CONWAY, S.C. - Coastal Carolina returned home to the friendly confines of Brooks Stadium and escaped with a 28-21 victory over Winston-Salem State, Sept. 8.
After stopping WSSU with just one first down, Coastal mounted a drive, going 13 plays and 61 yards, including a 36-yard completion from quarterback William Richardson to wide receiver Trent Usher to convert a 3rd-and-30. Kicker Justin Durham capped it off with a 24-yard field goal and the Chants led 3-0 with 6:18 remaining in the first.
Another three-and-out forced the Rams to punt and Coastal got it back in great position at the WSSU 31. However a bad snap on 3rd-and-6 from the WSSU 9 forced Richardson to fall on the ball back on the Rams' 27. Durham came in and hit a season-best 44-yard kick and Coastal was up 6-0 with 1:48 left in the opening period.
The Chanticleers put together another sustained drive, going 70 yards in seven plays. This time, the Chanticleers found the end zone, as Richardson connected with wide receiver Jamar Anderson from 10 yards out for the touchdown. Durham's point after attempt was wide left and Coastal led 12-0 with 7:20 remaining in the half.
Winston-Salem State took the ensuing kickoff and moved 65 yards down the field, sparked by a 43-yard run on the first play from Jed Bines to put the ball at Coastal's 22. From there, it took the Rams eight more plays to find the end zone on a Monte Purvis one-yard sneak. Matt Mitchell's extra point was good, cutting the lead to 12-7 with 2:23 to play in the second. That is how the two teams would enter the halftime break.
CCU pushed the advantage on its second possession of the second half, as fullback Tommy Fraser plunged in from one yard out to wrap up a six-play, 44-yard drive. Richardson's two-point conversion pass failed and the Chants led 18-7 with just over 10 minutes to play in the third.
The Rams rallied on their next two possessions, both off the legs of Purvis. The first was a 66-yard touchdown run with a failed two-point conversion that cut the lead to 18-13. He then took off on the first play of the next Winston-Salem State drive and went a Brooks Stadium record 80 yards for another score. The two point pass went from Purvis to Jeremy Reaves to give WSSU its first lead of the game at 21-18 with 1:24 to go in the third.
Coastal came back on the next drive and marked it 69 yards in 11 plays over 5:09. The drive stalled at the WSSU 11, causing Durham to step up again and hit his third field goal of the game, this time from 28 yards.
The lead again changed hands, as the Chants moved quickly down the field, going 60 yards in just 59 seconds over four plays. Richardson connected with wide receiver Jerome Simpson for a 50-yard strike where he was knocked out at the Rams' 1-yard line. Fraser then went in standing up for his second score of the game and Durham's PAT gave Coastal a 28-21 margin with 8:15 remaining in the contest.
Both teams exchanged late possessions, but Coastal thwarted a final WSSU drive in the final minute of the game.
Coastal outgained Winston-Salem State, 397-311, but fumbled ball seven times, losing just one of them. CCU dominated time of possession 33:52-26:08 and was solid through the air with 301 yards of passing. The Chanticleers also converted effectively on third down, going 7-for-15 on conversion attempts.
Freshman Eric O'Neal had 77 yards on 17 carries to lead Coastal's effort, while Richardson was 16-for-24 for 301 yards, his first 300-yard game of his career, and one touchdown with no interceptions. Simpson led the Chant receivers with three catches for 90 yards. Sophomore linebacker Phillip Oboh had nine tackles for Coastal, including two sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss.
WSSU was paced by a pair of 100-yard rushers, as Purvis had 165 yards on 19 carries and three scores, while Bines had 123 yards on 18 touches. Purvis was just 2-for-10 for 11 yards through the air. Thadeus Griffin led WSSU with 12 tackles on the night.
The Chanticleers wrap up a two-game homestand, hosting Georgia Southern of the Southern Conference, Sat., Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.
