TROY, Ala. – The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers dug themselves into an insurmountable hole and was unable to overcome a 31-point first-half deficit in a 45-26 loss to the West Division Champions Troy Trojans in the 2022 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Championship Game on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Ala.
 
The loss dropped CCU to 9-3 overall on the season, while with the win, the Trojans improved to 11-2 on the year.
 
In the first half, the Chants put themselves in a hole early, as Troy outgained CCU 306-104 in total yards, including 266-69 in passing yards, and averaged 11.3 yards per play compared to Coastal's 4.0 yards per play average.
 
The second half proved to more Coastal's speed, as the Chants outgained the Trojans 328-105 in total yards of offense to finish the game with 432 total yards of offense compared to the Trojans' 411.
 
Coastal outpassed the Trojans 319-318, however, Troy averaged 26.5 yards per completion to the Chants' 11.0. CCU also outrushed Troy 113-93 for the game.
 
After missing the last two games of the regular season, three-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Grayson McCall returned to complete a career-high 29 passes over a career-high 41 attempts for 319 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 11 carries for 18 yards and a score, totaling four touchdowns for the game.
 
His four total touchdowns give him 94 touchdowns for his career, a new CCU record surpassing the previous mark of 91 held by Alex Ross.
 
Graduate transfer Sam Pinckney had a career-high 11 receptions for 81 yards and a score, while fellow wideout Tyson Mobley had a career day with seven catches for 109 yards and a score. The 109 yards marked his first career 100-yard receiving game.
 
2022 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Jared Brown finished with five catches for 75 yards and a score, all coming in the second half.
 
On the ground, senior Reese White led the way with eight carries for 44 yards, while redshirt sophomores Braydon Bennett and CJ Beasley added 33 and 32 rushing yards, respectively.
 
For Troy, it was big plays, as quarterback Gunnar Watson completed 12-of-17 pass attempts for a season-high 318 yards and three touchdowns.
 
He connected with only five receivers on the day, three of which had over 59 yards led by a game-high 134 yards and two touchdown catches from RaJae' Johnson. Deshon Stoudemire added three catches for 58 yards and a score as well.
 
Finding the end zone three times on the ground for the Trojans was DK Billingsley, as he rushed nine times for 57 yards while leading running back Kimani Vidal tallied 20 carries for 53 yards in the win.
 
Defensively, redshirt senior cornerback Lance Boykin led the way with a career-high eight tackles, while linebacker Shane Bruce and cornerback Jacob Proche finished the game with six and five stops apiece, respectively.
 
As a team, the Chants' defense had 10 tackles-for-loss and 4.0 sacks, led up front by Kennedy Roberts (2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack), Adrian Hope (1.5 TFL, 1.0 sack), Ja'Quon Griffin (1.5 TFL, 1.0 sack), and Jerrod Clark (1.0 TFL, 1.0 sack).
 
However, unlike the Trojans defense who had two turnovers on a fumble recovery and an interception, the Chants were unable to pick up a takeaway.
 
Troy defensively was led by the duo of Dell Pettus and Carlton Martial with 11 and nine tackles each, while only totaling 1.0 sack and 3.0 tackles-for-loss for the game.
 
Both teams punted four times, with CCU's all coming in the first half, as freshman punter Evan Crenshaw averaged 37.8 yards per punt, including a long of 43 yards.
 
Coastal won the toss and deferred to give the ball to the Trojans' offense to start the contest. The home team converted a 21-yard pass on a second-and-11 and then used a 29-yard pass and catch from Watson to Tez Johnson on a third-and-eight to keep the opening drive alive.
 
However, the Coastal defense would come up with a stop, holding the Trojans to just six yards over the next three plays, including a five-yard offsides penalty, to force the home team to settle for a 35-yard field goal from Brooks Buce with 11:07 to go in the first quarter.
 
After Coastal's offense was held to a three-and-out and the punt was nearly blocked, the Trojans took over on their own 35-yard line and just needed one play, a 65-yard pass from Watson to Stoudemire to find pay dirt and put the home team on top 10-0 less than six minutes into the contest.
 
The hot start continued for the West Division Champions, as the Trojans' defense forced another Coastal punt and then kept the scoring trend going with a four-play, 62-yard drive to add to their lead with an eight-yard touchdown run by Billingsley to put the home team in front at 17-0 with 4:09 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
Following a turnover on downs by the Chants' offense and Troy's first punt of the game to end the first quarter, the Coastal offense looked to make something happen to start the second quarter, yet went three-and-out once more and was forced to punt for the third time with 13:21 to go in the first half of play.
 
