CONWAY, S.C. - A Coastal Carolina fake punt in the third quarter shifted the momentum in the favor of the Chanticleers, leading to 14-unanswered points as the Georgia Southern football team concluded its 2017 season with a 28-17 loss Saturday at Brooks Stadium.
THE STORY
Coastal wasted little time in getting the scoring going as Malcolm Williams hauled in a 67 yard touchdown from Kilton Anderson on the second play of the game. After the defense held on a short field, the Eagle offense drove down into CCU territory before a drive stalled.
Tyler Bass calmly drilled a 48-yard field goal to make it 7-3, his ninth field goal of 40 yards or longer this season.
The Chants moved right back down the field on the ensuing drive and Osharmar Abercrombie punched it in on a third and goal from the 1-yard line on the first play of the second quarter to make it 14-3. The Chants had a chance to break it open midway through the second quarter, but a big stand on fourth down deep in GS territory gave the Eagles the ball back. They proceeded to march 74 yards on 16 plays, eating up over six minutes of clock, an cut it to 14-10 when
L.A. Ramsby rammed his way in from the 1-yard line.
The Eagles took the momentum gained at the end of the first half and matriculated down the field after a big kickoff return from
Myles Campbell, scoring on third and goal when
Shai Werts found H-Back
Ellis Richardson on a throwback across the field to make it 17-14 for the Eagles' first lead of the game. The drive was highlighted by a 30-yard pass from running back
Monteo Garrett to Werts down the left side.
After converting a fake punt on fourth down, the Chants struck again on a 37-yard scoring pass to Williams deep pass down the middle to reclaim the lead at 21-17. With the injuries mounting on the defensive side, the Chants gashed the Eagles on the next drive as Abercrombie rushed for 14, 12 and 41 yards before ramming it up the middle for a 1-yard score to make it 28-17.
Anderson passed for 180 yards to lead the CCU air attack, hooking up with Williams four times for 120 yards and a pair of scores while Abercrombie ran for 133 yards and two scores.
GS was led on the ground by Werts (28 carries, 108 yards) as the Eagles were able to muster just 284 yards of total offense.
The Eagles wrap up their 2017 season with a 2-10 overall record, 2-6 in the Sun Belt. The 2018 season begins on Sept. 1 with a home non-conference game against Presbyterian College. The full schedule will be released by the conference in early March.
