MOBILE, Ala. – Grayson McCall's 25-yard touchdown run on the first play of overtime lifted Coastal Carolina to a 27-21 Sun Belt Conference football victory over the University of South Alabama at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Friday.

McCall finished with 235 yards of total offense and Shermari Jones carried 23 times for another 211 to help the Chanticleers improve to 10-2 overall and 6-2 in the conference.  Teddy Gallagher led all players with 10 stops, Josiah Stewart was credited with four tackles for loss — including three sacks — and Alex Spillum intercepted two passes to pace CCU's defense.

Jalen Tolbert caught 10 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown for the Jaguars (5-7, 2-6 SBC) while Jalen Wayne added 111 more on nine receptions as Jake Bentley finished 28-of-41 passing for 354 yards.  Jamal Brooks and Keith Gallmon Jr. shared team-high honors for South with eight tackles apiece, while Charles Coleman III posted seven highlighted by 1½ behind the line of scrimmage.

Coastal Carolina 27, South Alabama 21 (ot) (final stats)
South Alabama/Coastal Carolina photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-The Jaguars took their opening possession 88 yards in 12 plays, culminating with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Bentley to Lincoln Sefcik on fourth down, to go ahead 7-0 at the end of the opening quarter.
-Diego Guajardo tacked on a 30-yard field goal early in the second quarter as South held a 10-0 halftime lead.
-After a Slias Kelly interception ended USA's first drive of the second half, the Chants marched 95 yards in 19 plays with a 10-yard touchdown pass from McCall to Jaivon Heiligh cutting the Jags' lead to three.
-Jones took the initial play of the final period 75 yards to give CCU its first lead of the night, 14-10.
-The Jaguars responded with a 33-yard Guajardo field goal on their ensuing drive, and would go on to regain the lead when Bentley found Tolbert for a 57-yard touchdown pass with four-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation; Bentley hit Caullin Lacy on the two-point conversion try to make the score 21-14.
-Bryce Carpenter sent the game to overtime with a two-yard scoring run 39 seconds before the end of regulation.
-After McCall's touchdown run to begin the extra period, Kelly sacked Bentley with the Jags facing fourth-and-six from the CCU-19 to end the contest.
-The Chanticleers finished with a 491-349 edge in total offense, which included outgaining the Jaguars by a 334-197 margin in the second half and overtime.

NOTES
-The Jags honored 16 individuals playing their final regular-season home game with the program prior to kickoff.
-Both of the Chants' visits to Mobile have been for USA's final home game of the year, with the Jaguars claiming the previous match-up — the first in the series between the two schools — 31-28 to close out the 2018 campaign.
-This marked the second time this fall that South has fallen in overtime, with the Jags dropping a 33-31 decision in four extra periods at Texas State on Oct. 9.
-It's the first occasion since the 2016 season that the Jaguars have played multiple overtime games.
-South became the first team this year to hold the Chanticleers scoreless in the first half.
-Tolbert became the fourth player in Sun Belt history to record 3,000 receiving yards in a career, ending up third on the league's all-time list with 3,140 as he passed both Penny Hart of Georgia State and Troy's Jerrel Jernigan with the effort.
-It marked the first time in South's history that an individual has had 100 or more receiving yards in three straight contests, with his 1,474 yards this year ranking second on the SBC's season record list.
-Bentley took over sole possession of first place in South's record books for touchdown passes in a year after ending the fall with 17, and he also moved up to third on the season record list with 2,476 yards passing in 2021.
-In recording the second 100-yard game of the year, Wayne posted a career-high reception total.
-Gallmon Jr. posted the 200th stop of his career in the third quarter.
-In addition to leading South in tackles for the first time since the Jags' Sun Belt opener against Louisiana on Oct. 2, Brooks was surpassed his previous career-high tackle total by three.
-Coleman III matched personal bests in both tackles for loss and sacks with both a solo effort and an assist with McCall attempting to pass.
-Wy'Kevious Thomas was the only USA defender to have multiple fumble recoveries this year after accounting for the unit's first takeaway of the contest in the third quarter.
-Davyn Flenord added to the total with a fourth-quarter interception, his first since picking off a pass in the final period of the Jaguars' season-opening defeat of Southern Mississippi.
-It was the first time that Guajardo has made multiple field goals since South beat Georgia Southern on Oct. 14.
-With an average of 63 yards on a pair of punts, which included tying the longest kick of his career with a 66-yard effort late in the second quarter, Jack Brooks set a school game record in the category.