Troy needed just two plays to add to its lead once more, as a 15-yard pass from Watson to Stoudemire was followed by a 33-yard touchdown scamper by Billingsley to extend the lead to 24-0 following a Buce extra point with 12:36 left in the second quarter.
 
While the Coastal offense continued to struggle in finding any type of rhythm, the Trojans continued to roll on the offensive side of the ball, as the home team added a 67-yard touchdown pass from Watson to Johnson with 9:47 on the first-half clock to put the Chants down 31-0.
 
Over their next two drives, the "Teal Team 6" offense finally got going, as the Chants went eight plays and 38 yards before turning the ball over on downs. Then in the final drive of the first half, McCall led the offense 70 yards on nine plays and capped the drive himself with an eight-yard touchdown run with 0:29 seconds to put the score at 31-7 at the halftime break.
 
Coastal opened the second half the same way it ended the first, as the offense drove 75 yards in just six plays, highlighted by a 16-yard run by Beasley, a 15-yard pass to Jared Brown, a 15-yard rush up the middle by McCall, and finally a pop-pass from McCall to Jared Brown who ran it in from 30-yards out to cap the scoring drive.
 
However, the two-point play was no good, leaving the Chants down 31-13 with 12:08 to go in the third quarter.
 
The Trojans would answer by way of the air attack once again, as Watson threaded the needle across the middle for a 36-yard pass to Johnson to answer the Chants' score and push their lead back out to three scores at 38-31 with 8:42 to play before the fourth quarter.
 
On the next offensive drive, the Chants' McCall fumbled the ball while rolling out on a pass play, which the Trojans defense pounced on the loose ball at the Coastal seven-yard line.
 
The Trojans offense took their time, as they used eight plays and, most importantly, took 3:39 off the game clock to go just seven yards before Billingsley plunged in from three yards out to put the score at 45-13 with 4:49 to go in the third quarter.
 
Refusing to quit, the Coastal offense drove down the field, using 10 plays to go 75 yards, highlighted by three first downs to move down to the Troy 12-yard line. After a one-yard run by McCall and back-to-back incomplete passes, the Chants' found themselves in a fourth-and-nine on the Troy 11-yard line.
 
On the very first play of the fourth quarter, McCall connected with a leaping Sam Pinckney in the end zone, who snuck his foot inside the white line for the touchdown catch. The two-point conversion failed, keeping the Chants down 45-19 with 14:55 remaining in the contest.
 
CCU's defense forced the Trojan offense to punt on their next offensive possession to give the offense back the ball with 10:12 to go in the game.
 
The offense took advantage, as McCall completed 7-of-8 passes, including five straight, on the drive with the last one being a 21-yard strike to Mobley, who willed his way into the end zone through two Troy defensive players to put the score at 45-26 with 6:09 left in regulation.
 
Coastal would get the ball back with 5:01 left on the game clock and looked to score again, driving 84 yards in 10 plays before McCall's pass to Mobley on a third-and-six was intercepted at the Troy four-year line to seal the win for the home-standing Trojans.
 
The Chanticleers (9-3, 6-2 Sun Belt) will find out their postseason bowl destination tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 4.
 
 
Notes

• The loss marked the first time that the Chanticleers have lost back-to-back games since 2019, having been defeated by James Madison (Nov. 26) in the regular-season finale last time out.
• With the road loss, CCU fell to 3-2 on the season in true road games.
• The defeat dropped Coastal to 3-3 all-time versus Troy on the gridiron.
• The 24-point halftime deficit was the largest of the season for the Chanticleers this year.
• With his four total touchdowns in the game, Grayson McCall became CCU's leader in career touchdowns responsible for with 94, surpassing Alex Ross' total of 91.
• With his touchdown pass in the third quarter, Grayson McCall extended his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 23 straight contests.
• With his three touchdown passes, Grayson McCall has thrown two touchdown passes or more in 25 different games.
• Tyson Mobley had a career-high seven catches for 109 yards and a score in the game.
• With is 109 receiving yards, Tyson Mobley recorded his first 100-yard receiving game as a Chant.
• Wideout Sam Pinckney had a career-high 11 receptions for the game.
• Defensive back Lance Boykin had a career-high eight total tackles.
• Long snapper Payton Bunch recorded his first career tackle.

 
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