Chanticleer Football Has First Scrimmage

Coastal Carolina had its first game-like setting Saturday afternoon as the football squad held an hour scrimmage at Brooks Stadium.

Follow @goccusports Follow @chaunceyccu Tweet #GOTEAL

Saftey Johnnie Houston finished the day with a tackle and an interception.

Aug. 13, 2011

CONWAY - Coastal Carolina had its first game-like setting Saturday morning as the football squad held an hour scrimmage at Brooks Stadium. The scrimmage, originally scheduled for 10 a.m., was delayed for nearly two hours due to inclement weather passing through the area.

The session, which featured the Chants progressing though multiple yardage situations, started with the team going through its pregame routine on the field before heading to the locker room for final instruction from the coaching staff.

"The weather threw us off a little bit today, but the team didn't let that impair their focus on the task at hand," said head coach David Bennett. "I told the team that today was to be treated like a true gameday and they displayed that amount of focus and energy throughout the scrimmage."

Action got underway with the third team defense forcing the third team offense into a three-and-out from the offense's 30-yard line.

The second series saw the first teams take the field on the offense's 30. Aramis Hillary led the offense on a nine play drive to the defense's 17-yard line before the drive stalled out. Sophomore place-kicker Grant Claytoncame on and split the uprights on his 34-yard attempt to give the teal clad offense three points.

The fourth series started with Jamie Childers taking over at quarterback with the first team offense from the 30-yard line. Two plays after a 23-yard run by Jeremy Height, Childers hit Matt Hazelin stride down the sideline for a 50-yard scoring strike.

The defense stood strong over the next three series not allowing the offense inside their 30-yard line.

The ball was then placed on the 25 with the offense going in for the score to simulate overtime. On the first play of the series Height ripped off a 10-yard run to take the ball to the 15. Sophomore safety Johnnie Houstonwould pick off a pass by Hillary on the ensuing play to win the series for the defensive unit.

The second units then took the field for their attempt to score on the short field. Newcomer Alex Ross directed the offensive inside the five where Aaron Joneswould plow into the end zone for the only rushing touchdown of the day.

The overtime session continued after a brief intermission with the third team defense holding strong to force a three-and-out by the offense. The next series started with a 4-yard run by Marcus Whitener and an 11-yard pass by Childers to Adrian Sullivan to take the offense just inside the 10-yard line. However, a high snap followed by a 2-yard sack pushed the offense back to the 22. Childers then connected to David Duranon a 5-yard pass to set up a 34-yard field goal that was knocked home by Clayton.

The scrimmage was capped by the two minute drill with the offense needing to cover 65 yards. The offense, with Hillary at quarterback, pieced together a nine play drive that finished with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Chris Floyd.

"The scrimmage was a back and forth battle between the offense and defense with neither side of the ball dominating," said Bennett. "We had a couple guys from both sides of the ball make good plays, but if we want to be a great team everyone on the field needs to consistently make great plays, not just a few good plays here and there."

Coastal will scrimmage several more times over the next two weeks as the Chants prepare for their season opener at home against Furman on Sept. 3.

Scrimmage Statistics:
Passing Aramis Hillary: 9-18-111, TD INT; Jamie Childers: 3-3-66, TD; Cody Craig: 1-4-11; Alex Ross: 2-3-25

Rushing Marcus Whitener 5-35; Jeremy Height 3-7; Bucky Kennedy 3-(-3); Aaron Jones 4-8,TD; Zach Silverberg 2-5; Colton Blackburn2-(-7)

Receiving Matt Hazel 1-50, TD; Chris Floyd 1-25, TD; Akeem Wesley 1-10; Marcus Whitener 4-26; David Duran 3-30; Chris Presley 1-24; Zach Silverberg 1-0; Thomas Pauciello 1-25; Colton Blackburn 1-(-9); John Masley 2-11; Adrian Sullivan 1-16; Jeremy Height 1-8; Aaron Jones1-10