Coastal Carolina Gets Easy Win Over William & Mary

© Dave Hyatt / Special to the Gadsden Times/USA TODAY NETWORK

Coastal Carolina (2-0) got a strong win over FCS opponent William & Mary (1-1) on Sept. 7 at Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C., beating them 40-21.

Game Summary

The Chanticleers opened up the scoring early in the first quarter with a 4-yard touchdown carry by running back Braydon Bennett following a 39-yard pass from Ethan Vasko to wide receiver Tray Taylor. After the Tribe looked like they put the Chants in a tough position to start their next drive, pinning Coastal on their own 1-yard line with a perfectly placed punt, Coastal proved that field position didn't matter with Vasko passing it to wide receiver Malick Meiga in the middle of the field for a 26-yard gain to give the Chants space on the opening play of the drive. Coastal would cap off the nine-play, 99-yard drive with a handoff to Christian Washington for a 1-yard rush for the touchdown, extending the lead to 14-0.

The second quarter would start the same way the first did, with Coastal capping off a nine-play, 81-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by Washington. William & Mary would get on the board on the following drive with a 62-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Darius Wilson to wide receiver DreSean Kendrick, Kendrick's first touchdown of the season. While they could not score another touchdown, Coastal would answer on their next drive with a 43-yard field goal by Kade Hensley to extend the lead to 24-7. A blocked punt with less than a minute to go in the half would give the Chanticleers the ball on William & Mary's 23-yard line. They could only get a field goal out of the prime field position, pushing their lead to 27-7 at the half.

The second half would start with another field goal by Hensley, this time a 49-yarder. This is the first game Hensley has gone 3-for-3 on field goal attempts in his career. The Chanticleer defense would get points of their own on the Tribe's next drive, with defensive back Matthew McDoom recovering a fumble and taking it 24 yards to the house to extend the lead to 37-7. The Tribe would answer with a 19-yard touchdown run by Wilson, his first rushing touchdown of the season.

With the game all but in hand to start the fourth quarter both teams slowed down, with the Chanticleers extending their lead with another field goal by Hensley, this time from 35 yards out. William & Mary put another touchdown on the board with six seconds left in the game, but it would be too little too late for the Tribe.

Turning Point

Getting backed up to their own 1-yard line after a perfectly placed punt by Ruben Anderson, the Chants proved to William & Mary that they could move the ball from anywhere on the field, with Vasko throwing a perfectly placed ball to Meiga on a post route, resulting in a 26-yard gain to give the Chants some breathing room. This play showed that Coastal could move the ball on the Tribe from anywhere on the field and put momentum squarely on the side of the Chanticleers early on. While the passing game was not the main focal point of the offense this week, this play by Vasko showed a maturity in the sophomore that coach Tim Beck hopes will help the Chants heading toward conference play.

"To see those guys make those plays, be able to get us off the goal line, move down the length of the field and score, that was impressive," said Beck after the win.

Player of the Game

Rushing for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns, Washington tore up the William & Mary defense. His 2 touchdowns both came in the first half and on goal-to-go situations. The first was a 1-yard touchdown run, with his second a 4-yard carry.