Coastal's 4th Quarter Explosion Seals Coach Vaughn's 1st Victory
Ja'Vin Simpkins celebrating as he crosses the goal line in the first home game of the season.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Charleston Southern | 3 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 27 |
| Coastal Carolina | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 49 |
| Q | Team | Time | Play | Charleston Southern | Coastal Carolina |
| 1st | Charleston Southern | 2:21 | Tommy Gaines, 29 Yd FG | 3 | 0 |
| 1st | Coastal Carolina | 0:58 | Ja'Vin Simpkins, 72 Yd Pass From Emmett Brown | 3 | 7 |
| 2nd | Coastal Carolina | 2:24 | Ja'Vin Simpkins, 1 Yd Run | 3 | 14 |
| 2nd | Charleston Southern | 0:46 | Tommy Gaines, 52 Yd FG | 6 | 14 |
| 3rd | Charleston Southern | 7:17 | Xavier Craig, 19 Yd Run (Failed 2PT) | 12 | 14 |
| 3rd | Coastal Carolina | 1:25 | Jalen John, 16 Yd Run | 12 | 21 |
| 4th | Coastal Carolina | 8:34 | Jalen John, 1 Yd Run | 12 | 28 |
| 4th | Coastal Carolina | 2:56 | Jalen John, 1 Yd Run | 12 | 35 |
| 4th | Coastal Carolina | 2:40 | Ja'Vin Simpkins, 19 Yd Run | 12 | 42 |
| 4th | Charleston Southern | 1:30 | Jalen Parrish Jr, 58 Yd Pass From Davon Wingate-Wilson | 19 | 42 |
| 4th | Charleston Southern | 0:51 | Jalen Parrish Jr, 51 Yd Pass From Davon Wingate-Wilson (2PT) | 27 | 42 |
| 4th | Coastal Carolina | 0:41 | Jameson Tucker, 43 Yd Pass From Emmett Brown | 27 | 49 |
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
| Emmett Brown | 19/27, 303 Yds, 2 TD, INT |
| Jalen John | 18 Att, 83 Yds, 3 TD |
| Ja'Vin Simpkins | 8 Att, 97 Yds, 2 TD |
| Emmett Brown | 2 Att, 27 Yds |
| Malcom Gillie | 7 Rec, 76 Yds |
| Jameson Tucker | 4 Rec, 72 Yds, TD |
| Jalen John | 3 Rec, 43 Yds |
| Ja'Vin Simpkins | 3 Rec, 75 Yds, TD |
| Ja'Marion Wayne | 1 Rec, 35 Yds |
| Camerun Knox | 1 Rec, 2 Yds |
| CB Robby Washington | 11 Tkl, 3 TFL |
| SS Dre Pinckney | 7 Tkl, TFL |
| DT Sawyer Goram-Welch | 5 Tkl, 4 TFL, 2 Sacks |
| MLB Luke Murphy | 5 Tkl, 3 TFL, 3 Sacks |
| MLB Wyatt Gedeon | 5 Tkl, 3 TFL |
| FS Dante Thomas | 5 Tkl, INT |
| DT Aamarii Notice | 4 Tkl, 2 TFL, Sack |
| DT Darrion Henry-Young | 3 Tkl, 2 TFL |
| MLB Walt Gray | 1 Tkl, TFL, Sack |
Charleston Southern
| Davon Wingate-Wilson | 9/15, 248 Yds, 2 TD, INT |
| Davon Wingate-Wilson | 17 Att, -33 Yds |
| Blue Redmond | 13 Att, 35 Yds |
| Xavier Craig | 6 Att, 35 Yds, TD |
| TJ Richey | 3 Att, 16 Yds |
| Jalen Parrish Jr | 3 Rec, 155 Yds, 2 TD |
| Kaleb Sheffield | 3 Rec, 64 Yds |
| Kadarius Peterson | 2 Rec, 9 Yds |
| Brandon Benson | 1 Rec, 20 Yds |
| SS Quan Boozer | 9 Tkl, TFL |
| MLB Alvin Spencer | 7 Tkl, TFL |
| CB Daylen Berry | 4 Tkl, INT |
| DE Brodie Wilkerson | 3 Tkl, 2 TFL |
Conway, SC. - The Kade Vaughn era officially arrived at Brooks Stadium on Saturday, and while the first act had its share of hiccups, Coastal Carolina did enough to put away Division II rival Charleston Southern in a 49-27 win.
