CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The University of Charleston football team pounded out 243 yards rushing on 49 attempts as the home team overpowered Mars Hill in the Golden Eagle’s 2010 home opener.
The Lions (1-1) struck first as Jon Richt found Patrick Park in the back of the end zone from 11-yards out, but strong pressure from the Charleston (1-1) special teams forced the PAT attempt wide right as MHC took a 6-0 early lead.
The Richt pass would be the only scoring for either side through the first quarter of action as Charleston tallied just 30 yards in the opening frame. The second quarter saw the Golden Eagles return to form as they rallied off 28-points highlighted by two Jordan Roberts (Madison, WV/Scott) rushing touchdowns.
Roberts first TD of the afternoon came at the 11:19 mark of the second quarter as he powered into the end zone from two-yards out behind a strong push from the Charleston offensive line. UC would then pull away with 14-points in less than two minutes as Hassan Coleman (Columbus, OH/Brookhaven) ran an interception back 57-yards followed by a 37-yard pass from Blain Wilson (Richwood, OH/North Union) to Julian Johnson (Cincinnati, OH/Winton Woods).
The second quarter would conclude in exciting fashion as the Golden Eagles special teams yet again came up big with a blocked punt recovering the ball with 0.01 on the play clock at the Mars Hill 1-yard line. Coach Tony DeMeo called the offense back onto the field to push the ball in the end zone one more time before half as Roberts vaulted across the line to secure a 28-6 halftime advantage.
UC came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders in the second half as Wilson connected with leading receiver Andre Higgins (Cincinnati, OH/New Richmond) for a 44-yard touchdown pass just 1:04 into the closing half to cap a 35-0 Charleston scoring run.
Richt would close the MHC drought as he took the Lions down the field with their first possession of the second half passing for 55-yards on the drive capped by a 12-yard completion to Allen Woerner to close the gap to 35-13. Mars Hill would end its scoring run with Garrison McDowell finding the end zone on a 9-yard run as the Lions closed the score to 35-20.
Charleston’s defense would close down the momentum for Mars Hill in the fourth quarter as the teams traded possessions with vital seconds clicking off the play clock. Charleston sealed its first victory of the season as Wilson weaved his way to a 14-yard touchdown run with 4:23 on the clock to set the final score at 42-20.
Senior Chris Woomer (Marietta, GA/Pope) led the Charleston defense with 9.0 tackles, while Craig Kampfer (Kensington, OH/Carrolton) accounted for 2.5 tackles for a loss.
UC returns to the gridiron against Kanawha Valley rival WV State on Sept. 18 at 1:00 pm.
