Coastal Carolina shut out Charleston Southern 13-0, their first home shutout in a decade, to even their record at 1-1 on the season.
Although they pulled out a win, it was not always promising.
Quarterback M.J. Morris struggled in the air, throwing three interceptions that stalled Coastal’s drives and gave Charleston Southern brief life.
Turnovers kept the game close until the second half, when the Chants leaned on their run game and defense to take control.
Freshman running back Dominic Knickly stole the spotlight, finishing with 10 carries for 96 yards, averaging 9.6 yards per touch. His explosive third-quarter run flipped the field and set up Coastal in scoring position.
“He’s the fastest running back in our stable as a freshman,” Head Coach Tim Beck said. “Obviously all the running backs played well, but it is great when your true freshman goes out there and plays like that. The o-line did a great job on their blocking assignments and Knickly did the rest at the second level.”
With Morris’ struggles, sophomore quarterback Tad Hudson entered in the fourth quarter and steadied the offense, capping a drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Kicker Kian Afrookhteh added a pair of field goals to put the game out of reach.
On the other side of the ball, Coastal’s defense was relentless.
Linebacker Shane Bruce delivered a bone-crunching hit in the second quarter and later grabbed an interception just before halftime.
“The secondary did a great job on every phase of defense,” Beck said.
Defensive back Myles Woods and cornerback Lionell Walker both came up with key breakups to stall Charleston Southern drives.
“I feel like last week against UVA, other than a couple plays, the secondary did pretty good as well. Everything just needs to mesh together now. The d-line played a great game this week and it made the secondary look even better,” said Beck.
Charleston Southern’s offense never found rhythm, managing just 55 passing yards on 10-of-22 attempts.
Despite the turnovers, Coastal’s ground attack and suffocating defense carried the night.
The Chanticleers (1-1) now turn their attention to next Saturday, when they host East Carolina University at Brooks Stadium.
