Coastal Carolina Football Week in Review

Despite a strong start to the season, the Coastal Carolina football team had been looking to put together a complete game in all phases, and it came Saturday afternoon.

The offense scored 32 points in the second quarter alone – a program record for one quarter against an FCS opponent – and the defense played its best game of the fall while earning the Chanticleers’ first shutout since 2007 in a 55-0 win over Alabama A&M at Brooks Stadium.

Let’s present some game balls, recap the key moments and look at the numbers that stood out Saturday.

Game Balls

1. Coastal Carolina defense: It was a collective effort as the Chants forced three turnovers and allowed only four Alabama A&M first downs in the first half. Senior safety Kelvin Deveaux and senior linebacker Rayshaud Shields had interceptions and sophomore defensive end Marcus Williamson forced a fumble that junior Jabarai Bothwell recovered.

2. De’Angelo Henderson: The junior running back needed only one half to rush for 102 yards, catch four passes for 44 yards and total three touchdowns. He set a Big South record by scoring a touchdown in 19 straight games.

3. Alex Ross: The Chants’ senior leader shook off an early interception and completed 15-of-22 passes for 153 yards and four touchdowns while only playing the first two quarters.

Ranking the top plays from the game

1. The game was already in Coastal Carolina’s grasp by the middle of the second quarter, but the Chanticleers more or less sealed the win when linebacker Rayshaud Shields intercepted Alabama A&M’s Damion May down the right sideline at the Bulldogs’ 37. The Chants led 24-0 at the time and would soon add to that margin as the game lost all semblance of competitiveness.

2. For that matter, it took Coastal Carolina only three plays to score again as they pushed the lead to 31-0 late in the second quarter on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Alex Ross to Tyrell Blanks.

3. But the defense wasn’t done. On the ensuing series, the Chants forced a third Bulldogs turnover of the opening half as defensive end Marcus Williamson sacked May and jarred the ball free. Jabarai Bothwell recovered for Coastal Carolina at the Alabama A&M 47.

4. And again the offense capitalized. Ross threw his fourth touchdown pass of the first half while hitting Frankie Richardson in the end zone for the redshirt-freshman’s first career score. That gave the Chants 32 points in the second quarter alone and a 38-0 lead heading into halftime.

5. While the game was already well in hand by Alabama A&M’s final offensive series of the fourth quarter, the Chants had a shutout to preserve and they did so when Tarrol Stafford tackled May for a loss of three yards on a fourth-and-1 play that started at the Coastal Carolina 12.

6. While the Chants were relatively quiet in the first quarter, they did score on their opening possession to take a quick 6-0 lead. De’Angelo Henderson busted a 27-yard run on the first play of the drive and later scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to extend his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown to a Big South-record 19.

7. The Chants’ defense set the tone early as well. After Ross threw a rare interception on Coastal Carolina’s second possession, senior safety Kelvin Deveaux returned the favor by picking off Alabama A&M starting quarterback De’Angelo Ballard along the sideline. It was Deveaux’s team-leading second interception of the season.

8. The Chants were quiet offensively for much of the first quarter, but once they got going they didn’t let up. It started with a three-play, 54-yard scoring drive. Henderson delivered a 25-yard touchdown reception one play after a 17-yard rush as Coastal Carolina made it 14-0 in the opening moments of the second quarter.

9. Henderson picked up his third touchdown of the day on the next series on a 3-yard pass from Ross to make it 21-0 as the Chants began to pull away.

10. What really helped that cause, though, was the defense not only forcing three turnovers but also five three-and-outs in the first half. Just 1:13 after taking a three-touchdown lead, the Chants were on the move again as the defense forced one of those quick punts.

What it means

While Alabama A&M was maligned on defense coming into the matchup, the Bulldogs looked like a competent offensive team through their first three games.

They came in ranked 16th in the FCS in total offense at 454 yards per game before being utterly dominated by Coastal Carolina.

Despite playing largely with second-team and third-team players in the second half, the Chants held Alabama A&M to 311 yards in the shutout.

Maybe this was a turning point for the Chants’ defense and an indicator that the unit has smoothed out some of its issues and is ready to excel.

Looking ahead

Coastal Carolina is home for a fourth straight week Saturday while hosting Presbyterian in its Big South opener and final game before the bye week.

The Blue Hose are off to a 1-4 start with their lone win coming against a non-scholarship Campbell team, although two of those losses came to FBS teams in Miami of Ohio and Charlotte.

They rank last in the Big South in scoring at 12.2 points per game and fifth defensively, giving up 25.4 points per contest.

By the numbers

0 | Coastal Carolina’s shutout Saturday marked the third time in program history the Chants allowed zero points in a game and the first time against an FCS opponent. The other shutouts were a 47-0 win over Charleston (W.V.) in 2003 and a 51-0 win over Chowan in 2007.

5 | Coastal Carolina had five touchdown passes Saturday (four from Alex Ross and one from Michael Church), accomplishing the feat for the first time since a 2012 win over Presbyterian.

10 | Ross has thrown for three or more touchdown passes in 10 career games, the most for any player in Big South history.

19 | With a touchdown in 19 straight games, De’Angelo Henderson set a Big South record and is closing in on the FCS record of 20 straight games with a touchdown.

32 | The Chants’ 32 points in the second quarter is the program’s best output for a single period against an FCS opponent and second-best overall behind a 35-point quarter against Division II North Greenville.

100 | The win was the 100th in program history for Coastal Carolina, which is 100-49 all-time almost halfway through its 13th season.

547 | Coastal Carolina’s 547 offensive yards Saturday was a season high, as was the Chants’ 297 rushing yards.

634 | Henderson remains second in the FCS in total rushing, up to 634 yards through five games and just 20 yards behind Fordham’s Chase Edmonds.

They said it:

Quarterback Alex Ross on the status of his tender ankle:

“It’s better than when I started the game. I think they fell on it and tweaked it back into place.”

Ross on throwing only his second interception of the season:

“He kind of baited me into that one, which is unfortunate, but I didn’t let it happen again.”

Defensive end Roderick Holder on any pressure the defense felt to have a big game:

“No pressure at all. We have a lot of new pieces this year so we’ve just got to get a few guys going and just get that camaraderie and that [chemistry] together. But we did good and we’re only going to get better.”

Running back De’Angelo Henderson on watching the Chants’ second and third-teamers succeed in the second half:

“It was great. Once we start clicking and the young guys get in, it’s phenomenal just to see that growth from when they first got here to now, or from camp to now. So when they get a chance to get in, we’re on the sideline like high school kids jumping around excited, cheering them on.”

Coach Joe Moglia on the Chants notching their first shutout since 2007:

“The shutout is a wonderful ‘atta boy’ or a wonderful pat on the back, but it’s more I feel good about the defense making progress.”

This story was originally published October 4, 2015 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Coastal Carolina Football Week in Review."