Chanticleers start strong, top William & Mary 40-21 in home opener

CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers rolled up 277 yards rushing, led by 100 yards and two touchdowns from Christian Washington as CCU defeated William & Mary 40-21 on Saturday night in front of 19,294 fans at Brooks Stadium.

Playing in front of the fourth-largest crowd in program history, Coastal scored 30 of the game’s first 37 points en route to its win over the Tribe, who entered the contest as the ranked No. 13 in the latest Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll.

Coastal’s special teams also contributed heavily in the win as Kade Hensley set a career-best with four made field goals, including tying his career long of 49 yards. Ibrahim Diawara set up one of those field goals with a blocked punt late in the second quarter.

The Chants scored three touchdowns and a field goal on their first four possessions as Braydon Bennett bulled his way in from four yards out on Coastal’s opening drive.

After a William & Mary punt pinned the Chanticleers’ at their own one-yard line, Coastal Carolina embarked on a nine-play, 99-yard drive that ended when Washington plowed in for a one-yard touchdown to give the Chants a 14-0 lead with 3:11 left in the first quarter.

Washington’s second score, a four-yard run, put CCU up 21-0 early in the second quarter. After William & Mary scored to make it 21-7, Hensley delivered a 43-yards to push Coastal’s lead to 17 points. After forcing a Tribe punt with 58 seconds left in the half, Diawara pushed the William & Mary blocker into the path of the punt, giving Coastal the ball at the Tribe 23-yard line. Henlsey then booted a 33-yarder as time expired to give Coastal Carolina a 27-7 lead at halftime.

Hensley continued his onslaught early in the third quarter when he connected on a 49-yarder, tying his longest career make, to put CCU up 30-7 at the 12:21 mark. The Chanticleer defense then found the end zone for the second consecutive week in the third quarter when Matthew McDoom scooped up a fumble and raced 24 yards to make the score 37-7.

William & Mary managed two touchdowns over the final 22 minutes of game action sandwiched around a fourth Hensley field goal as the Chants closed out the 40-21 win.

Washington led the Chanticleer rushing attack with 100 yards on 16 carries and two scores, while Ethan Vasko rushed six times for 59 yards and Darren Lloyd added 50 yards on 10 carries. Cameron Wright caught a team-high three passes for 39 yards, while Tray Taylor hauled in a 39-yard reception on the opening drive.

Coastal’s defense tallied 3.0 sacks for the second consecutive week, led by 1.0 apiece from Joah Cash and Tray Brown. Juan Powell led the defense with six tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss, while Tray Brown posted five tackles and a 1.0 tackle for loss.

Hensley connected on four of his five field goals and Liam Gray tallied eight touchbacks on his eight kickoffs.

The Chanticleers will hit the next Saturday, Sept. 14, when they travel to Philadephia, Pa., for the first all-time meeting between CCU and Temple. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.