Sept. 8, 2010

Game 2
Coastal Carolina at Towson
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010 - 7:00 pm
Johnny Unitas Stadium

Coastal Carolina Football Notes (vs Towson) in PDF Format

Series Information
This is the third meeting between Coastal Carolina and Towson with each team getting a win in the two previous meetings. Coastal Carolina scored 31 unanswered to hand Towson a 31-3 loss in Conway in 2008. The Chants, led by Eric O'Neal's 84 yards, rolled up 302 rushing yards -- compared to just 44 for Towson -- and finished with 459 total yards versus just 186 by Towson. In week three of the 2009 season, the Chanticleers traveled to Towson and suffered a 21-17 loss to the Tigers. Coastal looked to score on its first possession with an 83-yard draw play by quarterback Jamie Childers. However the play was nullified on a holding penalty and the Chants never recovered. The Chants drew to within four, 21-17, with 10:29 left in the game thanks to a six-yard Zach MacDowall to Brandon Whitley TD. Coastal made two final pushes with one drive ending in an interception and the last ending with a fourth-down incompletion in the endzone. This will be Coastal's fifth meeting with a Colonial Athletic Association member and a sixth meeting coming up in early October with a trip to Richmond. Coastal split a pair of meetings with James Madison, as well as splitting with Towson in the four previous encounters.

Chants vs. Towson
In his first season and fourth game with Coastal Carolina quarterback Zach MacDowall was named Big South Offensive Player of the Week for his play in the 31-3 win over Towson in 2008. MacDowall rolled up 197 yards of total offense (40 rushing and 157 passing), throwing for two scores and running for one.
Also in the win in 2008:
• Eric O'Neal rushed nine times for 84 yards (9.3 per carry) with a TD.
• Brandon Whitley caught three passes for 91 yards and a TD.

Despite the loss at Towson last season, several Chants still performed well, including:
• David Duran posted career highs in receptions (6) and yards (88) with a TD.
• MacDowall was 11-21 with a pick, a TD and 185 yards passing.
• Jamie Childers was 9-13 with a pick, a TD and 110 yards passing.
• Whitley caught four passes for 85 yards and a score.
• Desmond Steward tallied 16 tackles, Dominique Davenport had 8 with a pick and Josh Norman had five tackles and two interceptions.

O-Line Provides Protection
After allowing 25 sacks in 2009, Coastal Carolina's offensive line did not allow the highly-touted Virginia Tech defense to record a sack in the season opener. Coastal Carolina was one of 25 FCS schools that did not allow a sack in the season opener. Of those 25, three played FBS schools -- two of which were Coastal and Towson.

Taken Aback
Despite facing Heisman Trophy candidate and an explosive offense, Coastal Carolina's defense dropped the Mountaineers behind the line of scrimmage nine times for minus 27 yards. Leading the way were sophomores Andrae Jacobs and Chris Thomas, each with 1.5. Coastal's nine TFLs at West Virginia tied for 12th-best in the FCS after week one. However, that stat should not surprise the Chanticleer faithful as Coastal has ranked first or second in the Big South in tackles for loss in each of the last five seasons.

West Virginia Highlights
Coastal Carolina only trailed 10-0 to 24th-ranked West Virginia at halftime. The score could have easily been 10-7 or 10-3 at the break. After a Dominique Davenport interception late in the second quarter gave the Chanticleer offense the ball on the WVU 21, Coastal looked primed to score. However, on CCU's first play after the pick, Zach MacDowall was picked off in the endzone. At the start of the third and after fumbling the kickoff to start the second half, Coastal look to keep the pressure on with an apparent strip by Chris Thomas. The play was ruled dead and, on the next play, West Virginia scored to go up 17-0. Over the next two drives, Coastal missed two field goals, which could have made the game interesting. The Mountaineers scored to close the third and open to fourth to put the game away.
Here are some bright spots/highlights (beyond the previous TFL note):
• While WVU was 9-of-17 on third downs, Coastal's defense did force seven three-and-outs. On the flip side, Coastal's offense was just 2-of-14 on third down, but only had four three-and-outs. For the second half, Coastal held a 16-56 to 12:57 time of possession advantage.
• Coastal Carolina was credited with three turnovers, recovering two fumbles and getting an interception. The Chants two fumbles recovered ranked sixth-best in the FCS after week one, while their three turnovers gained tied for 10th nationally.

Duran and Jacobs Shine
Junior tight end David Duran and sophomore linebacker Andrae Jacobs stood out for Coastal at West Virginia. Duran caught four passes for 64 yards. Of his four receptions, three went for first downs and three went for at least 17 yards. The one catch that was not a first down was a 19-yard reception on third-and-24. On the next play, fourth-and-five, Duran caught a five-yard pass for the first down. Duran also had a 23-yard catch and a 17 yarder. Jacobs --who had 25 tackles all of 2009 -- led all players with 11 stops, including 1.5 for losses. First, he teamed with Marcus Lott to drop Noel Devine for a two-yard loss. In the second and facing second-and-goal from the three, he flew solo in stopping Devine for a four-yard loss, which would eventually force a WVU field goal. Jacobs' tackles total ranked 26th-best in the FCS and second-best in the Big South.

Norman Quietly Has Big Game
All-American Josh Norman quietly had a big game, especially considering West Virginia did not throw to Norman's receiver once. Despite that, the junior corner had six tackles, including a three-yard TFL near the goal line, with a pass break up and a forced fumble. The pass breakup came when a receiver ran a crossing route in Norman's direction. The forced fumble came as West Virginia was about to score with under three minutes to play in the second quarter. Tavon Austin broke a big run on a short completion, but Norman made the hit at the two, forcing a fumble and Coastal would gain possession as the ball went out of bounds in the endzone.