Coastal Carolina Wins 2006 Big South Football Championship
No. 12 Coastal Carolina 31, Charleston Southern 17
No. 12 Coastal Carolina scored 28 unanswered points to come back and defeat Charleston Southern, 31-17, to capture the outright 2006 Big South Conference football championship with a perfect 4-0 record. The Chanticleers finish the regular-season at 9-2 and have won or shared a League-record three consecutive Big South championships, while Buccaneers wrap up the sesaon with a 9-2 mark and 2-2 in league play. Charleston Southern jumped out to a 17-3 lead mid-way through the second quarter. On the game’s first play, Bucs QB Collin Drafts scrambled 59 yards to the Coastal Carolina 11-yard-line to set-up Kenny Harper’s 1-yard rush to make it 7-0 Charleston just 2:36 into the ballgame. Coastal Carolina got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when the Chants' punt defense stopped Charleston Southern’s fake punt attempt and rush on 4th-and-5 at the CSU 28, giving CCU 1st-and-10 at the Bucs’ 16-yard line. But the Buccaneers stood to the challenge and limited Coastal to a 28-yard field goal from Josh Hoke.
On the ensuing drive, Drafts led a 12-play, 62-yard scoring drive that was capped by Nick Ellis’ 19-yard field goal to make it 10-3. Coastal took over at its 23-yard line on the next possession, but Tyler Thigpen’s deep pass was intercepted on the first play of the drive, giving the ball back to the Bucs. Drafts again marched the Bucs down the field with a nine-play, 64-yard drive that ended with Robert Adams scoring from a yard out, giving CSU a 17-3 lead. That would be all of Charleston Southern’s scoring, as Coastal cut the deficit to seven points on the next possession. Thigpen converted two third-down conversions with passes, then hit Jerome Simpson for a 57-yard scoring strike down the right sideline for a touchdown. Hoke’s extra point made the score 17-10. Simpson has now caught a touchdown pass in seven consecutive games. After intermission, Thigpen led a seven-play, 75-yard drive in just three minutes to tie the game at 17-17. He opened the drive with a 36-yard rush, then completed a 19-yard pass to Perry Parks. Thigpen rushed twice for five yards, then hit Simpson for a 23-yard gain to give Coastal first-and-goal. On third down, Aundres Perkins punched it in from the one-yard line and Hoke’s PAT made it 17-17. The Chanticleer defense stopped CSU’s next drive, and Coastal went on an eight-play, 54-yard scoring drive to take its first lead of the game at 24-17. Thigpen hit Simpson for a five-yard TD, giving Simpson a Big South record for touchdown receptions in a season with 14, which also ties the overall season TD record.
It remained 24-17 Coastal after three quarters. CSU opened the fourth quarter at its 33-yard line and Harper’s halfback option pass was intercepted by Marrio Norman, who returned it 58-yards to the CSU 20. Thigpen threw his third TD pass of the game to Santini Washington from 20 yards out, and Hoke’s PAT gave CCU the 31-17 lead, which turned out to be the final margin of victory. Coastal put together 444 yards of total offense in the win, including 325 through the air, while Charleston Southern had 364 yards of offense. However in the second half, the CCU defense limited the Bucs to just 111 yards of total offense while picking off three CSU passes. Thigpen finished the game with 325 passing yards and 372 total yards, extending his Big South record to eight 300-yard total offense games. He was 23-of-36 with three touchdowns and two interceptions, along with 47 yards of rushing. Simpson led Coastal with six catches for 107 yards and two scores, while Washington added five catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. Drafts was 22-of-42 passing and broke the League’s single-season completion record, while CSU’s Maurice Price tallied six catches in becoming just the seventh player in NCAA Division I-AA history with 100 receptions in a season, ending the year at 103.
The Chanticleers will await their fate tomorrow when the NCAA announces the 16 teams selected for the 2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship, starting Nov. 25. It will be announced between 1:30-2 p.m. on ESPNews.
Liberty 38, VMI 32
Liberty jumped out to an early 17-point lead and withstood a strong second half effort from homestanding VMI en route to a 38-32 Big South win over the Keydets, Saturday afternoon, at Foster Stadium. The victory, Liberty’s third straight and second against a league opponent, raises the Flames’ record to 6-5 on the season and 2-2 in Big South play. With the season-ending victory, Liberty’s five-win improvement over last year’s 1-10 season ties for the best turnaround in the nation and gives Liberty’s its first winning season since 2003 and 14th in school history. For the second-straight week and the fifth time this year, Liberty put points on the scoreboard on its opening drive of the game as the Flames marched downfield 71 yards on nine plays, taking a 7-0 lead on a two-yard rush up the middle by Rashad Jennings. The sophomore accounted for 46 of those yards on six carries, ending the drive with his 10th rushing touchdown of the year at the 9:59 mark of the first.
