Ivey runs wild as Bucs wipe out Coastal Carolina, 30-23

Antwan Ivey set a career-high with 145 rushing yards in the win

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Antwan Ivey rushed for a career-high 145 yards as Charleston Southern University ended the 2009 season with a 30-23 victory over rival Coastal Carolina University, Saturday at CSU Stadium. With the victory, the Buccaneers (6-5, 4-2 Big South Conference) finish the year with four consecutive wins.

“(Head Coach Jay) Mills always talks about finishing strong, that the great teams play well in November,” Senior Tyrese Harris said after the victory. “We didn’t stop playing when we were 2-5. We played for pride, for all of the seniors.”

Ivey’s career day was the first 100-yard rushing effort from a CSU player since DeMarcus Moon accomplished the feat on October 6, 2007 against Savannah State, a span of 28 games.

“I had a great day, but first of all I have to tip my hat to the offensive line,” Ivey said of his effort. “They bust their butts all week, and it showed up in the game today. I really didn’t have to do much. The holes opened up so wide I could have driven a truck through them.”

Chris Patrick also had a career day for the Buccaneers, finishing with a personal-best 13 tackles and 3.5 tackles-for-loss. The Buccaneer offense finished with 437 yards on the day, their best effort in seven meetings with Coastal Carolina.

After a scoreless first quarter which saw both teams trade fumbles, Coastal Carolina (5-6, 3-3 BSC) got on the scoreboard on their first possession of the second quarter with a 26-yard field goal from Justin Durham. The Bucs responded on their next drive as reigning BSC Special Teams Player of the Week John Paglia connected on a field goal from 25 yards out to tie the score at 3-3.

The Bucs scored the game’s first touchdown on their next drive. A 23-yard quarterback keeper from A.J. Toscano put CSU in the red zone for the second time on the afternoon. Toscano capped the drive off himself with a 13-yard scoring scamper that made the score 10-3.

The Chants would even the score at 10-10 just seconds before the halftime break, when Zach MacDowall scored on a 2-yard quarterback sneak. MacDowall completed five-of-six passes on the drive.

After the Chanticleers went three-and-out on their first possession of the third quarter, Paglia gave the Bucs a 13-10 lead with a 44-yard field on CSU’s first touch. The key play of the drive was a diving 22-yard catch from Kwame Krakue on a 3rd and 23 from the CSU 49 yard line.

Krakue would strike again on CSU’s next possession. After an Antwain Harvey interception set the Bucs up at the 50 yard line, Krakue hauled in an 11-yard touchdown grab from Toscano to make the score 20-10.

Down ten points, Coastal did not fold the tents and got back on the scoreboard on the ensuing possession. The Chanticleers mounted a 13-play, 86-yard drive, culminating with a 2-yard touchdown run by Tommy Fraser. The extra point was no good, making the score 20-16.

Charleston Southern added an 18-yard field goal from Paglia early in the 4th quarter, and the Chanticleers missed a field goal on their next drive, ending a 15-play possession without points.

CSU got the ball back with 6:35 remaining in the game, and a 44-yard run from Ivey appeared to set CSU up with an opportunity to run the clock out. But Toscano went vertical, throwing a pass that was intercepted by CCU’s Dominique Davenport, his second of the day. That set the Chants up with the ball on their own 18 yard line and 4:38 on the clock.

The play that followed will likely go down as one of CSU’s finest in the history of their rivalry with the Chanticleers. MacDowall rolled right and lofted a pass down the sideline, but CSU’s Matt Bach jumped the route and intercepted the throw. In his final collegiate game, the senior raced 25 yards for a touchdown, giving CSU the clinching score at 30-16.

Coastal Carolina scored the game’s final points on a 37-yard touchdown grab by Brandon Whitley, but Bach’s pick-six was enough to lead the Buccaneers to a 30-23 win.

Toscano finished the game with 198 passing yards after completing 18-of-26 attempts, while Gerald Stevenson caught five passes for a team-high 76 yards. Krakue caught four passes for 63 yards, while Ivey, in addition to his strong day on the ground, caught six passes for 33 yards.

Patrick wasn’t the only Buccaneer with double-digit tackles, as Chris Kuzdale and Fred Godfrey chipped in ten each. Senior Chris Parris had a team-high 1.5 sacks in his final game in blue and gold.

“(Chris) worked hard this summer and it showed it the end with his fine performance today,” Mills said of the senior.

The win gives the Bucs eight straight wins as a program in the month of November. CSU also won their four November games to close out the 2008 season. By virtue of Stony Brook’s 36-33 victory over Liberty on Saturday afternoon, Charleston Southern ends 2009 with a 3rd place finish in the Big South. Both the Seawolves and Flames finish the season with a 5-1 conference record.

“We’re always used to people predicting us to finish 5th or 6th in the conference, and that was the prediction again this season,” Mills said after his team’s 3rd place result. “We finished eight points shy of a share of the conference championship. So we’re getting closer; we’re banging on the door, and hopefully next year we beat that door down.”

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