Coastal Carolina University football clutched their win against Appalachian State University (App State) 27-24 in Mountaineer territory for the first time Oct. 10.
Coming into this year, CCU has faced off against App state nine times. The Chants lost the first six games of the matchup in 2005, 2006, 2012 and 2017-2019. Five of these six contests were played in Boone, North Carolina, home of the Mountaineers.
The Chanticleers came away with their first program win against App State at home during redshirt senior quarterback Grayson McCall’s first year at the helm in 2020.
The Chants went on to take the 2022 game at home, 35-28.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jameson Tucker, the 51-yard touchdown scorer, finished with three catches for 100 yards to go along with the score, trailing senior wide receiver Sam Pinckney who caught seven passes for 102 yards.
“Man, it was amazing to get our first win in Boone. The whole night was electric and we had energy the entire game,” Tucker said.
When Tucker scored, he said he was taunted by Mountaineer fans.
“I saw a beer can thrown at me from the student section and I had to go rub it in a little,” he said.
The story of the game, though, was McCall’s performance.
“I saw the most confident player on the field in Grayson. He was able to go out and throw a career high because he was locked in and bringing the entire team along with him,” Tucker said.
After the game, McCall boasted about his fellow teammates and the support system at CCU.
“I love this team,” McCall said after the game. “I love the coaching staff and I love being around the guys. Truly a blessing, me as a senior, to come out here and get this win. It means more than you know. I’m really proud of the guys.”
McCall marched his Chants into Boone sporting a program record of 0-6 at the University with plans of getting in the win column from that perspective.
Recently, the Chanticleers jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead thanks to a four-minute drive off the opening kickoff, capped by a rushing touchdown from redshirt junior running back Braydon Bennett.
They then forced a three-and-out and almost immediately scored again, with Tucker catching a 51-yard touchdown from McCall. This was Tucker’s second touchdown of his collegiate career.
The Chants and Mountaineers traded punts and field goals before App State went on a four-minute, 75-yard touchdown drive to make the score 17-10 Coastal, going into halftime. At the half, McCall had close to 200 yards and a touchdown.
Coming out of halftime, the Mountaineers started to drive but ultimately failed on a fourth down attempt, turning the ball back over to Coastal. The Chants, however, turned the ball right back over on downs, and App State took this possession to the house to tie the score 17-17.
McCall and his troops answered on their next possession, driving 77 yards and scoring on a 32-yard touchdown pass from McCall to redshirt junior tight end Kendall Karr.
After trading punts, App State drove 80 yards to score and knot the score once again at 24-24.
The Chants had the ball with four minutes and 58 seconds left, with the score still tied. The ball was on the App State 14-yard line.
They could have elected to kick a field goal and take the lead, but instead, head coach Tim Beck elected to go for it to try to take more time off the clock and score a touchdown, but this did not happen.
Instead, App State snapped the ball and the game seemed to be doomed for the Chants as redshirt junior wide receiver Milan Tucker ran free deep into Coastal territory. Redshirt senior cornerback Keonte Lusk, however, had other plans.
Never giving up on the play, Lusk chased Tucker down and punched the ball out, forcing a fumble, which was miraculously recovered just inches from the sideline by redshirt senior cornerback Abraham Temoney III. This play had gone for 69 yards all the way to Coastal’s 15-yard line. If they had maintained possession, they would have been able to run the clock down and choose to either kick the game-winning field goal or even punch in a touchdown and win without much difficulty.
The Chants now had just over four minutes to drive into field goal range and kick the game-winner. With over 60 yards on the ground from ball carriers McCall, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jared Brown, redshirt junior running back CJ Beasley and Braydon Bennett, the Chants were able to get all the way inside the ten.
Ten, McCall’s moniker, watched from the sideline with his brothers in white as redshirt sophomore kicker Kade Hensley nailed a 24-yard game-winning field goal. McCall finished the game completing 19 of 28 passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns, bouncing back in a major way after previous offensive struggles against Georgia Southern University.
These 373 yards were the most yards McCall had passed for in his career and this record came in Boone, granting the Chants their first win in the mountains over App State. McCall was awarded Sun Belt Conference’s Player of the Week for his dazzling performance.
Head coach Tim Beck was pleased with his team’s bounce-back win in Boone as well as his quarterback’s big night.
“Today was a big game and I’m really proud of [McCall]. He’s under a lot of fire, he’s under a lot of pressure, so for him to be able to come out here and put all that aside and just play and play for his teammates, it was awesome,” Beck said.
Not only was he proud of McCall, but he also commended the entire team for their performance against App State.
“I’m so proud of our players for the resiliency, for the belief,” he said. “It’s hard to put into words how I feel, these guys, I love those guys and I’ll tell you what, they laid it on the line tonight.”
