter tackle of a scrambling Bonner late in the third quarter. Three plays later, Reese White fumbled on the A-State 32 after an 11-yard gain and A-State took advantage with an eight-play drive that included a fourth-down conversion and culminated in a 42-yard Grupe field goal that cut CCU’s lead to 31-17 early in the fourth quarter.
Coastal answered with an eight-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 6-yard TD catch by Jaivon Heiligh, who led the Chants with season highs of seven catches for 93 yards. The drive included a third-and-11 conversion on a 17-yard catch by Greg Latushko and 47-yard catch down the left sideline by Brown.
CCU touchdowns on runs of 15 yards by Shermari Jones and 35 yards by freshman Braydon Bennett were sandwiched around a 44-yard Bowling touchdown reception to close out the scoring.
“We were just more physical than them,” said Marable, who reached 3,000 yards rushing in his collegiate career Saturday spanning three years at CCU and one at Presbyterian. “I feel we were just more physical. We came out there with the mindset that they can’t beat us. We’re a better team.”
Coastal is 3-0 for just the third time, the last in 2015.
“There’s a lot of excitement. We’re hot right now,” Marable said. “The only thing is we have to keep it a game at a time. Don’t make it bigger than what it is. Just go out there and play Coastal football.”
This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 3:41 PM.
