Box Score

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Running back Jordan Roberts (Madison, WV) set the University of Charleston football career rushing record with 148 yards to lead the Golden Eagles to a 30-10 victory over Fairmont State, Saturday afternoon.

Charleston (4-1) struck quickly with their first possession of the contest when backup quarterback John Knox (Salisbury,NC), in place of the injured Maurice Leak (Waxhax, NC), connected with Chris Maxwell (Fort Lauderdale, FL) on a 56-yard pass just two minutes into the contest for the immediate 7-0 lead. The catch was Maxwell's first as a Golden Eagle in just his fourth grab of the season.

Fairmont State (1-4) answered at the end of the first quarter as they used a strong scouting report on Puma Nuredini (Naples, FL) to setup a Ryland Newman punt return all the way to the endzone, which knotted the game at 7-7.

UC put together a massive shift in momentum with five minutes remaining in the first half as a stellar defensive effort by Nuredini and the Charleston defense backed the Fighting Falcons up to the shadow of their own goal line. Hassan Coleman (Columbus, OH) broke up a pass on third down as FSU attempted to get off their own two yard line, which sent the punt block team into the game for Charleston. The specialized squad did just as their title indicated and destroyed the visitors punt attempt from the endzone. Fairmont punter Chris Kish was met at the ball by a surprising face in Golden Eagle back Roberts who blasted the specialist out the back on the endzone for the safety.

Roberts wasn't done with his effort in the swing. On the second play after the FSU free kick following the safety Roberts broke loose for a 45 yard rumble into the endzone that capped a nine point swing in 17 seconds which send Charleston into the locker room with a 16-7 advantage.

The second half saw the Golden Eagle defense make a statement that they were going to control the line as Fighting Falcon quarterback Bobby Vega found himself on the run for much of the final two quarters. UC struck first in the second half when Knox capped an extended 16 play 68 yard drive with a one yard dive into the endzone, the scoring drive ate just over eight minutes of clock off the third quarter for the longest of the day by either team.

On the next possession Fairmont State got the furthest into Charleston territory the home defense would allow in the second half, yet had to settle for a 31 yard field goal to pull within 23-10. The scoreboard didn't stay still long though as the University of Charleston wasn't finished with their efforts on offense but this time struck quickly to be sure the game was out of reach.

Only 53 seconds after the FSU field goal Knox booked his second long touchdown completion of the day with a connection to speedster Darrell Byrd (Columbus, OH). Byrd took control of a slip-screen pass along the left flank juking one defender before outracing the other 10 down the field for a 55 yard score to set the final score at 30-10.

UC nearly doubled the output of Fairmont State with 436 yards of total offense to just 239. The Golden Eagle defense controlled the line of scrimmage on the day allowing only 63 yards rushing to FSU on 23 attempts. Jeff Green (Johnson City, TN) and Nathaniel Berry (Miami, FL) each had a big day along the defensive from with each booking two sacks and two tackles for loss.

Offensively, Roberts added 57 yards to the school career rushing record with six games remaining to set the final number. Knox ended the afternoon at 10-for-18 for 172 yards and two touchdowns with a strong 93 yard effort rushing as well.

Next week the University of Charleston will celebrate Homecoming with a 2:00 pm contest against WVIAC foe Seton Hill at UC Stadium. Admission to the game is free of charge, check www.ucwv.edu for a listing of all Homecoming activities throughout the week.