Field Level Media
Dec 12, 2020
Grayson McCall atoned for a late mistake with a 23-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Jaivon Heiligh with 35 seconds remaining as No. 13 Coastal Carolina took down host Troy 42-38 to complete an undefeated regular season Saturday at Troy, Alabama.
CJ Marable scored three touchdowns and McCall threw for three touchdowns and ran for another.
Troy scored 15 points in the last five minutes to go ahead 38-35. Backup quarterback Jacob Free hit Tray Eafford for a 6-yard touchdown pass with 1:20 remaining to give the Trojans the lead for the first time. Free then connected with Khalil McClain on a two-point conversion pass.
Coastal Carolina (11-0, 8-0 Sun Belt Conference) needed just five plays to go back on top as McCall completed four of five throws on the drive. Jeffrey Gunter's sack that forced a fumble thwarted Troy's final possession.
McCall finished 24 of 29 for 338 yards and an interception for Coastal Carolina, which was coming off a monumental victory a week earlier against Brigham Young. The Chanticleers return home for next Saturday's conference championship game against Louisiana.
Marable rushed for 120 yards on 20 carries.
Troy (5-6, 3-4) didn't fade, scoring with 2:48 left on Jamontez Woods' 3-yard run to cap a 75-yard march that took barely more than two minutes. When Carlton Martial intercepted McCall, the Trojans took over at the Coastal Carolina 40 with 2:36 to play before going ahead briefly.
Troy quarterback Gunnar Watson was 25-for-37 for 260 yards with a touchdown and interception. Free was 9-for-18 and 94 yards with an interception in relief.
The Chanticleers went up 28-16 after McCall's 6-yard scoring pass to Heiligh with 4:33 left in the third quarter.
Watson's 41-yard pass play to Reggie Todd just 75 seconds later kept the Trojans in it. McCall's 2-yard run with 5:03 remaining seemed to put Coastal Carolina in good shape, up 35-23.
Marable scored two touchdowns in the first seven minutes as the Chanticleers built a 14-0 lead. He ran 59 yards for a score on the game's first possession before scoring on a 20-yard pass play.
Marable's 2-yard run at the 1:38 mark of the second quarter helped Coastal Carolina to a 21-13 edge. But Evan Legassey, who made a 42-yarder in the first quarter and a 28-yarder in the second quarter, connected from 23 yards out on the last play of the first half to cut the deficit.
Kimani Vidal scored Troy's first touchdown on a 4-yard, second-quarter run to complete a 13-play drive that covered 87 yards. The Trojans' first-half scoring drives consisted of 14, 13, 14 and eight plays.
--Field Level Media