Coastal Carolina Defeats Wake 24-14

Wake Forest fell to Coastal Carolina 24-14 on Saturday in Conway, SC. After dominating the first 15 minutes of the match, Wake took a 7-0 lead after senior wing Critter Commins finished off a nice series of phases with a try under the posts which was converted by junior flyhalf JD Harrison. Coastal then began to dictate the style of play, using a very forwards oriented attack which led to a try in the corner that was uniquely converted with a toeball from Coastal's lock. Coastal continued to exert their smashmouth style of play throughout the remainder of the half and looked to threaten the Wake tryline on numerous occasions but were turned away by strong defense from the Demon Deacons. As the half wound to a close, Wake found an offensive spark and moved the ball inside the Coastal 22 meter line. On a defensive 5 meter scrum, Wake's forwards, who won the scrum all afternoon, stole the put in and #8 Timo Kawira picked off the base of the scrum and touched down near the corner. Harrison made good on the difficult conversion and Wake went into the break up 14-7.

The second half belonged almost exclusively to Coastal as Wake was unable to ever establish an offensive rhythm. Three tries by Coastal, one being converted, sealed the match for the Chanticleers as Wake was unable to put any points on the board in the second stanza.

While Wake showed promise during this match, it was an overall poor performance by a team that has high expectations for the spring league season. Wake's league rivals ECU, Appalachian State and NC State are performing extremely well this fall, meaning that Wake will need to raise its level of play if it hopes to repeat the success of its initial Division II season in which it finished second in the South.

One huge positive for Wake was the performance of its second side, which tied Coastal 14-14. The first Wake try was scored by freshman Charlie Crockett, while the second try was a penalty try awarded after freshman Jeff Millar was high tackled by a Coastal player on a breakaway. A number of Wake second siders will likely see significant action next weekend with the first side as Wake faces off against Clemson in Winston-Salem. Kickoff is currently scheduled for 1pm on Poteat Field.