CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers dropped their first contest of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling 43-24 to Virginia.
Hosting an ACC program for the first time ever, Coastal set a Brooks Stadium record with 22,104 fans in attendance.
Virginia took an early lead after Coastal fumbled away the opening kickoff, scoring on the third snap to go up 7-0. CCU used a 30-yard field goal from
Kade Hensley on its first possession to cut the deficit to 7-3 at the 10:11 mark.
The Cavaliers turned a Chanticleer interception into another touchdown and built a 17-3 lead before
Jameson Tucker hauled in a 29-yard pass from
Ethan Vasko on 4
th-and-2 to make the score 17-10 with 7:26 left in the first half. However, UVA scored the final 10 points of the second quarter to take a 27-10 lead into the locker room.
Coastal managed a three-yard touchdown run from Vasko in the third quarter and a 15-yard touchdown pass from
Noah Kim to
Bryson Graves, but Virginia pulled away with two touchdowns and a field goal for a final margin of 43-24.
Vasko finished with 222 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 10-of-21 passing, while also leading the rushing attack with 24 yards on eight carries. Kim was 6-of-12 through the air for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Graves led the receiving corps with four catches for 40 yards and a score.
Tray Taylor caught three passes for 70 yards and added a 22-yard rush.
Shane Bruce tied his career high with 11 tackles, while
Wyatt Gedeon and
Emmanuel Johnson each notched seven tackles with three solo stops apiece.
Coastal opens Sun Belt Conference play on Oct. 5 against Old Dominion at Brooks Stadium.
For complete coverage of CCU football, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalFootball (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @goccusports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.
