The Panthers came out hot after receiving to begin the game, however, the team attempted an unsuccessful field goal to end the first drive. After a few third-down stops by both parties, Coastal Carolina was feeling ambitious halfway through the first quarter. The team decided to attempt a pass on 4th and 7 from GSU’s 35-yard line instead of settling for three. Grayson McCall completed the 35-yard dime to Jaivon Heilegh in the corner of the endzone for the first touchdown of the game. The opening quarter came to a close with a score of 7-0 in favor of Coastal Carolina.
The second quarter began with a big stop by the Panthers on third down as an attempt to end the drive with a field goal. However, the Chanticleers showed no respect for the Panthers’ defense as they attempted another pass on 4th down. This time, McCall connected with CJ Marable to complete a seven-play, 71-yard drive with a touchdown pass from Georgia State’s 35-yard line.
The Panthers’ misfortune continued as Sam Pinckney lost a strip fumble battle on first down to the Chanticleers’ Enock Makonzo. The live ball was recovered by Chanticleers on the Panthers own 19 yard line. It only took Coastal Carolina two running plays to capitalize off of the turnover. Reese White was able to find the end zone with his legs and put up six more on the board for the Chanticleers. Luckily for the Panthers, the point after attempt was missed as the scoreboard rose to 20-0 midway through the second quarter.
After a successful fourth-down attempt from the Panthers offense, Cornelious Brown IV ended the 11 yard drive with an interception made by the Chanticleers Silas Kelly. Coastal Carolina took over the ball at their own 48 yard line. Once again, the Chanticleers made use of their defensive turnovers. Grayson McCall connected with Jaivon Heiligh on first and goal to cap off a five play, 52 yard drive with another touchdown. After a successful point after attempt, the score rose to 27-0 in favor of the Chanticleers.
Grayson McCall executed a quarterback keep read option play for a two yard touchdown run to close out a 10 play, 48 yard drive down the field. The Chanticleers left the Panthers with 50 seconds of time and no hope at the end of the second quarter. The first half of the game ended with a final score of 34-0 in favor of Coastal Carolina.
Coastal Carolina received the ball to kick off the second half of the Halloween ball game. After a series of poor tackles from the Panthers, the Chanticleers ran for 44 yards to complete a 10 play, 65 yard drive into the Panthers endzone. CJ Marable secured the score on the final two yard run of the series to increase the score to 41-0 midway through the third quarter. The scoring drive was followed by an unsuccessful bout from the Panthers offense. The Chanticleers continued to lay it on the Panthers as McCall completed another touchdown pass on the next 7 play, 49 yard drive. This time, it was Kameron Brown who caught the contested pass and raised the score 48-0.
Coastal Carolina forced several third down stops on the Panthers throughout the end of the third and quarter and left the big cats with no hope for an upset. The Chanticleers kicked their first field goal of the game to secure the first score of the fourth quarter. Massimo Biscardi connected on the 24 yard attempt and raised the lead to the final score of 51-0 for Coastal Carolina. The Panthers remained scoreless throughout the entire game as they trotted off the field defeated.
“It is a hard pill to swallow. That was a good Coastal Carolina football team.” Georgia State Head Coach Shawn Elliott said after the game. “For whatever reason, on all three phases of offense, defense, and special teams, we weren’t ready to go out there and compete. I can’t sit here and tell you an answer because it will take some searching to tell you where exactly it went wrong.”
