CHARLOTTE, N.C. –Charleston Southern's Christian Reyes' one-yard touchdown run was the only score of overtime and capped a thrilling 47-41 win over Charlotte at Jerry Richardson Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The 25th-ranked Buccaneers survived a shootout that featured a CSU record 1,190 total yards and a CSU record 32 first downs.

CSU improves to 5-0 for the second-straight season under head coach Jamey Chadwell. Charlotte falls to 3-2 overall.

The Buccaneers rushed for 333 yards and Reyes finished with four touchdowns – three on the ground – to lead the charge.  Quarterback Austin Brown was 17-for-20 through the air for 216 yards and two TDs.

After the Bucs' defense had controlled CSU's first four games, Chadwell was excited to see his team explode offensively and find a different way to win.

"I think (the offense) showed today how resilient we are," Chadwell said. "The first four games, at least three of them, we've been doing just enough offensively and the defense has been carrying the load. Today, the defense didn't play as well but the offense really stepped up in a big way. When we needed some plays, we made them."

CSU led 34-17 in third quarter before Charlotte rallied with 17 unanswered points to tie the game with under five minutes to play.  A touchdown catch by the Bucs' Nathan Perera with 3:53 to play gave CSU a 41-34 lead, but Charlotte roared right back, tying the game at 41-41 with 2:19 remaining on a Kalif Phillips 34-yard run. A last-second field goal attempt by the Bucs' David Kennedy was blocked to force CSU's first overtime game since 2009.

CSU struggled in the kicking game, missing a critical PAT and two field goals. Charlotte missed a field goal attempt on the initial possession of overtime after CSU's defense backed up the 49ers. Chadwell was happy with the outcome, but didn't like the way his team carried over mistakes from the practice field to the game field.

"When you don't do the things you need to throughout the week, don't expect to come out here on Saturday and play a great game," Chadwell said. "We didn't. We turned the ball over and had penalties and were fortunate to come out with the win. It's a great teaching opportunity to show if we don't prepare the way we can, this is what can happen. Nothing to take away from Charlotte, they're a good team but we felt we had some opportunities to put the game away that we didn't convert."

The Buccaneer offense – and running game – came up big when CSU needed it most. Reyes piled up 159 yards and three rushing TDs. Mike Holloway added a 22-yard run in overtime to set up the game-winning touchdown and finished with 68 yards on six carries. The Bucs' 333 yards were the tenth most in  school history.

"I thought we ran the ball well when we needed to, especially in certain situations when they were expecting a pass we were able to get good yards" Chadwell said of the Bucs' option attack. "I thought we really threw the ball pretty well. I was disappointed in our two turnovers. We were really balanced today and it showed. Our quarterbacks played well. I thought Austin Brown really played well, his best game yet, and handled the game well. He really stepped up in a big situation. This was a loud crowd and I thought he really stepped up. I'm pleased with the way some guys really stepped up when we needed them to."

A game full of big plays had one transpire on the first scrimmage, as CSU sophomore cornerback Troy McGowens intercepted a Matt Johnson pass bobbled by Charlotte receiver Austin Duke. CSU could not convert the pick into points, though, as Charlotte's defense forced a four-and-out.
Brown got the Bucs on the board on the ensuing possession. The junior was 4-for-4 for 74 yards and found Reyes for an 11-yard touchdown pass for the Bucs' first score. A 45-yard completion to junior Ray Rowe was the big connection of the march, as it moved the ball inside the Charlotte 10-yard line.

Charlotte answered quickly as Johnson found Duke on a screen for 74 yards and a 49ers touchdown to knot the score at 7-7 just six minutes into the game.

Charleston Southern went back to work, with sophomore Danny Croghan taking the reins at quarterback to engineer a six-play, 56-yard scoring drive. Croghan found Nathan Perera for a 23-yard gain into Charlotte territory to convert a crucial third-and-9. He capped off the march several plays later, as Holloway slipped out of the backfield on a wheel route to reel in a 21-yard touchdown.

CSU struck quickly to cap off a first quarter outburst that produced 21 points and 208 yards of offense. Brown found Colton Korn again, this time for 20 yards to open the drive. Reyes would do the rest. The senior ripped off the longest run of his career, racing up the right sideline for a 45-yard touchdown to push the lead to 21-7.

Charlotte came right back with a score of their own to open the second quarter. Running back Kalif Phillips ripped off a 74-yard TD run to cut the lead to 21-14. Phillips had two carriers for 89 yards and all of the 49er offense on the drive.

Defensive end Tanner Rogers and linebacker Zack Johnson would set up the Bucs' next score. Rogers and Johnson stripped Matt Johnson at the Charlotte 35 and Rogers recover to give the Buc offense a short field. Quarterback Danny Croghan, who rotated with Brown, pounded his way into the end zone from four yards out to push the lead to 28-14 with five minutes to play in the opening half. CSU had 335 total yards in the first half to build a 28-17 lead.

The Bucs added to their  lead with a time consuming drive to open the second half. Perera's 17-yard catch in traffic at the Charlotte 4 set up Christian Reyes' second TD run as the Bucs built a 34-17 lead. The drive covered 74 yards and chewed up nearly six and half minutes to open the half.

Charlotte would cut into the as Johnson guided a 72-yard drive to answer the Bucs' largest lead. His 23-yard TD run cut it to 34-24 with just over six minutes to play in the third.  After a Croghan interception, Charlotte would drive again inside the Bucs' red zone, but a linebacker Aaron Brown caught Johnson in the backfield to hold the 49ers to a 25-yard Blake Brewer field goal.

Perera had his best game for the Bucs' this season. He had six catches for 64 yards and a TD. Korn added five catches, also for 64 yards, and converted a number of key third-downs.

CSU linebacker Aaron Brown led the Bucs' with 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Defensive end Dylan Black added four tackles, two for loss, and an interception to turn back the 49ers just before the half.

Phillips has 196 yards on the ground for Charlotte to go with two TDs. Johnson added 6 rushing yards. Duke had an eye-popping 12 catches for 251 yards and two TDs. He averaged 20.9 yards per catch.

Charleston Southern has a week off before traveling to Vanderbilt on Oct. 11. The kickoff time has not yet been announced.

-CSU-