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack
Opening statement: "Obviously there were some really great things this season on what we've been able to build and accomplish in year one; some of it's cultural, some of its on-field success, but certainly not enough. When you break it down there's some great things about what we're building, the demeanor of our team, the closeness that they have and their ability to compete in certain moments, but we've got to have more guys who expect to make the play to turn a program around. We had our opportunities [tonight], opportunities in the red zone for us offensively to score touchdowns instead of field goals, opportunities for our defense to get off the field on third down and get stops in the red zone where we've been one of the better red-zone defenses in the country this year; we did not finish that way, particularly over the last couple of games. When you look at [the game], you cannot give up the amount of yards rushing and you can't be one-dimensional offensively and expect to beat good football teams. We have to develop some of the guys on our roster and we have to bring some more guys in who expect in those moments that they're going to be the guy who makes the play. Right now, we don't have enough players who expect to make the play when it matters most, and we'll get there."
On what it says about Jake Bentley playing with the injury: "You think about the mentality that Jake Bentley's had [this season]. To be able to get back on the field is a perfect example of the type of young man that he is. He's a team-player, he wants to be there for his teammates, he's a competitor and wants to do his best and maximize his opportunities. You think about his career and all of the places that he's been and the experiences he's had, I certainly would have liked to have been able to have gotten him one more bowl game. I remember being on a three-way call with him, [South Alabama offensive coordinator] Major [Applewhite] and myself right after I got the job and talking to him about what we wanted from our quarterback in year one. I'm so glad I had him here with us for the first year of this program. His steadiness, his maturity, his urgency will be something that we will grow from because of the standard that he's set."
On what they were trying to do on the last play of the game: "We had a drop-back called and an opportunity to get a guy open on a crossing route; really the last two plays [of overtime] we had an opportunity to get a guy open on a rub, mesh concept, and we just got caught up in it and wasn't able to get to the other side of the mesh on top of it. You just can't take sacks in those situations. That's not just Jake, that's our offensive line and our opportunities to protect in our drop-back passing game. We did a nice job in some of our play-actions and got the ball down field, but at some point, you're going to have to protect when you drop back to pass and we didn't do a good enough job of that, especially when you're not running the ball. If you're not running it, you better be protecting your tail off and we did not do that tonight."
On Jalen Tolbert's season: "I believe I've said this before, but Jalen Tolbert was the first player I talked with the first day I got this job on December 12th. I was on the phone with him later that evening talking with him about his experience and the things that he wanted to accomplish individually and what we were going to be able to accomplish collectively together, and we did on some of those things. I told those guys in the locker room that as bad as I wanted to get these seniors a bowl game, and boy did I want it bad for them, they set a foundation and left a legacy that we'll be able to build off of for years to come. I will forever be 'We', they never have to say you guys had a great season or anything like that, it's always going to be 'We' for those seniors because they helped lay the foundation of where we're going, and Jalen Tolbert was a huge part of that."
On the importance of this recruiting season: "We're going to win in 2022 in about three weeks. Our first game is September 3, 2022, and that's certainly the first marker and opportunity that we'll get on the field to go win football games, but we're going to win football games in three weeks here in the recruiting cycle. The young men that we bring into this program and the young men that are already here that we're going to develop will be important. We need a few more guys from a depth standpoint, along with a few more guys who when you get in big, tight moments in games like Louisiana, like Coastal Carolina and like App State, that they expect to be the guy to make the game winner. Right now, we don't have quite enough of those guys that are out there representing our team on the field. We've got some that are here, and we've got some that are coming. I told the guys [in the locker room after the game] that is probably the most exciting thing about this job, knowing that our best days are soon ahead of us."

Senior QB Jake Bentley
On the final play of overtime: "They rubbed us up pretty good. We had a little choice route working, and they had the perfect call on defense for it. We had first, second and third down to execute better, and in the whole game for that matter. There were plays we could have executed better and not been in that position. That's just the way the chips fell and we have to do better in that position."
On returning from injury to play in the game: "I just wanted to give it one last go. I have pretty substantial damage to the knee, but I just wanted to go out with this team and the friends I made here one more time. They made this year so incredible for me and I will never forget it. I just wanted to be out there one last time."
On fighting throughout the game: "That's what this team is — it will continue to fight. The best days really are ahead for this program. There are a lot of great players and leaders in that room who will be back next year, and I think they will be able to use this experience this year of the games we should have won and build on that."

