Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

Setback leaves Chants looking to 2010

Offensive woes remain as rally in rain falls short

STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- There are four games left in the regular season, including one of the biggest in school history this week, but it appears even David Bennett is ready to look ahead to 2010.

"We've got a very junior-laden football team," Coastal Carolina's coach said following a 16-10 loss to Stony Brook Saturday. "... So, the better we can do this year, the better it will carry over to next season."

As the rain beat down on LaValle Stadium in the second half, Bennett had to feel like he was watching a rerun of Coastal's season so far. Once again, his defense couldn't muster enough stops to make up for a stagnant offense and mistake-prone special teams.

A week before their monumental trip to Clemson, the Chanticleers are 3-4 overall, 1-2 in the Big South and facing a potentially disastrous end to a season that was supposed to return Coastal to the upper echelon of the Big South.

"We can't give up," Coastal linebacker Derrick Frasier said. "We've still got four or five games left, so I'm going back to the drawing boards to get things done. There is no crying over spilt milk. We still have to play."

If Coastal's offense would have performed better Saturday, the Chants might have reversed their fortunes and been able to put last week's 45-point loss to Liberty behind them. Instead, Coastal followed last week's 175-yard output with only 177, averaging just 2.7 yards per play, giving up five sacks and converting 4-of-16 third downs.

A week after being the Chants' only bright spot, Coastal's special teams returned to their form of the previous five games. Punter Ben Erdman fumbled deep in his own territory, leading to the only score of the first half, and kicker Justin Durham, who hit eight straight field goals entering the game, had two kicks hit the right upright.

Still, the Chants had their chances, tying the game at 10 on Durham's 38-yard field goal with 11 seconds in the third quarter. But Stony Brook immediately regained the lead, scoring the winning points on Michael Coulter's screen pass to tailback Conte Cuttino, who weaved his way past Coastal defenders for a 28-yard touchdown with 11:58 left in the game.

Coastal was without starting quarterback Zach MacDowall at that point, losing him to an ankle injury midway through the third quarter. But it might have been a blessing in disguise, because backup Jamie Childers provided a spark, leading the team to a touchdown minutes after entering the game.

"As soon as I got in, I knew we were going to get the ball moving," said Childers, who scored on a 9-yard scramble and then led the Chants to the tying field goal on their next drive. "We just weren't able to do it in the end."

Coastal drove into Stony Brook territory following Cuttino's touchdown, but Childers was sacked on third-and-8 from the 31. Coastal's bench erupted after the play, claiming the Seawolves pulled Childers down by the facemask. No penalty was called, Coastal was forced to punt and never threatened again.

"There was a huge play in that ballgame that didn't happen," Bennett said. "That could have been a difference-maker."

Stony Brook made the biggest play of the first half on special teams.

On the first drive of the second quarter, Erdman, who was pressured on his first two punts, fielded the long snap at his own 8 and, after deciding that Stony Brook's defenders might block his kick, pulled the ball down. He rolled right out off the pocket but was hammered by two Seawolves, causing a fumble that Stony Brook recovered inside the 5-yard line.

"It was a planned block," Stony Brook coach Chuck Priore said. "We went for it. What allowed us to go for it was that we sacked them on the play before.... We saw something we might be able to get to."

Three plays later, Seawolves tight end Chris Tyler caught the first half's only touchdown, giving his team a 7-0 halftime lead. It was the second straight year that Coastal's special teams committed a colossal error against the Seawolves, who used three muffed kicks, a missed field goal and a missed extra point to beat the Chants 28-24 at Brooks Stadium last season.