Coastal Carolina has a 5-4 record after beating Gardner-Webb.
Back-up quarterback Alex Ross threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to a 55-33 win over the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs at Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.
Ross, filling in for Aramis Hillary, who was sidelined with a neck injury, completed 16 of 30 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns. His passing performance was the fifth best in the ten year history of Coastal Carolina football. The freshman from Alpharetta, Georgia also had 13 carries for 62 yards.
CCU and Gardner-Webb combined for 1,143 yards of total offense. Coastal's offense rolled up 596 yards, second most in school history, and pulled away with 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
With Coastal leading 34-33 in the fourth quarter, Lorenzo Taliaferro scored his second TD of the day on a seven yard run. Marcus Whitener added to the lead with a 10 yard TD scamper, and then closed out the scoring with his second TD on a 39 yard run.
Niccolo Mastromatteo led Coastal in receiving yards with four catches for 151 yards and two scores. He hit paydirt on 22 and 81 yard hook-ups from Ross. Mastromatteo's 81 yard TD reception was the longest in CCU history.
Quinn Backus led the Chants defense in tackles with 12.
Coastal Carolina improves a record of 5-4 overall, 3-1 in the Big South Conference.
The Chanticleers will play at Presbyterian next Saturday, November 10 in Clinton, South Carolina.
