TROY, Ala: Heading into Saturday’s Homecoming date with Coastal Carolina, Troy University alumni had not seen much from their team that would give them hope for a win versus the Chanticleers. Perhaps fearing the worst, a lot of them decided to skip the game and spend their Saturday afternoon elsewhere. That turned out to be a mistake for Trojan fans.
Playing in front of a sparse crowd, Troy (2-7, 1-4 SBC) picked up its first conference win under first-year head coach Gerad Parker, racing past the Chanticleers 38-24 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Alabama. The Trojans recorded 342 yards on the ground, improving to 27-0 since joining the Sun Belt when rushing for 250-plus yards.
Meanwhile, CCU (4-4, 1-3) dropped its third straight game as the Chanticleers gave up over 500 yards of total offense to the Trojans.
Game Details Courtesy of Rixon Lane; CCU Media Relations: Coastal Carolina allowed 21 points in the second quarter and could not recover as the Chanticleers dropped a 38-24 decision at Troy on Saturday night.
After falling behind 7-0 late in the first quarter, CCU’s special teams helped the Chants get on the board when Jameson Tucker blocked a Trojan punt to give Coastal the ball on Troy’s 11-yard line. On the next snap, Ethan Vasko scrambled and dove into the end zone to tie the score at 7-7 with 1:12 left in the opening period.
Troy dominated the second quarter, forcing two Chanticleer punts and scoring on all three drives to take a 28-7 lead into the locker room.
The Chants responded to start the second half as Kade Hensley capped a 73-yard drive with a 28-yard field goal to make the score 28-10 at the 9:43 mark of the third quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Joah Cash forced a fumble and Barry Brown fell on the loose ball at the Trojan 21-yard line. Coastal cashed in two plays later when Braydon Bennett took an option pitch from Vasko 21 yards to bring CCU within two scores.
The Trojans pushed the lead to 18 with a touchdown on their next drive, but Coastal answered once more when Vasko scrambled right on a 4th-and-22 and launched a pass to Tucker, who made a leaping catch at the pylon for a 38-yard touchdown to make it 35-24 with 2:20 left in the third.
However, Coastal’s two possessions in the fourth quarter ended in turnovers on downs as Troy added an insurance field goal to claim the Homecoming victory.
Vasko finished 18-of-34 for 206 yards with one touchdown through the air, while adding 20 yards and a score on the ground. Tucker was Coastal’s leading receiver with 106 yards and a touchdown on six catches, while Bryson Graves added 58 yards on five receptions.
Bennett rushed 10 times for 69 yards and a touchdown while catching three passes for 14 yards.
Shane Bruce led the Chanticleer defense with 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and one quarterback hurry. Tobias Fletcher chipped in seven tackles, including six solo stops.
Coastal returns to Brooks Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 7, for a nationally televised rivalry matchup against Appalachian State on ESPN at 8:00 p.m.
Box Score
CCU HC Tim Beck — Postgame Press Conference