CONWAY, S.C. — It was a short day of work for Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall and the Chanticleers’ other starters Saturday at Brooks Stadium.
The Chants took care of business in the first half against an overwhelmed Massachusetts, allowing McCall to watch the entire second half of a 53-3 win from the sideline.
He completed 10 of 14 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns and rushed twice for nine yards and a TD in two quarters of work as No. 17 CCU improved to 4-0.
Jaivon Heiligh had five receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown to go over 100 yards receiving for the fifth time in his past six games and tight end Isaiah Likely added three catches for 76 yards and a TD.
Coastal scored touchdowns on its first eight possessions before taking a knee inside the 5-yard line at the end of the game. The Chants had 558 yards of offense including 312 rushing.
The CCU defense cured a lot of ills against the Minutemen, holding UMass to 88 yards of offense in the first half and 158 for the game.
The Chants had an announced crowd of 15,261 for their “Teal Out” promotion.
Mobley makes and impact
The CCU coaching staff would like to get more production from receivers not named Heiligh and Likely, and has talked about getting sophomore receiver Tyson Mobley of Longwood, Fla., more involved in the offense. He was a factor Saturday.
The 6-foot, 170-pound speedster scored his first two collegiate touchdowns on a 32-yard end-around run in the second quarter and nine-yard reception on an underneath route from Bryce Carpenter in the third quarter.
Mobley entered the game with no rushing attempts and one reception for 15 yards.
Kicking conundrum
Senior kicker Massimo Biscardi missed his second consecutive game with a lower body injury, and the Chants have to decide who will be their kicker moving forward if he misses more time.
Freshman Liam Gray missed a 22-yard field goal attempt last week, and missed the extra point attempt after CCU’s first touchdown Saturday.
Redshirt sophomore Kieran Colahan of Australia then kicked the next two extra points and a fourth-quarter PAT, and Gray kicked the three in between, Colahan got the call for a fourth-quarter field goal attempt and nailed a 38-yarder.
“It might just come down to is it something he can injure worse. Can he hurt it worse?” CCU coach Jamey Chadwell said last Saturday. “If not he has to play through some pain. If it’s something that might get worse then we’re going to have to make the decision whether we shelve him or not.”
Chadwell said of Gray last week: “He has actually kicked the ball really well all camp and we have a lot of confidence in him and that’s why we ran him out there. . . . Based off what he does in practice, his performance, there is a confidence there. He’s going to be a really good player for us.”
Isn’t that special
UMass punter George Georgopoulos had difficulty fielding snaps in the first half, and the Chants were credited with some big special teams plays as a result.
Freshman Mason Shelton blocked a Georgopoulos punt after a snap sailed over his head and he attempted to kick it in the face of defenders after tracking it down inside the 10-yard line. Shelton returned the block a few yards to the Minutemen 4.
Georgopoulos was later unable to handle a low snap in the end zone and CCU was awarded a safety when the ball rolled out of the back of the end zone.
Sitting it out
In addition to Biscardi, two other contributors also sat out Saturday’s game because of injuries.
Senior running back Shermari Jones, who said he aggravated a turf toe injury while gaining 145 yards against Buffalo last week, missed the game, as did junior tight end Xavier Gravette, who has three receptions for 72 yards and a score on the season.
CCU also lost freshman defensive end Josaiah Stewart, who had a team-record 3 1/2 sacks against Kansas, to a targeting penalty early in the game.
The long and short of it
Coastal Carolina’s first two scoring drives were separated by 95 yards.
The Chants scored on a 4-yard drive 4 minutes into the game after a blocked punt. McCall scored on a 3-yard run.
The Chants then drove 99 yards after a punt was downed at their 1. Reese White spun out of a tackle attempt on a 12-yard scoring run to cap a nine-play drive that included a 35-yard Likely completion to the 12. Likely outleaped a defender and bobbled the ball before securing the catch as he was landing on the ground.
Poll implications
CCU dropped a spot to No. 17 in the Associated Press Poll last week after its narrow 28-25 win over Buffalo, and moved up a spot to 17 in the USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll.
The Chants didn’t hurt themselves in the polls with an easy win, but they are unlikely to move up much considering the competition.
Up next
Coastal begins Sun Belt Conference play against Louisiana-Monroe at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday at Brooks Stadium.
The Warhawks were scheduled to play Troy on Saturday night and entered the weekend 1-1 with a 45-10 loss to Kentucky and 12-7 win over the FCS Deion Sanders-led Jackson State.
