Coastal Carolina-Delaware State breakdown‎

Series | Tied 1-1
Weather | 84 degrees with clear skies

Injuries | Coastal: LB E.J. Brown (knee) and RB Travis Small (thigh) are questionable; DE Jamel Davis (thumb), LB Andrae Jacobs (head), S Marcus Lott (thigh) are probable; OL Steve Simpson (knee) is doubtful; DE Quinton Davis (ankle) and David Hall (knee) are out. Delaware State: n/a.
Key number: 1
Delaware State returned only one full-time defensive starter from a team that finished 4-7 last season.
Key matchup

Delaware State's Larrone Moore vs. Coastal Carolina's Josh Norman (and friends). Moore is the Hornets' top offensive weapon, averaging 97 receiving yards per game. Look for Delaware State to try to get Moore heavily involved. Coastal would be wise to have Norman (eight interceptions last season) shadow him.

Less size allows growth for DSU's Green

DOVER, DE -- Kevin Green was ranked by one scouting service among the top 40 linebackers in the country when he signed to play football at Purdue in 2007. But even though he grew up in Chicago, something just didn't feel quite right for the 6-foot-2, 245-pound linebacker in West Lafayette, Ind.

"I wasn't really getting treated right there," Green said. "I was talking to a couple of the players and they said, 'We'd like you to stay here, but you've got to do what you've got to do for yourself.' "

So, rather than playing in front of 62,500 at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium, Green says he is just as happy playing before 4,000 fans at DSU's Alumni Stadium.

READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.

Coastal Carolina 28. North Carolina A&T 7

Quarterbacks falter in Aggies' loss to Coastal

CONWAY, S.C. -- The way N.C. A&T's offense failed to move the ball in the first half, a two-touchdown halftime deficit appeared insurmountable. Outside of one second-half series, the Aggies did little but confirm that in the third and fourth quarters. A&T lost 28-7 to Coastal Carolina on the road Saturday night, leaving coach Alonzo Lee's team still searching for answers on offense. "We have to execute better with our quarterbacks," Lee said. "We've been back and forth; we've shown spurts of doing really good things. And then, boom, we fall on our face. &ellipses; We're going to simplify a little bit more. We simplified some this week. We'll simplify a little more next week until we can get the nuts and the bolts."

Even with a scaled-back playbook, A&T (2-2 overall) quarterbacks Carlton Fears and Lewis Kindle struggled, overthrowing and undershooting receivers throughout the night. Fears -- who finished the game 7-of-22 with two interceptions -- didn't help his cause of holding on to the quarterback job. His first pick, a second-quarter job by Coastal Carolina defensive back and North Carolina transfer Tavorris Jolly, looked all too easy for the CCU player, who barely moved to cause the turnover. Kindle was inserted on the Aggies' next possession. But after three running plays, he drilled CCU (2-2) linebacker E.J. Brown in the chest with his first pass attempt. The Chanticleers squeezed a field goal out of that turnover.

Box Score Photo Gallery

Chants pound out win

CONWAY -- Teams typically spend their bye weeks focusing on their weaknesses. Coastal Carolina began working on its ailments a week early. Despite a passing game that may have taken a step back, the Chanticleers established the running game and began to find an offensive rhythm in the second half of a 28-7 win over North Carolina A&T Saturday. The Chants rushed for 304 yards, including a combined 239 yards from tailbacks Eric O'Neal and Tommy Fraser, and their defense was solid for a fourth consecutive week, sending Coastal to its off week at 2-2.

Quarter-by-quarter breakdown

First quarter
Key moment Coastal Carolina was gashing North Carolina A&T's defense for big gains on its second drive. Tailback Eric O'Neal and quarterback Jamie Childers had several long runs, helping the Chanticleers drive to A&T's 23 before Childers' first-down pass was picked off in the end zone by Quay Long. The man A&T punter Alex Grubb had three first-quarter punts and pinned all of them inside Coastal's 20-yard line: one at the 8, one at the 15 and one at the 3.

Attendance: 7, 367 (Sold-Out) at Brooke Stadium, Conway, S.C.

READ MORE, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

CCU notebook: Looking back at N.C. A.&T Aggies

Excerpt:

GREENSBORO, N.C. The Coastal defense was scheduled to face yet another talented runner in A&T's Michael Ferguson, who rushed for 1,169 yards last season and entered averaging 102 rushing yards per game this season. Ferguson was scratched Saturday with a high ankle sprain. He was listed as questionable on the Aggies' injury report. Dione McNair replaced Ferguson in the lineup.

