Chanticleers edge Monmouth on field goal in final seconds

Monmouth opened a lot of eyes around the Big South Conference last weekend with its upset win over Liberty, and the Hawks no doubt had Coastal Carolina’s full attention by the second half Saturday.

The No. 1/2-ranked Chanticleers and the suddenly feisty Hawks were locked in a tied game late into the fourth quarter, but a clutch defensive stand, a couple big third down conversions and the ever steady right leg of junior kicker Ryan Granger denied Monmouth’s bid for a second straight stunner.

Granger connected on a 30-yard field goal as time expired to send Coastal Carolina to a 23-20 win before a homecoming crowd of 4,591 at Monmouth Stadium. The Chants’ pushed their record to a perfect 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

“Probably the most thankful I’ve ever been,” Granger said shortly after connecting on his third and most important field goal of the game. “I’ve never had a game-winning opportunity. We practice it in practice all the time on Tuesdays, but it was probably the most ecstatic I’ve ever been in my life.”

Junior running back De’Angelo Henderson delivered his own highlight in the win, breaking an FCS record by scoring a touchdown in 21 straight games. His 2-yard touchdown run on a fourth down carry in the second quarter was part of a 91-yard effort Saturday, and senior quarterback Alex Ross was sharp while completing 20-of-31 passes for 282 yards.

But nothing really came easy for the Chants on Saturday.

The Hawks (3-5, 1-2) tied the game in the final minute of the third quarter on a 21-yard touchdown run by Lavon Chaney, who broke a couple tackles on that scamper and keyed the hosts’ upset bid all afternoon while rushing for a career-high 196 yards and two scores.

Monmouth actually outgained Coastal Carolina 475 yards to 389 and played aggressively all game, but the Chants’ defense came up with a couple of key stops in the fourth quarter to keep the game tied.

First, the Chants stopped the Hawks on a fourth-and-4 play from the Coastal Carolina 41 as quarterback Cody Williams threw incomplete.

It look like the visitors were going to take the momentum at that point, especially when Ross connected with senior Tyrell Blanks on a nice gain down the seam.

But Blanks had the ball stripped by cornerback Joe Johnson and Monmouth safety Teddie Martinez recovered the loose ball at the Chants’ 9.

Chaney was hobbled on the sideline with an apparent ankle injury sustained in the previous series and could not contribute on the ensuing possession, but the Hawks nonetheless got to the Coastal Carolina 43 while being spurred by a 39-yard pass from Williams to Darren Ambush.

Again, though, the Chants defense settled down and came through with a big stop, pressuring Williams to throw the ball away on fourth-and-3.

“We’re a clutch team. We finally made that stop. [It was] more like a relief,” junior defensive tackle Jabarai Bothwell said. “We knew our offense was going to drive down and score, so we felt like the game was pretty much over at that time.”

It would be soon enough as Coastal Carolina took over with 3:02 remaining and quickly got moving.

Ross hit senior John Israel for a 17-yard completion to the Hawks’ 27 on a third-and-11 play and later found Blanks for 12 yards down to the 9 on another third down.

The Chants wouldn’t get any closer, but they ran the clock down to 2.1 seconds and called timeout for Granger. When his kick sailed through the uprights, those on the sideline poured onto the field in celebration – and like Bothwell said, perhaps some relief as well.

“I love it. It’s what you play for,” Ross said of winning it on the final drive. “It’s nice to go out there and blow out teams, but you kind of live for that moment where you get the ball last and you need to be able to drive down the field and win the game.”

As for Granger, he also connected on field goals of 30 and 32 yards earlier in the game and is now 13-of-15 on attempts this season.

“I have total confidence. I’m expecting him to make that kick and he has been doing a good job making his kicks consistently,” head coach Joe Moglia said. “We know we can count on him.”

Few expected the Chants to need to count on a last-second field goal Saturday after rolling to a 52-21 win over Monmouth last year and having a bye last week to rest up and get ready for the Hawks.

But Monmouth showed its 20-17 overtime win over a ranked Liberty team last week wasn’t an anomaly.

“I recognize that these guys were going to be up, I recognize that they were certainly going to be ready to go. They were coming off tremendous momentum, we’re playing at their place, it’s their homecoming. So we knew they would be ready,” Moglia said. “... But I was delighted we won the game. We won the game in the clutch, the defense came up with some big plays in the second half as did the offense as did the special teams. So I feel good about the win.”

That said, the Chants also come away from this game with plenty to work on heading into one of their toughest remaining tests, next Saturday at Charleston Southern.

Facing a Monmouth defense that came in ranked last in the Big South in allowing 29.4 points per game, the Chants managed a season-low 23 after scoring 24 in their last game.

And the defense simply gave up too many big plays in key spots.

Those points will surely be addressed again over the next week in practice. For the Chants, though, Saturday evening was about enjoying yet another win – however it came.

“These are the games we live for as a football player, close games,” Bothwell said. “Blowouts are cool, but this is one of the [most fun] games I’ve played all season.”

COASTAL CAROLINA 23, MONMOUTH (NJ) 20

First Quarter

CCar—FG Granger 30, 8:40.

Monm—Chaney 3 run (White kick), 3:02.

Second Quarter

CCar—Henderson 2 run (Granger kick), 7:14.

Monm—Chaney 17 pass from C.Williams (kick failed), 4:58.

CCar—A.Ross 1 run (Granger kick), 2:07.

Third Quarter

CCar—FG Granger 32, 3:30.

Monm—Chaney 21 run (White kick), :24.

Fourth Quarter

CCar—FG Granger 30, :00.

A—4,591.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Coastal Carolina, Henderson 25-91, Abercrombie 3-15, A.Ross 11-1. Monmouth (NJ), Chaney 24-196, C.Williams 9-66, Jolly 5-6.

PASSING—Coastal Carolina, A.Ross 20-31-0-282. Monmouth (NJ), C.Williams 18-30-1-207.

RECEIVING—Coastal Carolina, Mapp 6-79, Blanks 5-84, Israel 5-70, Sattinger 1-21, Richardson 1-20, D.Brown 1-6, Henderson 1-2. Monmouth (NJ), Ambush 9-107, Valles 4-41, Chaney 3-32, Gray 2-27.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Chanticleers edge Monmouth on field goal in final seconds."