The score remained the same until the fourth play of the second quarter as Zac Kolegue connected on a 36-yard field goal with 13:36 left to play before halftime. However, the Flames could have had more as they started the quarter at the four-yard line. But, a false start penalty and an 11-yard sack by Charlie Liesfield and Terrell Allen forced Liberty to settle for just three. VMI got on the scoreboard on the ensuing drive as Barrett Way capped off an 11-play, 66-yard drive that ate up 5:33 on the game clock with a 31-yard field goal at 8:03 in the period. This marked just the fifth time this year that a Liberty opponent has scored on the Flames during the first 30 minutes of the game. Liberty quickly answered back on the following drive as Brock Smith completed a pair of short yardage passes to get to midfield, setting up Wynton Jackson who made a one-handed catch over the middle and faked out the lone defender between him and the end zone as the junior’s 43-yard reception gave Liberty a 17-3 at 6:02. Three plays later, VMI’s Joey Robinson took a pitch on the near side of the field, but E.L. Estes brought him to a stop, forcing him to fumble the ball. Pierre Penn picked up the loose ball and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown, pushing Liberty’s lead to 24-3. The Keydets cut into Liberty’s lead on their final drive before halftime as backup quarterback Kyle Hughes found Willie Bell open just before the goal line and the wide out dove over the line with 8.9 left. Trey Jacobs was able to get through the line of scrimmage on the ensuing point after attempt and block the kick, leaving the score at 24-9 at the break.
VMI continued to close the gap as the Keydets scored on the opening drive of the second half. VMI kept the ball on the ground for eight-straight plays, including a 12-yard scoring burst up the middle by Sean Mizzer, cutting Liberty’s lead to 24-16 at the 11:12 mark. The momentum stayed with the homestanding Keydets as after holding the Flames to a three-and-out series, VMI took over near midfield. 10 plays and 57 yards later, Mizzer found a hole over the right tackle for his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon, a one-yard scamper, to pull VMI within two points, 24-22, at the 4:20 mark of the third. The Keydets went for two and Hughes found Mizzer open in the flat, but Stevie Ray Lloyd tackled the back short of the end zone to allow Liberty to keep a two-point lead. However, the two-point lead quickly turned into a nine-point advantage after Dominic Bolden found a few holes in VMI’s kickoff return coverage and the sophomore returned the kickoff 97 yards, extending Liberty’s lead to 31-22 with 4:02 left to play in the third. The return, Liberty’s third kickoff return for a touchdown this season and the second by Bolden, tied Sam Gado’s school record as he returned one 97 yards against Coastal Carolina for a score on October 23, 2003, in Conway, S.C. VMI continued to keep things interesting as the Keydets pieced together the second-longest opponent drive of the season at 15 plays to slowly move downfield and score on a two-yard run by Derek Smith at 12:25, trimming the lead to 31-29. Liberty finally got a chance to get its offense back on the field and the Flames ate up some clock as they rushed the ball nine-straight plays to move 50 yards, capped off by a 13-yard burst up the middle by Zach Terrell for a touchdown to give Liberty a 38-29 edge.
The Keydets continued to move the ball on the following drive, but Liberty’s defense was able to keep VMI out of the end zone as the Keydets had to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Way, pulling the home team within six, 38-32, with 2:53 left to play. After gaining possession of the ball on a on-side kick, Liberty only moved the ball seven yards, but it was the final four up the middle by Jennings on a fourth-and-one play at the VMI 38-yard line that sealed the victory as the Keydets were out of time outs, allowing Liberty to run the clock out. VMI dominated almost every aspect of the game statistically, except in the point column, as the Keydets out-gained the Flames 381 to 242 yards, had 75 plays to the Flames 44, and finished with a 36:34 to 23:26 time of possession advantage. Jennings led the Flames with 111 yards on 21 carries, his fifth 100-yard game of the year, giving the sophomore 1,020 yards on the season to make him the sixth player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Terrell rushed for 28 yards on six carries and a score, his 13th rushing touchdown of the year, tying him with Glenn Inverso for sixth most rushing touchdowns in a season in school history. VMI finished the game with 324 rushing yards, the most by any Liberty opponent since William & Mary rushed for 335 yards last year on September 24, with Mizzer leading the team with 171 yards and two scores to push the running back over the 1,000 yard mark on the season (1,022 yards). Smith finished the game, completing 8-of-12 passes for 127 yards and score. Hughes led the Keydets as he completed 3-of-6 attempts for 57 yards.