Welcome to the machine. The North Carolina A&T marching band, "The Marching Machine," is a sight to behold. The band began play in 1918 with 50 members and now contains over 200 pieces, easily out-numbering both football rosters on Saturday. The Marching Machine typically plays throughout the game, offering the Aggies a distinct home-field advantage.

CCU's party. With the win, Coastal improves to 6-1 all time against MEAC schools. Coastal's lone loss to a MEAC opponent came last season when the Chants lost their opener to eventual MEAC champion Delaware State.

READ ENTIRE STORY, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

Attendance: Coastal Carolina defeat the Aggies 20-7 in the rain. A&T had only 2,062 (9.4%) fans at Aggie Stadium, Greensboro, N.C. (Capacity: 22,000).

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Coastal Carolina Tops NC A&T 20-7
Disappointed Aggies fall to Coastal Carolina
Autopsy: A&T Player Died of Heat Stroke

N.C. A&T eager for some home cookin'

COASTAL CAROLINA AT N.C. A&T
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Aggie Stadium, Greensboro
Records: Coastal Carolina 2-2; N.C. A&T 2-2

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The N.C. A&T Aggies play host to Coastal Carolina on Saturday, which is nice for reasons beyond the totally obvious: It means they won't be going to Tidewater Virginia for the third straight week. An odd scheduling quirk sent A&T to Norfolk State on Sept. 13 and Hampton last week, and the Aggies made the five-hour drive back home with a pair of losses. It is the mirror image of scheduling in 2005, when the teams came to Aggie Stadium.

"It's like following your own footsteps back up there," coach Lee Fobbs said this week. "Hopefully, in the future, we can correct that. Is that the reason we lost? Probably not. At least (change) would give us some peace of mind." So how does this happen? Imperfections are almost certain when the process is complicated by two otherwise welcomed trends, expansion and television.

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

Coastal rallies over WSSU for first victory

Coastal rallies for first victory

By Travis Sawchik, The Sun News

The journey for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleer on Saturday, with all its young hands on deck, again had its rough patches.

Seven CCU fumbles were akin to cut rigging and there was a snapped mast in the form of two long touchdown runs surrendered. But unlike the Dover experience, CCU hung on and sailed into port with a 28-21 win to even its record on the season.

"Every win is going to be gutty," CCU coach David Bennett said of his young team. "We did improve."

Starting quarterback Will Richardson was among those who improved.

After missing his first seven passes last week - though several catchable balls were dropped - the CCU starting quarterback completed 9 of 12 passes in the first half for 145 yards and a touchdown.

Richardson finished 16 of 24 for 301 yards (his first 300-yard game), with a touchdown pass and a strike to Jerome Simpson that setup up the game-winning touchdown. Richardson said of the 50-yard strike that it was "probably" the best pass he had thrown.

His sharp play rolled over to a better performance on third downs.

At Delaware State, CCU converted just 1-of-16. On Saturday, the Chants were 7-of-15, including a Richardson to Trent Usher 36-yard connection on third-and-30 to set up the game's first score, a 24-yard field goal from freshman kicker Justin Durham.

"I never [lacked] confidence," Richardson said. "The [two late touchdown drives at Dover] carried over.

"You can't replicate game speed but I've been in this offense so long I've practiced against the first team defense. I know where to look."

Among the others who improved were freshman Eric O'Neal, who gained 132 of the Chants' 483 yards.

And of course Simpson was, well, Simpson. He had three catches for 90 yards and come up one yard short of lengthening his touchdown streak to 10 games. That particular catch setup Tommy Fraser's go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Still, the Chants are not without their flaws.

Bennett had spoken at length this week about how his defense preformed well at Dover, if you takeaway a 53-yard touchdown pass, a 63-yard touchdown run and a long reverse gain. And again the defense played well in spurts but fell victim to big plays as the third quarter turned in the Monte Purvis Show.

In the quarter, the Rams' quarterback rushed for 66- and 80-yard touchdown runs to turn a five-point Winston Salem State halftime deficit into a 21-18 lead with 1:24 to play in the third.

"Missed assignments," Bennett said of the plays.

The miscues momentarily pulled CCU heads down on the sideline as the Chants trailed for the first time in the game and were staring at an 0-2 start.

CCU had built a lead early thanks to Justin Durham's two field goals. Richardson added to it by finishing off a 70-yard second-quarter drive with a 10-yard touchdown strike to Jamar Anderson to give Coastal a 12-0 lead.

Winston Salem-State answered with its own touchdown drive, a Jed Bines' 43-yard run shortly followed by a one-yard touchdown dive by Purvis that cut CCU's lead to 12-7.

The Rams continued to threaten, but a second fumble lost cost them as a few shifty runs from O'Neal led to a Fraser touchdown from one-yard out to give Coastal a 18-7 lead.