CONWAY, S.C. - Expectations were not lowered for North Carolina A&T freshman quarterback Kwashaun Quick.
Quick, who is fresh off of leading Scotland County High School to a state championship, threw for 155 yards and a touchdown. But he also threw three interceptions, all going to Dontavais Johnson, as Coastal Carolina improved to 4-0 against the Aggies with a 29-13 win at Brooks Stadium Saturday.
Quick was playing in place of suspended junior quarterback Lewis Kindle. At times Quick looked comfortable running the Aggies offense as he ran off-tackle and roll out plays to gain yards on the ground. He was also effective in throwing short passes to the flats and letting his receivers pick up yards after the catch.
Quick's standout drive came toward the end of the first half. After a 29-yard field goal by Coastal kicker Alex Catron, the Aggies (0-1) took over possession at their own 28-yard line, trailing 17-3 with 1:15 remaining in the half. On 3rd-and-4, Quick riffled a pass to senior Donta Prince for a 15-yard gain. Redshirt junior Dominique Drake followed with a 10-yard run and freshman Marquis Gorham turned a short pass into a long 18-yard gain to the Chanticleer 23-yard line.
Quick capped the impressive drive by squeezing a pass to Larry Raper in between two Chanticleer players for a 17-10 halftime deficit.
"His timing on those throws was really good," said North Carolina A&T head coach Rod Broadway. "On that drive he showed he has an opportunity to be a good player for us. But he has to grow and learn."
There are plenty of lessens to pull from on Saturday. His first interception came in the first quarter. With Coastal players chasing, Quick scrambled for as long as he could before hurriedly flipping a pass downfield and into the hands of Johnson.
The turnover led to a 22-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Height as Coastal took a 14-0 lead into the second quarter.
A&T was able to get on the board during ensuing drive as Quick rushed for nine yards and the Aggies used two Coastal Carolina personal foul penalties to get inside the Coastal 10. On 3rd-and-goal from the 10, Quick threw a nice lob pass to Prince, but Prince could not hold on as he was coming down. Freshman kicker Zach Cimaglia finished the drive with a 27-yard field goal.
In an attempt to build on the momentum from the Aggies' previous drive, Quick tried go downfield. But he overthrew Prince, and the ball landed in the arms of Johnson. Coastal used it to score on a 29-yard field goal.
"I think he played like a freshman," said Broadway. "I'm proud of him, but we can't use his age as an excuse. He is a college football player like the rest of his teammates. We expected him to play better than he did."
The Chanticleers came out of the locker room and drove the ball 75 yards in 4:09 as Coastal quarterback Aramis Hillary found Matt Hazel running down the field by himself and tossed a 33-yard touchdown to give the Chanticleers a 24-10 lead.
