MARS HILL, NC - The young University of Charleston football team had a rough debut for head coach Pat Kirkland as the Golden Eagles managed just nine first-downs compared to Mars Hill's 23 as the host Lions rolled to a 27-7 victory, Saturday afternoon.

For MHC All-American running back Jonas Randolph carried the weight of his squad with 27 carries for 163 yards on the ground to go along with 41 yards on two receptions. Randolph helped Mars Hill nearly outgain Charleston in rushing yards alone as UC managed just 278 yards of total offense, while MHC rushed for 273 along with 250 pass yard to accumulate 523 on the afternoon.

The Lions avenged last year's 42-20 loss at UC Stadium with a dominating performance on both sides of the ball. Mars Hill jumped out to a quick 20-0 advantage mid-way thru the second quarter after Jon Richt tossed two touchdowns passes including a 56 yard strike on a miscommunication in the Charleston secondary.

UC managed to show a glimpse of the type of attack that head coach Pat Kirkland hopes will develop as the team gets better aquianted with his offensive system. With 2:06 remaining in the first half and the Golden Eagles backed up deep in their own territory quarterback Maurice Leak (Waxhaw, NC/Parkwood) showed he was more than a running threat. Leak connected with speedy reciever Darrell Byrd (Columbus, OH/Brookhaven) for an 80-yard touchdown strike to give the Golden Eagles a confidence boost headed into the locker room.

The lift provided just before halftime carried through to the second half for the Charleston defense as UC allowed Mars Hill to only score seven points, which came on another long TD pass from Richt. Despite not scoring in the second half the team showed signs they had overcome their early game mistakes and holding the score at 27-7 showed the team had a lot of fight moving forward this season.

On the defensive side of the ball the secondary stayed busy as Isiah Gibson (Hampton, VA/Bethel) and Aaron Dunlap (St. Albans, WV/St. Albans) paced UC with nine tackles each.

The University of Charleston looks to recover from a rough opening weekend as they face Urbana (OH) on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1:00 pm. The game is being sponsored by Brickstreet Insurance with free admission and audio coverage will be available here at ucgoldeneagles.com, along with on 950 AM Fox Sports in the Greater Charleston area.