Conway, SC: A major reason that Coastal Carolina started the football season 3-0 was the Chanticleers ability to jump on its opponents early. In wins over Jacksonville State, William & Mary, and Temple, CCU enjoyed a 45-6 scoring advantage in the first quarter. On Saturday, Virginia decided to flip the script on the Chanticleers. The Cavaliers (3-1) recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and scored a touchdown three plays later en route to a 43-24 triumph over Coastal at Brooks Stadium in Conway. As a matter of fact, the Cavaliers scored two touchdowns on two CCU turnovers to break the game open early and send the majority of a record-setting crowd of 22,104 home early.
Virginia bloodied and bruised the Chanticleer defense by running for 384 yards as part of a 525-yard offensive outburst. The ground attack was the most for Virginia since 1998, when the Wahoos totaled 446 yards on the ground against San Jose State.
Game Story by Rixon Lane, CCU Media Relations: CCU used a 30-yard field goal from Kade Hensley on its first possession to cut the deficit to 7-3 at the 10:11 mark. The Cavaliers turned a Chanticleer interception into another touchdown and built a 17-3 lead before Jameson Tucker hauled in a 29-yard pass from Ethan Vasko on 4th-and-2 to make the score 17-10 with 7:26 left in the first half. However, UVA scored the final 10 points of the second quarter to take a 27-10 lead into the locker room.
Coastal managed a three-yard touchdown run from Vasko in the third quarter and a 15-yard touchdown pass from back-up quarterback Noah Kim to Bryson Graves, but Virginia pulled away with two touchdowns and a field goal for a final margin of 43-24.
Vasko finished with 222 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 10-of-21 passing, while also leading the rushing attack with 24 yards on eight carries. Kim was 6-of-12 through the air for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Graves led the receiving corps with four catches for 40 yards and a score.
Shane Bruce tied his career high with 11 tackles, while Wyatt Gedeon and Emmanuel Johnson each notched seven tackles with three solo stops apiece.
Coastal opens Sun Belt Conference play on Oct. 5 against Old Dominion at Brooks Stadium.