Aug. 25, 2010
CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina football team had its final scrimmage of the preseason, having a highly-situational, hour-and-a-half session at Brooks Stadium Wednesday. The Chanticleers open the season next Saturday (Sept. 4) facing 24th-ranked West Virginia on the road.
The defense won the final scrimmage, 50-40, setting the stage for the win from the opening snap.
"Today was the defense's day to be on top," said head coach David Bennett. "These scrimmages have teeter-tottered back and forth as to which unit has the upper hand and today the defense was that unit."
On the first snap, with the offense backed up against its own one yard line, junior defensive tackle broke through and dropped Marcus Whitener in the endzone for a safety. Te defense went on to score the first 11 points, thanks to a safety by freshman linebacker Mike McClure.
The offense finally got on the board, scoring one point, on a 15-yard Whitener run. However, Quinton Davis forced a fumble which Dominique Davenport scooped and scored from 20 yards out. The defense registered another three-out and lead 25-2 with the offense starting no further out than its own 15 on the first five series.
The field switched in the offense's favor for the next five series and the offense went on a 24-3 run and rim its deficit to two, 28-26. On the first play in the teal zone, starting from the 10, Zach MacDowall hit Brandon Whitley for a 10-yard score. The second offense was kept out of the endzone and off the scoreboard after a missed field goal. The third unit rallied with a 10-yard Cody Craig touchdown run. The ball was then moved to the five and Racheed Gause scored on the first play.
The first part of the scrimmage ended with a two-minute drill. MacDowall was intercepted by Tarvorris Jolly on the first drive, marking MacDowall's first interception thrown in a scrimmage this preseason. On the next series, Dontavious Johnson stepped in front of an Aramis Hillary pass for an interception, just Hillary's second pick of the preseason in scrimmages and first since the first scrimmage.
The first offense got back on track on the following series. Starting from its own 35, MacDowall hit David Duran for a 21-yard gain. Then, on third down, the senior quarterback hit Akeem Wesley for a 20 yard gain. A face mask penalty on the defense on the play moved the ball to the nine. On the next play, MacDowall rushed for the TD. The ensuing extra point by Josh Durham was good, tying the game at 38-38.
The defense ended the scrimmage forcing back-to-back three-and-outs and holding the offense on two final two-minute drills. The first two-minute drill, the offense went for it on fourth down, but was stopped a half yard short on a completion as Johnny Hartsfield made the tackle downfield.
"We have got to keep getting better," Bennett said. "We had some positives thing happen today, but we also had some negatives that we need to get better. Time is moving along quickly now and we have got to get better before next Saturday when we play in Morgantown."
Rushing: Marcus Whitener 4-6; Aaron Jones 8-10; Anthony Frye 2-2; Jeff Allen 1-1; Eric O'Neal 4-2; Kenny Jones 1-0; Cody Craig 1-10, TD; Zach MacDowall 1-9, TD, Racheed Gause 1-5, TD.
Passing: Zach MacDowall 5-9, 60 yds, TD, INT; Aramis Hillary 3-9, 14 yds, INT; Cody Craig 0-2.
Receiving: Aaron Jones 2-9; Brandon Whitley 1-10, TD; Jonathan Morgan 2-26; David Duran 1-9; Akeem Wesley 1-20; Eric O'Neal 1-10.
Defensive Statistics: Dexter Holman: TFL (resulted in safety); Tarvorris Jolly: 2 tackles, INT; E.J. Brown: 2 tackles; Brian Sanders: 2 tackles; Mike McClure: 2 tackles; Dominique Davenport: Fumble Recovery with 20 yard return for touchdown, 3 tackles; Jamel Davis; Forced Fumble, 1 tackle; Johnny Hartsfield: 3 tackles, TFL; Andrae Jacobs: 2 tackles; Chris Carter: 2 tackles; Quinton Davis: 2 tackles; Dontavious Johnson: INT; Josh Norman: 1 tackle; Keon Cunningham: 1 tackle; Jerran Devlin: 1 tackle; B.J. Jenkins: 2 tackle, sack.
