CHARLESTON, S.C. – Presbyterian held No. 22 Charleston Southern out of the end zone for the first time in the Jamey Chadwell era to hand the Buccaneers a 7-3 loss in their Big South opener on Saturday at Buccaneer Field. 

CSU falls to 5-2 overall with the loss and opens 0-1 in Big South play. PC moves to 4-3 and 1-1 in conference play. 

The Buccaneers were just 1-for-3 in the PC red zone and amassed only 250 yards of total offense.CSU head coach Jamey Chadwell was disappointed in his team's offensive execution and its inability to swing the game in the Bucs' direction.

"It was certainly the most frustrating game so far in my tenure at CSU," Chadwell said following the game. "We had some chances, but we just couldn't make it happen. As a head coach, it is my responsibility to get us ready to play and we didn't play very well at all. Give PC credit, they did what they needed to do." 

The Blue Hose survived missing field goals and made a touchdown on their opening drive of the game stand up all afternoon. The Bucs missed a 22-yard field goal and couldn't convert a fourth-and-two in the third quarter inside the PC 10-yard line. 

PC held CSU to 97 yards passing. Quarterback Austin Brown was 6-of-18 with two interceptions. He was also sacked three times. 

"PC did a good job against us defensively," Chadwell added. "We started off not that well in the first half. But we had some good drives throughout the game. But when we got behind the sticks, if it was a penalty or a loss of yards on a play, we just weren't good enough to overcome it. They did a good job. We just didn't make plays."

CSU forced two turnovers and held PC to 324 yards of total offense. The Blue Hose were 2-for-10 on third-down conversions.

Presbyterian started fast, using a 6-play, 70-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead just over three minutes into the game. Demarcus Rouse ripped off a 49-yard touchdown run for the score. He had 66rushing yards on the drive. 

After forcing a three-and-out, PC drove 70 yards in 10 plays, but the Bucs' defense held inside the 10 and PC placekicker Brandon Morrow pulled a 25-yard field goal to keep it a one-possession game. 

The Blue Hose drove again next possession. Quarterback Hays McMath found Toby Antigha behind the Bucs' defense for 51 yards to open the drive. PC moved the ball inside the CSU 20, but freshman Jonathan Slaton jarred the ball loose from tight end Kris Hurley to force the game's first turnover. 

CSU struggled early offensively. The Bucs moved the ball to the PC 32 just before halftime, but the Blue Hose defense stiffened. Isaiah Lynn sacked Austin Brown to push the Bucs out of field goal range to end the drive. 

Brown put together the Bucs' only scoring drive on the next possession, finding Ray Rowe for eight yards and Nathan Perera for 23 yards, leading to a 27-yard David Kennedy field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 at the half. 

CSU opened the second half by driving inside the Blue Hose' 20-yard line. CSU head coach Jamey Chadwell opted to go for it on fourth-and-two at the PC 13, but Brown couldn't get on the same page with Nathan Perera and his pass sailed out of bounds. The Bucs kept the drive alive on two penalties and a 7-yard catch by Colton Korn on third-and six. Nathan Perera drew a pass interference penalty on a third-and-long and PC roughed Bucs' punter Truett Burns trying to block a punt at midfield to keep CSU on the move. 

The Buccaneer defense gave the offense a handful of opportunities in the third quarter, holding PC to three yards of offense. Linebacker Tre DeLoach sacked McMath as the Buc defense pushed PC back, setting up the offense with a short field. 

Brown found Colton Korn for 17 yards to start a CSU drive late in the third quarter to move the ball into PC territory. The Bucs' QB would be intercepted two plays later by DaRon Dickey to end the threat. Dickey returned his interception 23 yards to set up the Blue Hose at the Bucs' 47. 

PC moved the ball into field goal range again, but Morrow missed again from close range, this time pushing his kick from the left hash mark wide to keep the score at 7-3.

CSU threatened three times in the fourth, moving inside the PC 5-yard line on a 39 yard throw-and-catch from Brown to Kenny Dinkins. CSU couldn't punch it the end zone and Kennedy pushed a 22-yard field goal wide right. 

Running back Christian Reyes had 81 yards on 23 carries. Wide out Nathan Perera had two catches for 26 yards. 

Linebacker Zack Johnson led the Bucs with eight tackles and a tackle for loss. 

CSU's defense had nine tackles for loss and forced two PC fumbles and Malcolm Jackson had an interception. Linebacker Gabe Middlebrook added two tackles for loss. 

PC's Jeremiah McKie had four carries for 51 yards, all on end-around plays. Rouse added 76 yards rushing on 17 carries, the majority of which came on the opening drive. 

Bucs' punter Truett Burns averaged 41.9 yards on five punts including a 59-yarder. 

Charleston Southern returns to action next Saturday at Coastal Carolina. Kickoff in Conway is at 3:30 p.m. American Sports Network will have the telecast. 

-CSU-