Conway, S.C. (WBTW) – Coastal Carolina’s football team put up a strong fight, but in the end Appalachian State was able to grind out a 23-7 win over the Chants on Saturday night at Brooks Stadium in front of 13,004 fans on Homecoming Weekend.

The 13,004 fans in attendance is the seventh-largest crowd to see a CCU football game inside Brooks Stadium and the largest this season.

During the first quarter break, current NFL corner back, Chant Hall of Famer and former all-American Josh Norman was recognized at midfield for his contribution to the University in way of scholarship funds as well as the naming of the field house – Marrio & Josh Norman Field House.

The loss drops CCU to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the Sun Belt, while App State improves to 6-2 and 4-1 in league play with the win. The Mountaineers improve to 5-0 all-time versus the Chants on the gridiron with Saturday’s win.

Saturday night’s loss was the first Homecoming game defeat for the Chants in six games under head coach Joe Moglia (5-1).

The Sun Belt’s leading defense entering the weekend in fewest points allowed (18.3 per game), fewest passing yards allowed (164.6 yards per game) and fewest total yards allowed (300.4 yards per game), App State showed that strength in holding the high-powered CCU offense scoreless and to just 178 total yards, both season lows.

The Chants were just 1-of-10 on third downs and 0-of-1 for fourth downs for the game, while the Mountaineers were 5-of-15 on third downs and just 1-of-3 on fourth down tries.

CCU starting quarterback Fred Payton was 10-for-16 for 79 yards and an interception, while off the bench senior Kilton Anderson went 4-for-10 for 27 yards through the air.

On the ground, the Chants were bottled up all game long, as the home team rushed for just 72 yards with 22 yards from Anderson, 15 yards by Alex James and 12 yards from Marcus Outlow. Wideout Ky’Jon Tyler added 13 yards on the ground on a fumble recovery.

Senior wide receiver Malcolm Williams extended his streak to 13-straight games with five catches for 32 yards, while Tyler added three catches for 39 yards in the loss.

Defensively, the Chants held the number one scoring offense in the Sun Belt (40.4 points per game) to just 23 points and 405 total yards overall for the game.

Most of the Mountaineers’ yards came on the ground as they rushed for 278 yards. App State had two rushers hit the century mark with Darrynton Evans rushing for 159 yards on 27 carries and Marc Williams finishing with 103 yards on 19 rushes. Each had a score in the win.

App State quarterback Jacob Huesman, who made his first career start in place of an injured Zac Thomas, finished the game completing nine of his 19 attempts for 127 yards and a score. He also threw two interceptions in the game.

Coastal Carolina sophomore corner back Derambez Drinkard had not one, but two interceptions in the contest with his first interception turning into the lone score of the game for the Chants, as he intercepted a Huesman pass and returned it 60 yards for a score.

He is the first Chant to record two interceptions in the same game since C.J. Thompson picked off two passes at Presbyterian College on Oct. 29, 2016, while his interception touchdown return was the first for CCU since Anthony Chesley’s pick-six versus Monmouth on Oct. 5, 2016.

Linebackers Teddy Gallagher (14 tackles, 1.0 sack, 1.0 TFL) and Michael Makins(14 tackles, 0.5 TFL) led the Chant defense with career high tackles, while defensive end Tarron Jackson added a career-high nine stops on the day.

The visiting Mountaineers started the scoring four minutes into the opening quarter, as App State took advantage of a 20-yard punt return from Thomas Hennigan to start their second drive of the game on the Coastal 37-yard line. Four plays later, Evans took the hand-off and went 26-yards to pay dirt to put the Mountaineers in front 7-0 with 10:16 to go in the first quarter.

After a three-and-out gave the ball back to the Mountaineers, the defense stepped up in a big way as Drinkard stepped in front of a Huesman pass on an out pattern to intercept the throw and take it 60 yards to the end zone to tie the game up at 7-7 with 5:57 to go in the opening frame.

Neither team’s offense could get anything going over the next several possessions until App State took the ball at their own 26-yard line with 12:00 to go in the second quarter.

The Mountaineers used 11 plays to drive 70 yards for a first-and-goal on the CCU four-yard line. However, the Coastal defense refused to break and forced back-to-back incomplete passes, with the last one being called off by a false start penalty to put App State with a third-and-nine from the nine-yard line.

However, Drinkard struck again, as the corner back hauled in the intended pass at the CCU one-yard line for his second interception of the game.

With their backs up against their own goal line to start the drive, the Chants were unable to get anything going and was forced to punt the ball back to the Mountaineers with just over 3:30 to go in the first half of play.

App State took advantage of the great field position, starting at the CCU 46-yard line, and used just five plays to drive 46 yards and retake the lead at 14-7 on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Huesman to Corey Sutton and an extra point by Chandler Staton.

Down seven at 14-7 out of the halftime break, the Chants took the second half kickoff and drove 43 yards before the App State defense stopped the CCU offense on a third-and-five on the Mountaineers’ 32-yard line.

CCU then lined up for a 50-yard field goal attempt only to see freshman kickerMassimo Biscardi’s career-long field goal attempt partially blocked by an App State defender to keep the home team in teal and black off the scoreboard.

The two defenses continued to dictate play in the second half, as the Chanticleers forced App State into two punts, holding the Mountaineers to just 33 yards on 12 plays, while the CCU offense went just 16 yards on eight plays with an interception over their next two offensive possessions in the third quarter.

With 1:33 left in the third period of play, the Mountaineers took the ball for their third offensive series of the second half and drove 59 yards to the CCU one-yard line, highlighted by a 28-yard run by Evans.

The Chant defense held strong on a fourth-and-goal attempt from the two-yard line to keep the Mountaineers out of the end zone and take over on downs from inside their own one-yard line.

On its first play of the ensuing drive, CJ Marable was tackled in the end zone by a host of Mountaineer defenders for a safety to put the visitors in black and white in front at 16-7 with just over 11:30 to go in the final quarter of play.

The Mountaineers then took the punt and drove 44 yards in just three plays to extend its lead to 23-7 with 9:54 to go in regulation, where the final score would stand at the end of the game.

Coastal will continue its three-game home stand next Saturday, Nov. 10, versus Arkansas State (5-4, 2-3 Sun Belt) on Hall of Fame Weekend. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT at Brooks Stadium.