“Wasn’t the prettiest, and there’s plenty we need to clean up,” Vaughn admitted postgame, flashing his trademark grin. “But that’s for Monday. These guys worked hard all week to put last week behind them, and they did just that. They deserve to celebrate.”
It didn’t start as planned for the Chanticleers (1-1). A holding penalty killed their opening drive, and Charleston Southern answered with a methodical 14-play march capped by a short field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
Then Ja’Vin Simpkins happened.
The junior running back put the Brooks Stadium crowd on its feet, turning a routine screen pass into a 72-yard weaving sprint to the end zone for the first Chanticleer touchdown of 2025. It was only the beginning of a career night for Simpkins, who added a one-yard score later in the half and finished with 175 total yards and three touchdowns.
But Coastal’s growing pains continued. A 49-yard Simpkins run set up a red-zone chance, only for quarterback Emmett Brown to be picked off in the end zone. Another promising drive ended with a missed field goal as time expired in the first half, leaving Coastal up just 14-6 and plenty of work to do.
Charleston Southern struck early in the third quarter with a long strike to Jalen Parrish that set up an 18-yard touchdown run by Xavier Craig. The Buccaneers went for two to tie but were denied when linebacker Luke Murphy burst through for a sack, preserving Coastal’s slim 14-12 lead.
Murphy wasn’t done. The senior racked up two more sacks in the third quarter to help swing momentum, and the Chanticleers finally found their rhythm. Brown hit Ja’Marion Wayne for 35 yards to set up Jalen John’s 16-yard touchdown, igniting a four-score avalanche that ballooned Coastal’s lead to 42-12 late in the fourth.
Charleston Southern showed late life with back-to-back deep balls to Parrish (58 and 53 yards) and an onside kick recovery to cut the gap, but Vaughn’s Chanticleers had the last word. With under two minutes left, Brown found Jameson Tucker on a post route for a final exclamation point.
Asked about the decision to stay aggressive late, Vaughn didn’t flinch.
“They were chucking it deep down 30 and trying onside kicks,” he said. “That’s fine. But when we got it back? Em had the green light. If they want to keep running it up, we can too — and we plan on doing it better.”
While Coastal’s defense tightened up compared to last week’s loss at Virginia — allowing 245 passing yards versus 375 — big plays remain an issue.
“We’ll take the good with the bad,” said veteran safety Dre Pinckney. “We got more pressure today, big credit to Luke [Murphy]. Now we’ve got to tighten up the back end, and that starts with me.”
The Chanticleers stay home next week for a pivotal matchup against in-state rival East Carolina (2-0). For Vaughn and Coastal, Saturday was far from flawless — but it was progress. And for a program embracing its bold new identity, that’s enough for now.
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Despite an overall successful home opener, there were still a handful of miscues like this red zone interception.
Jalen John saluting the roaring home crowd after his 3rd rushing touchdown.
Luke Murphy barreling through the line for his 3rd sack of the outing.
Ja'Vin Simpkins continues to be the big play spark for the Chanticleers offense, totaling 172 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
Week Two Sun Belt Results
20 James Madison (1-1) @ #19 Louisville (2-0) 35
10 Troy (1-1) @ #10 Clemson (1-1) 41
0 FCS @ Southern Miss (1-1) 55
23 Tulane (2-0) @ South Alabama (1-1) 20
23 Georgia Southern (1-1) @ USC (2-0) 31
48 Missouri State (2-0) @ Marshall (0-2) 47
17 FCS @ Old Dominion (1-1) 34
14 Louisiana-Monroe (1-1) @ #7 Alabama (2-0) 52
17 FCS @ Louisiana-Lafayette (2-0) 45
10 FCS @ Appalachian State (1-1) 35
49 Texas State (1-1) @ UTSA (0-2) 31
15 Arkansas State (1-1) @ Arkansas (2-0) 31
34 Memphis (2-0) @ Georgia State (0-2) 21
Notable Week Two Results
20 San Jose State (1-1) @ #8 Texas (1-1) 27
24 #17 Illinois (1-1) @ Duke (2-0) 31
10 #24 Michigan (1-1) @ #13 Oklahoma (2-0) 35
38 #11 Arizona State (2-0) @ Mississippi State (1-1) 27
