Coastal Carolina Football Week in Review

After a string of convincing wins in the series with Presbyterian, No. 1/2-ranked Coastal Carolina got a real challenge from the Blue Hose this time.

Presbyterian reached the hosts’ 9 on its final drive and had four chances to get into the end zone for a potential game-tying touchdown, but the defense held firm to preserve a 24-17 win for the Chanticleers.

It wasn’t a very sharp offensive performance, but defense and special teams made the difference.

And with that, the Chants moved to 6-0 as they head into their bye week.

Here’s the full rundown and review of Coastal Carolina’s Big South opener.

Game Balls

1. Ryan Granger: The Chants’ junior kicker did it all Saturday, converting all three of his field goal attempts (from 38, 47 and 22 yards) and rushing for a touchdown on a fake field goal play. He accounted for 15 of the team’s first 17 points.

2. Bruce Mapp: The junior standout had one of his best games of the season, catching seven passes for a career-best 129 yards. That included a 57-yard reception that set up the Chants’ first touchdown and a key third-down conversion on Coastal Carolina’s final scoring drive.

3. De’Angelo Henderson: The steady junior playmaker rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown in 25 carries, scoring a touchdown in his 20th consecutive game to tie the FCS record.

Ranking the top plays from the game

1. Presbyterian reached the Coastal Carolina 9 late in the fourth quarter with enough time for four tries at the end zone and a potential game-tying touchdown, but the Chants’ defense held firm to seal the win. On second-and-goal from the 9 after an incompletion, the Chants stuffed running back Darrell Bridges for a 1-yard loss. Blue Hose quarterback Kaleb Griffin then threw two more incompletions to end the threat.

2. Give credit to Presbyterian, though, for putting itself in that position. The Blue Hose denied Coastal Carolina running back Osharmar Abercrombie on fourth-and-1 from the Presbyterian 40-yard line to regain possession entering that final drive.

3. Before that, the Blue Hose went eight plays for 82 yards in just 3:53 to reach the end zone and get back into the game. Griffin capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to cut Coastal Carolina’s lead in half at 24-17.

4. The Chants made a bold call early in the second quarter to score their first touchdown. With the offense scuffling, the coaches called for a fake field goal from the Presbyterian 4 with holder Tyler Keane taking off running before pitching the ball to kicker Ryan Granger for a touchdown run and a 6-3 lead. Every point would prove key for the Chants, and that play proved significant later in the game.

5. It looked like the Chants were ready to start pulling away early in the fourth quarter when they went 73 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. De’Angelo Henderson’s 5-yard scouring run put the hosts up 24-10. They wouldn’t pull away, but in the end, it would prove to be the decisive score.

6. Unfortunately for the Chants, the tone was set early on offense, giving signs from the start that it was going to be a long day for the unit. Coastal Carolina’s opening drive ended when quarterback Alex Ross was sacked by Khari Rosier and fumbled. Gyasi Yeldell recovered for the Blue Hose.

7. The Chants’ struggles in the red zone continue to be a frustration for the coaching staff, and that was the case again in the third quarter as the offense couldn’t convert after setting up a first-and-goal from the Blue Hose 7. Coastal Carolina settled for a 22-yard Granger field goal for a 17-10 lead at the time.

8. The player of the game for Presbyterian was Bridges, who rushed for a career-high 186 yards, and the running back delivered a big play on a 30-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter to cut the Chants’ lead to 14-10 at the time.

9. Presbyterian’s defense kept the game within reach early in the third quarter when Ed Britt intercepted Ross at the Blue Hose 15 on a third down pass. That kept the score at 14-3 just before Bridges’ touchdown.

10. There were a few offensive highlights for Coastal Carolina, and while it took a fake field goal play to score its first touchdown it was a 57-yard completion from Ross to Bruce Mapp that put the Chants in that position. Mapp’s catch-and-run took the offense all the way to the Blue Hose 7.

What it means

Well, it wasn’t pretty in every regard, but Coastal Carolina moved to 6-0 with the win and now gets a much-needed bye week to rest, heal and recharge for the second half of the season.

While the Chants weren’t as sharp as they would prefer Saturday, Presbyterian also looked far better than its record and there shouldn’t be any significant cause for concern coming out this game.

The defense was solid, holding the Blue Hose to 348 yards and clamping down in the red zone late in the fourth quarter to preserve the win.

And the offense, well, Coastal Carolina’s track record says that season-low 24-point performance was an anomaly. Expect the Chants to bounce back after the break.

Looking ahead

After a week off, the Chants will return to conference play and head back on the road with a trip to Monmouth.

The Hawks got routed by Charleston Southern this weekend, losing 37-7 while surrendering 275 rushing yards.

With that, Monmouth fell to 2-4 overall with three losses by more than 20 points.

By the numbers

4 | Presbyterian had four chances from the Chants’ 9 and 10-yard line to score a game-tying touchdown in the final minutes and was denied.

8 | Coastal Carolina has now won eight straight meetings with the Blue Hose to improve to 8-1 all-time in the series.

16 | The Chants now rank 16th in the FCS in scoring defense, giving up an average of 18.3 points per game.

20 | De’Angelo Henderson joined former Monmouth standout David Sinisi as the only players in FCS history to score a touchdown in 20 straight games. He’ll look to break that mark against Monmouth in two weeks.

157 | Coastal Carolina held Presbyterian to 157 yards passing, a season-best for the Chants’ secondary.

758 | Henderson ranks third in the FCS with 758 rushing yards

They said it

Coach Joe Moglia on prevailing Saturday and staying unbeaten heading into the bye week:

“I’m glad we’re at the break, I’m glad we won, I’m glad we’re 6-0. I know we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Moglia on the Chants’ uncharacteristic offensive struggles:

“Clearly the offense has to be far more productive, especially when we get in the red zone. We need to be better than that, but I have no doubt our offensive staff and all of our guys know that and understand that.”

Wide receiver Bruce Mapp on the offense:

“I feel like when we get in these type of games, we’ve got to play to the level of where it’s at. The bigger the moment, the bigger the play. And we’re going to get it right. ... We’re going to figure it out and you’re going to see a more explosive offense after this bye week.”

Kicker Ryan Granger on his fake field goal touchdown run:

“We practice it pretty much every single day, either with the field goal unit or with ourselves as kickers. We practice it every single day, multiple times a day just to make sure we get the timing right, get the pitch right, and I think it worked for us.”

Defensive end Roderick Holder on being challenged to the end by Presbyterian:

“Every game is different. The rain delay, not trying to make excuses, but it was just a crazy situation,” senior defensive end Roderick Holder said, summing up the day. “Every circumstance that happens in a game, you just have to be ready for it and make the adjustment and play the best you can. Yeah, we probably wished we handled it a lot better than what we did, but at the end of the day we did our job, we finished the game and we got the most important thing, which is a W.”

Quarterback Alex Ross on watching the defense make a final stand to preserve the win:

“It was a great feeling. Coming down to the wire, finding the will to win, it was great to watch the defense do what they did out there.”

Ross on entering the bye week:

“It’s great. It’s good going into the bye week, we’re where we want to be, we’re 6-0, and I think it’s going to give us time to rest our bodies, kind of rejuvenate ourselves and get through the rest of the year.”

This story was originally published October 11, 2015 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Coastal Carolina Football Week in Review."