A standalone Thursday night college football game was a homecoming for Jamey Chadwell.
The fourth-year Liberty coach spent six seasons at Coastal Carolina, including four as the head coach, turning the Chanticleers from a program acclimating to the FBS ranks into a Sun Belt power. He returned to the teal turf of Brooks Stadium for the first time since his departure, and just like he did 18 of his final 20 times during his prior tenure, he left the venue victorious.
Liberty shut out Coastal Carolina
24-0 in the second half en route to a 34-17 road victory. The Flames ignited their offense last week against Ball State, and the offensive surge continued in Conway, SC.
Running back Kam Davis opened the game with a 56-yard breakaway run, which served as a the kickstarter to a career-high 166-yard rushing performance. With the Florida State transfer leading the way, Liberty attained a season-high 263 rushing yards, reminiscent of Chadwell’s run-heavy offenses from his Coastal Carolina days. That opened up the passing attack for quarterback Deshawn Purdie, who delivered an efficient 216 yards on an 11-of-16 showing. Nearly half his completions went to Makai Jackson, who turned five receptions into 149 yards and two touchdowns — scoring the game’s first touchdown on a slant that went for 58 yards.
Coastal Carolina did not have the same offensive fortune in front of a raucous, sold-out Brooks Stadium. Chanticleers quarterback Deuce Bailey — who entered the game with 135 career passes and 10 touchdowns — threw his first career interception on the opening drive. That was the first domino in a night of mistakes for the offense. Coastal Carolina was plagued by drops for all four quarters, officially recording five per the game statistics, although there was an argument to be made for several more.
The Chanticleers also committed constant penalties, being flagged 15 times for 117 yards. The penalties were primarily on the offensive side, which caused their average third down distance to be 12.4 yards. Bailey was tasked with being a hero on many third downs. In the first half, he stepped in and delivered impeccable throws from time-to-time in adverse situations. In the late second quarter, Bailey converted a 3rd-and-11 and 3rd-and-10 on back-to-back touchdown drives, allowing Coastal Carolina to take a 17-10 halftime lead.
However, Liberty dialed up the pressure in the second half, and the quarterback was often scrambling for his life. Four different Flames recorded a sack as Coastal Carolina regularly went backwards in the final 30 minutes of action. In fact, three of the Chanticleers’ six second half series resulted in negative yardage, while five of the six drives produced fewer than three total yards.
Perhaps there was no moment that better summed up Coastal Carolina’s second half struggles than an unorthodox flea flicker where two players ran into each other in the backfield, and the end result was a drop.
Prior to Liberty’s second half surge, the Flames were involved in a terrifying moment in the late first quarter. Defensive end Ethan Crisp suffered a serious injury on a kickoff return, and the game was stopped for a long period of time before Crisp was carted off the field and transported to a nearby hospital. In lighter news, the defensive end raised a thumbs up on his way out, and Chadwell told the radio broadcast that Crisp had movement in all extremities, per Bryson Gordon of NewsAdvance.com.
Jeffrey Hairston Jr. stepped in for the injured Crisp and regularly halted Coastal Carolina’s offensive progress. The sophomore recorded four fourth quarter tackles, including a key seven-yard sack on a 2nd-and-20 to prevent a Chanticleer comeback.
Coastal Carolina (1-3, 0-0 Sun Belt) concludes its non-conference slate winless against FBS opponents. The Chanticleers led at halftime in each of the past two weeks against Delaware and Liberty but finished scoreless in consecutive second havles.
Liberty (3-1, 0-0 CUSA) rides a three-game win streak since dropping the season opener at James Madison. The Flames are one win away from matching their win total from a disappointing 2025. They are now 2-0 against Coastal Carolina as an FBS program, after defeating a Chadwell-led Chanticleers squad in the 2020 Cure Bowl, when both programs resided in the rankings.