Ryan Greiser and Lloyd led the Flames on the afternoon defensively as the pair of defenders finished the game with 12 tackles each. Manny Rojas finished third on the afternoon with eight stops, allowing him to finish his career with 348 career tackles, the second most in Big South Conference history. Liberty finished the season on a three-game winning streak and the Flames break the school record for fewest points allowed in a season. Liberty allowed just 172 points this season (15.6 points per game), breaking the previous school record of 176 set during the 1979 season when the Flames finished the year with a 9-1-1 record.
Wofford 34, Gardner-Webb 17
Wofford scored 27 points off of Gardner-Webb turnovers Saturday, and controlled the clock in the second half to run past the Bulldogs, 34-17. Gardner-Webb (6-5) turned the football over seven times in the game (four fumbles, three interceptions), and rushed for minus-12 yards – the lowest total for a single game in senior college history. Wofford (7-4) kept its playoff hopes alive with the victory, controlling the clock for 21 minutes in the second half to keep GWU’s passing attack off the field. The Terriers ran for 318 yards, with quarterback Josh Collier leading the way with 21 carries for 117 yards and three scores. Gardner-Webb kept things interesting despite the turnovers until late in the game, and stood tied with the Terriers, 10-10, as time ticked down in the second quarter. With the Bulldogs driving for a go-ahead field goal, Devin Campbell was intercepted by Kevin Adleman at the Wofford 24-yard line, and the linebacker rumbled 76 yards the other way for a score with just 29 seconds to play in the first half – giving the Terriers a 17-10 lead at the break.
A 66-yard drive in the third quarter led to a Collier five-yard run, pushing the Terriers lead to 24-10 with 9:48 left in that frame. Nick Robinson added his second field goal of the day after another GWU turnover, hitting a 32-yarder with 54 seconds left in the third for a 27-10 lead. Gardner-Webb answered, going 72 yards on eight plays to pull within 10. Campbell hit Duvaughn Flagler over the middle for a 37-yard touchdown with 12:54 to play in the fourth quarter, and GWU trailed just 27-17. After forcing the Terriers’ offense out, Gardner-Webb took over in excellent shape at its own 40 with 10:59 to play in the game – pulling most in attendance to the edge of their seats in anticipation of another comeback. Wofford forced two incompletions, then got a fumble after a third-down completion - as Kory Alston coughed it up trying for extra yardage, and Kyle Horne recovered at the Bulldog 35-yard line. GWU dodged a bullet, as Robinson missed a 30-yard field goal when the drive stalled, but Campbell was intercepted again on second down by Buck Brown, and the Terriers took over at the Bulldog 49-yard line to thwart another drive. Wofford didn’t stall this time, as Collier carried three times for 26 yards to cap the drive with a two-yard scoring burst. The drive covered just 49 yards, but chewed up 4:02 on the clock, leaving GWU just 2:00 to try and mount a comeback.
Backup quarterback Stan Doolittle was picked off by Seth Goldwire on third down, however, effectively ending the game. The Terriers got another first down and ran out the clock for their fifth win in a row. Gardner-Webb’s defense, which had been torched for 638 total yards last week, was effective early against Wofford, limiting the Terriers to just 129 yards in the first half. The second half running game got rolling, and Wofford wound up with 338 total yards (20 yards passing) in the game. Gardner-Webb totaled 315 total yards, but were sacked four times to hamper any rushing attack – as GWU carried 16 times for minus-12 yards. Campbell was 20-of-34 for 265 yards and two scores (two interceptions), while Doolittle came off the bench to pass for 62 yards on 9-of-11 attempts. Austin Gaines caught a career-high nine passes for 122 yards, and Flagler ended his junior season with seven catches for 85 yards and a score. Andre Manning had a 57-yard touchdown catch from Campbell in the first quarter, and finished with two grabs for 63 yards. In addition to Collier’s 100-yard day, Kevious Johnson had 92 yards on 15 carries to assist Wofford’s ground attack. Gardner-Webb got 13 tackles (six solo) from Mario Brown, as the sophomore finished the year with 109 hits. Mike Pavelko (12 tackles), Daniel Cooke (10 tackles) and Brian Johnston (10 tackles, sack, 2 TFL) also hit double figures for the Bulldogs.
Wofford got a career-best 11 tackles (10 solo) from cornerback Filmon Dawkins, who also forced a fumble and broke up a pass. Bryan Blair and Kyle Horne each had two sacks for the Terriers. Both team’s regular seasons’ are complete.