BOILING SPRINGS – Alex Ross passed for a career-high 351
yards and two touchdowns to lead #2/3 Coastal Carolina to a 38-14 win at
Gardner-Webb Saturday afternoon.
The Chanticleers (9-0, 3-0 Big South) won on the road for a
Big South-record sixth time in a row and snapped a five-game win streak in
Spangler Stadium for Gardner-Webb (4-5, 0-2 Big South).
Ross’ second touchdown pass, a 22-yarder to Tyrell Blanks
with 10:32 left in the game, put Coastal Carolina up 35-14 after a scoreless
third quarter for both teams. Ross stepped out of a sack in the backfield
before hitting a wide-open Blanks in the end zone. Blanks had five catches for
105 yards and two scores.
Coastal Carolina jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the game’s
first five minutes, driving 68 yards on 12 plays (4:28) for the initial score –
a 20-yard field goal by Alex Catron after the march stalled inside the five.
Pernell Williams took the air out of the home crowd on
Gardner-Webb’s first offensive play, picking off a batted ball and racing 23
yards for a defensive score. Catron’s PAT gave the Chants a 10-0 edge with
10:15 on the clock.
Ross drove Coastal 80 yards on a scoring drive that covered
that resulted in a 22-yard scoring pass to Blanks with 14:14 to play before
halftime – and a two-point conversion made the score 18-0.
Gardner-Webb chipped away at the lead on its next drive,
getting a big play from Lucas Beatty to tight end Seth Cranfill – a 75-yard
touchdown pass and run that was the longest of Cranfill’s career. The
Sherrill’s Ford, N.C., native caught the pass and broke two tackles before
outlasting the rest of Coastal’s secondary for the final 35 yards on a dive
into the end zone.
Another Catron field goal pushed Coastal Carolina’s lead to
21-7 with 5:52 to play before halftime, but Gardner-Webb had another scoring
drive in store. Beatty directed the Runnin’ Bulldogs 75 yards in six plays,
hitting Kenny Cook on a screen pass for 27 yards down to the Coastal 34-yard
line and finding Cook on the following play for a 26-yard gain inside the 10.
Cook made a spectacular catch on the play, getting a foot just inbounds on the
far sideline.
Beatty picked up three yards on a quarterback draw, and
freshman Kerry Bernard found pay dirt on a draw play of his own to cover the
five yards. The extra point made the score 21-14 with just 3:12 left before
halftime.
Coastal Carolina turned momentum just before the break.
Ross hit consecutive 17-yard passes after the Chanticleers
found themselves backed up inside the 15-yard line, connecting with De’Angelo
Henderson on a swing pass and finding Thomas Pauciello on a pitch-and-catch
over the middle for some breathing room.
A 14-yard pass to Chris Jones got the ball down to the
Gardner-Webb 38-yard line and – after a short run by Osharmar Abercrombie and
another eight-yard pass to Pauciello – the Chanticleers found themselves within
a yard of moving the sticks on fourth down.
Gardner-Webb’s initial surge defensively caught Henderson
for no gain, but the 5-foot-8, 205-pounder bounced out of a scrum at the line
of scrimmage and was able to race 29 yards for a touchdown and a 28-14 lead
with just 56.2 seconds before the half.
Beatty made a charge back downfield with his offense,
hitting Deonte’ Swinton on a 29-yarder to the Coastal 30 with less than 10
seconds left – but his pass into the end zone at the halftime horn was just
over the end line and out of bounds.
Gardner-Webb buckled down defensively in third quarter, not
letting the Chanticleers past their own 45-yard line and forcing three punts on
three drives. Coastal Carolina matched that effort, however, letting GWU past
its own 40 twice, but not into Coastal Carolina territory.
The two teams combined for seven punts in the third quarter
alone. The field position battle edged in Coastal Carolina’s favor as the
fourth quarter started, with Ross directing the Chanticleers 77 yards in 12
plays before finding Blanks on his second scoring toss of the day to put his
team up three scores.
Catron banged in a school-record, 53-yard field goal with
5:54 left for the final margin.
Gardner-Webb drove down to the Coastal Carolina 19-yard line
on its next drive, but reserve quarterback Tyrell Maxwell was picked off in the
end zone with 1:33 left to play. The Chanticleers ran out the clock to finish
off the win.
Coastal Carolina finished with 488 yards of total offense,
but had just 146 yards after halftime.
In addition to the big days from Ross and Blanks, Bruce Mapp
tied his own school record with 10 catches, going for 107 yards. Henderson ran
for 86 yards on 19 carries and caught seven passes for 65 yards.
Williams had five tackles, his interception return for a
score and two pass break ups in a strong day in the secondary. The
Chanticleers’ defense recorded five sacks in the game, with all five coming in
the final 30 minutes.
Gardner-Webb had 327 yards of total offense, but managed
only 61 yards rushing on 25 attempts with leading rusher Juanne Blount
sidelined for the third time this season with an injury.
Beatty passed for 266 yards and a touchdown for
Gardner-Webb, hitting Cook eight times for 100 yards and Cranfill three times
for 86 yards. Cranfill became the all-time tight end receptions leader in
school history, passing former All-Big South tight end Jason Bright.
Beatty moved into third place in school history in passing
yardage, surpassing Hall of Famer Chip Stuart with his effort through the air.
Beatty now has passed for 7,563 yards and 39 touchdowns in his third season as
the full-time starter. Cook moved into fifth in career catches at Gardner-Webb,
and now has caught 170 passes for 2,301 yards and 20 touchdowns in just 30
games played.
Linebacker Aaron Cook had a career-high 14 total stops (nine
solo), 2.0 tackles for loss and two pass break ups for Gardner-Webb
defensively. Freshman end Laron Glenn (Charlotte, N.C. / West Mecklenburg HS)
made his first career start Saturday and finished with seven total tackles
(five solo), a tackle for loss and three quarterback pressures.
Gardner-Webb faces another difficult test next week,
traveling to Charleston Southern on November 8 for an 11:00 am kickoff (ESPN3).
The Buccaneers (6-3, 1-2 Big South) blanked one of the league’s top offensive
teams Saturday, beating Monmouth 27-0 in New Jersey.
Story courtesy of Gardner-Webb Sports Information
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