Coastal looks to bounce back after UAB loss

Coastal Carolina will play their second of six home games of the 2017 season on Saturday, Sept. 23 against Western Illinois at Brooks Stadium.

The teams have only met twice, with each team winning once. Both games have been in Conway at Brooks Stadium.

The first meeting was on Nov. 27, 2010 when the Leathernecks knocked the Chants out of the FCS playoffs with a late touchdown that gave Western Illinois a 17-10 win.

The Leathernecks scored in the final two minutes, breaking the Chants hearts.

Coastal would have to wait five years to exact revenge, defeating Western Illinois 34-27 on Sept. 19, 2015. Both teams went back and forth all game long with Western Illinois leading Coastal 27-26 with under ten minutes left in the game.

De’Angelo Henderson would score from three yards out to give Coastal the 34-27 lead and ultimately winning the game. This game was also the first game on the Surf Turf.

The Leathernecks come into Conway 2-0 on the season and coming off a bi-week. Western Illinois won their opener at Tennessee Tech 41-14 on Aug. 31, and then went on the road to defeat Northern Arizona 38-20.

Western Illinois has some players that Coastal will need to keep their eyes on. Running back Max Norris has averaged 5.6 yards per carry this season and has rushed for 236 yards. The Leathernecks biggest threat for Coastal Carolina is Jaelon Acklin. Acklin has 102 rushing yards this season to go along with 180 receiving yards. Acklin has also found the end zone four times.

Interim head coach Jamey Chadwell has used seniors Tyler Keane and Dalton Demos as quarterbacks, calling the plays. While Demos has been a ground threat, the Chants have only thrown for 180 yards this season, the lowest amount of passing yards in the first two games in the Joe Moglia era.

It will certainly be an interesting matchup this Saturday as Coastal will look to avoid having a losing record for the first time since 2012. The Chants will also look to avoid losing back-to-back games since 2015.

Kickoff between Western Illinois and Coastal Carolina is set for 6:30 p.m.