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Posted: 09/26/2021 11:51:44 AM
Modified: 09/26/2021 11:51:45
CONWAY, SC – The Coastal Carolina defense enjoys watching the Chanticleers offense work, as long as it’s not on game day and out of practice.
Both sides of the ball held their own on Saturday as the No. 17 Chants scored eight of nine possessions for a 53-3 win that sent UMass to their 15th straight loss.
Chants linebacker Silas Kelly said the strength of the defense was directly tied to offense as they clashed in practice.
“These guys are crazy,” Kelly said. “They are really, really good. And seeing them in training also has a lot to do with it. Hopefully when you play against guys like that it makes the matches a little easier. “
Things looked easy for the Chants in this one as they opened 4-0 for a second straight season. The offense racked up 558 yards and the defense shutout until the middle of the fourth quarter.
“Like I said, playing together helps,” Kelly said. “We just want to have a lot of fun there.”
Grayson McCall threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third. Jaivon Heiligh had five catches for 118 yards on a reception, the fifth time in the last six games he has surpassed the milestone of the century. Backup receiver Tyson Mobley a touchdown and another on the ground.
“Everyone on the attack is making plays,” Mobley said. “It’s like that.”
The Chanticleers have won 15 of their last 16 games. They also stepped things up after a below-par offense in a 28-25 win at Buffalo last week.
McCall was at the center of things again. He opened the scoring with a 3-yard rush and added scoring 25 yards to Isaiah Likely and 23 yards to Heiligh. At that point, Coastal Carolina was leading 36-0 and the only drama that remained was whether the defense could claim their first shutout since a 51-0 win over Georgia State last season.
The Minutemen (0-4) broke through with 8:23 left on Cameron Carson’s 35-yard basket. UMass, an independent from Bowl Subdivision, has not won since dominating Akron 37-28 in September 2019.
Coastal Carolina had little trouble igniting their offense, especially with the help of the Minutemen special teams.
A high slam on a UMass punt led to a block as George Georgeopoulos attempted to push him back as he rushed forward. This set up McCall’s score.
His team down 20-0, Georgeopoulos could not control a snap deep in his end zone which went out of bounds for coastal safety.
“The most disappointing thing was that we weren’t able to take advantage of our opportunities,” said UMass coach Walt Bell.
In total, the Chanticleers scored from their five possessions in the first half for a 36-0 lead. They added two touchdowns and a basket the next three times they had the ball. The race ended on the UMass 2 when Coastal Carolina knelt with 25 seconds left and the time ran out.
UMass: The Minutemen have continued their efforts in their journey on FBS and have shown how far they need to go to compete with a Group of Five ranked opponent. UMass couldn’t compete in any phase of the game with costly mistakes in attack, defense and special teams.
Coastal Carolina: The Chanticleers had an average performance last week with a dominant outing before the Sun Belt Conference game next week. McCall and the offense were effective and efficient, even without leading rusher Shermari Jones with a turf toe.
It’s hard to say where Coastal Carolina will end up when the Top 25 is released on Sunday. The Chants did what they were supposed to do, but that doesn’t often lead to big gains in the rankings.
Coastal Carolina has not allowed a TD pass in four games. The Chants entered the seventh home game against the passing 132 yards and are expected to stay pretty much where they are after allowing 130 in the win over UMass.
UMass returns home to play in Toledo on Oct. 2 in the first of a doubles program where the reigning national champion hockey team will host the State of Minnesota in a nightcap.
Coastal Carolina opens the Sun Belt Conference home game against Louisiana-Monroe on October 2.
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