CONWAY, S.C. - Charleston Southern's bid for their first-ever
winning season in football was spoiled by the punishing running
game of Coastal Carolina as the Buccaneers fell, 56-28, in the 2004
regular season finale at Brooks Stadium on Saturday night.
CSU finishes the season with a 5-5 record, the school's first
non-losing record in it's 14-year history. It was the third time in
school history that CSU has won five games in a season but the team
played 11 games in the previous five-win seasons.
The game proved to be an offensive showcase as Coastal Carolina
rolled up 517 total yards, including 414 yards rushing. Coastal
Carolina running back Patrick Hall rushed for 195 yards and
quarterback Ren McKinnon added 116 yards rushing for the
Chanticleers, who finish the season at 10-1 overall and 4-0 in the
Big South Conference.
CSU, on the other side, posted 381 total yards on the night,
with 218 yards coming through the air. Sophomore quarterback Collin
Drafts completed 17-of-28 passes and threw four touchdown passes.
The touchdowns pushed his season total to 21, a new Big South
Conference single-season record. Drafts also set conference marks
in passing yards (2,533), completions (212), attempts (340) and
completion percentage (62.3)
Redshirt freshman Eddie Gadson caught four passes for 40 yards,
finishing with 69 receptions for 792 yards and nine touchdowns -
all tops in the Big South Conference. Senior Harry Seabrook caught
seven passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns to finish with 53
receptions for 714 yards.
A Drafts-to-Gadson 18-yard touchdown pass with 9:51 to play in
the game pulled the Buccaneers to within seven at 35-28 and it
appeared the contest was headed for a fantastic finish. Coastal
Carolina, however, scored at the 6:04 mark on Hall's 21-yard run,
then added two more touchdowns in a three and a half minute span to
put the game out of reach.
Despite the yardage allowed, the defense did have its standouts.
Sophomore linebacker Jada Ross finished the game with a career-high
18 tackles (four solo, 14 assists) and freshman safety Michael
McCann had a career-high 13 tackles.