Senior ILB Jamal Brooks
On the loss: "It was tough. We have a group of guys in there [the locker room] who love each other on and off the field. I told the guys that I have never been part of a team that plays for each other and loves each other as much as I have here – from the top down, from coaches to the players and the camaraderie. I have never experienced it. It is tough for sure."
On the Coastal Carolina run game: "They adjusted at halftime and made one more play than we did. We knocked the run game out in the first half, but they made some adjustments in the second half, and that's what 9-2 teams do. As a senior leading this program, I know that the guys in that locker room — they won't drop these games next year. They just made one more play than us tonight."

Senior OLB Chris Henderson
On the game: "This is definitely not the best feeling in the world right now, but one thing I am proud about is our guys. We have fought until the end, and we didn't give up or blink. We went out there, and we fought hard. This is the best that I've seen us play, this year." 
On playing one of his better games: "I just knew coming into this game that if this was going to be the last time I ever suited up, I was going to give it everything that I had. That was just the motivation behind it today."
On how experiences this year sets the team up on moving forward: "Those guys can learn from the experiences [we had] this year. There are games that we should not have lost, that we came back and watched the film, and got those mistakes corrected. Those mistakes haven't been made twice. Moving forward, I feel like the guys learned from the seniors and from the leaders that are graduating this year. This is a team that is going to compete for conference championships within the next few years."
On Coastal Carolina's quarterback, Grayson McCall: "He is definitely one of the better quarterbacks in this league. He's a phenomenal player. For him battling shoulder injuries and coming out here playing the way he did, it just speaks volumes about the kind of guy he is."

Junior WR Jalen Tolbert
On his feelings following the game: "It's not the best feeling going out like that. We all had the intentions of going out, playing lights out, achieving a bowl game and being able to do something special, because it hasn't been done in such a long time." 
On the season as a whole: "It's almost like you have a feeling that these guys are in good hands. They can reflect on those losses that shouldn't have been losses and that could have had a different ending. I know that the team is close and they saw us go out and compete, so to have those young guys create that culture and keep it going is good. I'm excited about where the program is going to go. Coach Wommack always says our best days are ahead, so I am excited to see how next year goes. I'm willing to bet they achieve a bowl game."
On having Jake Bentley back: "For him to come here and do the things that he did and to play through that injury, I can't say enough about him for that. I love him, he is like one of my brothers, so to see him be able to go out and compete with us here at the end is special. I'll never forget that moment. That is something I will take with me for the rest of my career and life. To have a guy like Jake, a team captain, a loyal guy, to compete and to work hard every day to get his knee back stable enough to continue to throw us passes is big."

Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell
Opening statement: "I hope everybody wasn't full still from Thanksgiving, because that's one of those [games] that will turn your stomach. Let me say this about this team, this group of men that are a pleasure to coach. There's never any doubt [about] their character, and even though the first half was up and down, it looked bleak there at the end, they kept believing and kept fighting. That's one thing I'm the proudest of — who they are and what they've learned through this season is going to carry them on from there. It wasn't pretty at all times, but I thought that even in the first half — I thought we played and did some good things when penalties and different things happened to us. In the halftime, there was never any doubt – a look in their eye like 'uh oh' — they kept fighting and believing. We came out in the second half and played really well. The turnovers killed us, obviously, we got their [South Alabama] turnovers, but we gave it right back to them, but [I'm] really proud of our defense in the second half, I thought they gave us a chance to get back in the game. What do you say about Shamari [Jones], he had 200 yards rushing, the way our o-line dominated up front. I can't describe, for this group of men to get 10 wins, this group has won 21 games over the last two years, they've lost three total games by a total of eight points. They're champions and they still got one more opportunity together. [I'm] proud of how they persevered, and again it wasn't pretty. Let's give South Alabama credit, they played well, they were obviously playing for a bowl game and they had a great plan, and they did a fantastic job. I give Coach Wommack credit there, his team played hard and it was a great football game. I'm proud of our team for overcoming and finding a way to win."

Up next: This was the final game of the Jaguars' first season under Wommack.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

—USA—