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CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A complete team effort in all three-phases of the game allowed the University of Charleston football team to put on its best performance of the 2011 season leading to a stunning 46-36 upset of one-time WVIAC contender Glenville State, Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers (4-5, 4-2) got off the bus in stride slamming Charleston (3-6, 3-3) with a quick 13-0 deficit. GSU ran the opening kickoff back 96 yards to set the tone early knocking the breath out of the Golden Eagles before they ever got their feet under them. Glenville quickly got the ball back after a UC fumble leading to another Pioneer touchdown. Charleston blocked the extra point attempt to limit the scoring at 13.

Down but not out of the game it seemed Charleston would have a long-road to run in order to keep within reach of Glenville State, but the usual offensive prowess of Golden Eagles leading playmaker Jordan Roberts (Madison, WV) emerged on the second drive. UC went to a heavy dose of their powerful runner as he took four of the drives six plays with the fourth touch ending with a dive into the endzone cutting the Pioneer lead to 13-7.

Defensive end Jeff Green (Johnson City, TN) emerged as a threat to Glenville's pass game with constant pressure in the backfield. He grabbed two of his five tackles in the game on the next Pioneer possession with his most important stat coming in the form of back-to-back quarterback hurries on 3rd and 4th down to hand the UC offense the ball. Charleston made its offensive possession count with Roberts and quarterback Maurice Leak (Waxhaw, NC) each running four times on the drive that would click three minutes off the game clock. Leak scampered into the endzone behind a big push from his offensive line to hand UC complete the early comeback at 14-13.

Glenville State proved they were still a team that had plenty of weapons quickly driving to the Charleston six-yard line. The Golden Eagle defense bent, but did not break on the drive holding up under the pressure of their own goal line forcing the Pioneers to retake the lead with just a field goal allowing a narrow edge to the visitors at 16-14.

With just 1:19 on the clock Leak yet again showed the danger the UC two-minute drill offense can muster connecting with Roberts for a 37-yard reception to the Glenville State 12 yard line. Roberts began the drive with a 40 yard kickoff return to the 49 yard line of the Pioneers. Leak capped the quick strike by hitting Taylor Franz (Springboro, OH) along the backline of the endzone with just four clicks remaining before halftime to send the teams to break with Charleston ahead 21-16.

It has been the running game that has led to success for the University of Charleston offense, but in the second half the fireworks were set off on an exciting air-show to start the third quarter. Leak connected with speedster Darrell Byrd (Columbus, OH) on the second play of the half for a 56-yard touchdown strike. A bad snap on the extra point seemed to be a damper after a great scoring play, but on this day even a negative play found a way to be successful. Holder Ryan Foster (Cincinnati, OH) corralled the bad snap and rolled right to escape the inside defenders diving through two tacklers along the right sideline for a two-point conversion to extend the lead to 29-16.

The two teams traded two possessions before Glenville State hit the scoreboard again as Darold Hughes found his short pass game to go 5-for-5 on a touchdown scoring drive that got the visitors to within 29-23 headed into the final quarter.

After three-straight Roberts runs the first drive of the fourth quarter sputtered to a stop for UC at the Pioneer 27 yard line leading to Head Coach Pat Kirkland to send in his field goal unit for a long attempt. Coming into the game kicker Puma Nuredini (Naples, FL) was only 4-of-10 on the season with a long of 36 yards. Nuredini quickly calmed any doubts about his range by nailing the school-record 44 yard attempt with a blast that seemed to hang in the air for minutes before crossing the between the posts as UC took a 32-23 advantage.

Glenville State went back to their only offensive scheme that had found success against a strong defensive effort by Charleston in the form of short swing-passes to the flats. After Hughes connected on three-straight short passes the Golden Eagle defense made their adjustment to secure the upset victory. On Hughes' fourth consecutive pass freshman linebacker Justin Avery (Charlotte, NC) jumped the route at the line of scrimmage catching the pass in stride to bolt for a 64-yard interception return effectively sealing the upset.

The Pioneers would tack on two late touchdowns to set the scoring at 46-36 after Roberts added a 17 yard touchdown of his own with just over three minutes left to play, but after the great defensive effort GSU never threatened down the stretch.

The quick strikes by the University of Charleston offense did little favors for their defensive unit as Glenville State controlled the ball for almost 38 minutes of the contest. The time of possession difference allowed the visitors to rack up 30 first downs to just 15 by Charleston, while the defense allowed 512 yards of offense for GSU. Despite the huge difference in numbers on the stat sheet the Golden Eagle defensive unit held the game together taking advantage of every opportunity they got including holding Glenville to 0-for-3 on fourth down.

Charleston rumbled for 238 yards on the ground and just 98 in the air, but managed 6.6 yards per play to just 5.7 for GSU. The numbers are overwhelming in the visitors favor across the board but the intangibles from the field today allowed UC to fight back into the contest and hold the Pioneer threat at bay.

Roberts accounted for 137 yards on the ground and 40 of the receivings yards, while booking two touchdowns to match his scoring production of 2010 with 11 TDs on the season. Roberts also moved his name up to second all-time for career rushing touchdowns as he surpasses Corey Isner with his 22nd career touchdown. In sticking with the record breaking theme Roberts also places his name in University of Charleston football history in becoming just the second 1,000 yard rusher in the modern era of Golden Eagle football as he currently sits at 1,101 yards for the season.

Leak led the charge in the passing game with 98 yards on 5-of-9 attempts for two touchdowns, while also recording the one TD on the ground.

Nuredini not only broke a school record with his 44-yard field goal, but played a pivotal role in giving Glenville State a lot of field to cover as he averaged 43.7 yards per punt on the afternoon including a 51-yard bomb that landed inside the GSU 10 yard line.

On the defensive side of the ball it was a complete team effort in slowing the dangerous Pioneer attack. Aaron Dunlap (St. Albans, WV) paced Charleston with 12 tackles including a sack and two tackles for loss, while Matt Kelly (Cincinnati, OH) and Matt Duncan (Jonesborough, TN) each registered 10 total tackles in the contest.

UC will wrap up its 2011 home session next Saturday, Nov. 5 with a visit from No. 14 ranked West Virginia Wesleyan at 1:00 pm. Wesleyan will enter the contest as the top team in the WVIAC after a 42-6 drubbing of WV State moves the Bobcats to 9-0 on the season, they will be the third ranked opponent for the Golden Eagles this season.