Coastal Carolina falls to UAB, 30-23

Coastal Carolina fell to UAB 30-23 on Saturday, Sept. 16 in Birmingham, Alabama. Senior running back Osharmar Abercrombie led all rushers with 75 yards on the ground.

The Chanticleers got down early and could not comeback against the Blazers on Saturday, going down 13-0 in the first quarter. However, a blocked point after attempt by the Coastal special team squad allowed sophomore cornerback Preston Carey to return the blocked kick to end zone.

This gave Coastal Carolina a spark and cut the deficit to 13-2 as the blocked kick return on an extra point attempt are considered two points.

Junior kicker Evan Rabon cut the 11-point deficit to eight as he knocked in a 39-yard field goal with less than nine minutes to go in the half, making it 13-5 in favor of the Blazers.

UAB began to gain momentum, getting a field goal right before the half and then getting a touchdown after forcing a turnover. Coastal found themselves trailing 23-5 with under 13 minutes to play in third quarter.

Coastal was able to get a touchdown back when Osharmar Abercrombie scored from one yard out and senior wide receiver Chris Jones would run in a two-point conversion, making it 23-13 with 6:58 left in the quarter.

Abercrombie talked about his performance after the game.

“I feel like I could have played a lot better,” said Abercrombie. “I felt like I let my team down today.”

Coastal would get within a touchdown after Rabon notched his second field goal of the game, making it 23-16 with 8:58 left in game.

UAB would put an end to the comeback, scoring a touchdown with 2:54 in the fourth quarter remaining and leading 30-16.

However, Coastal would not go away as the offense would go on a four-play, 75-yard drive that ended in another touchdown by Abercrombie.

Trailing 30-23 and less than 90 seconds remaining, UAB would seal the victory over the Chanticleers by recovering the onside kick and running out the clock, giving the Chants their first loss of the 2017 season.

Coastal did not play the weekend before their game with UAB, but Abercrombie says that is not a reason to blame for the loss.

“The bi-week had no effect on the game,” said Abercrombie. “We just have to both start strong and finish strong. We can improve by taking care of the ball more.”

Coastal Carolina had 227 yards rushing on the ground, with 75 of those yards coming from Abercrombie. The Chanticleers only had 100 yards passing with Tyler Keane throwing for 75 yards, completing 7 of 16 passes with 3 interceptions.

Coastal Carolina is back in action this weekend, taking on Western Illinois at Brooks Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.

(Credit: Go CCU Sports)