Box Score Durham, N.C. – The 2013 football season got off to a rough start Saturday as Charleston fell to the Shaw Bears 44-14 at Durham County Stadium.
 
The Golden Eagles (0-1) seemed doomed from the opening kick as they mishandled a pooch kickoff that resulted in a turnover, giving Shaw (1-0) a short field to take a 7-0 lead on a 19-yard pass from Quinshon Odom to Kowaski Kitchens to start the game.  The Odom–to-Kitchens connection would be a trend for the afternoon as they would hook up 12 times during the game resulting in 144 yards and two touchdowns.
 
The score would remain 7-0 in favor of the Bears heading into the second quarter, but Charleston would even up the score two plays into the second on a 17-yard run by John Knox (Salisbury,NC).  Shaw would then respond with three straight possessions resulting in touchdowns, two coming from running back Marquise Grizzle, to hold a 27-7 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Bears would maintain their momentum from the second quarter and score touchdowns on their first two possessions of the third quarter, both coming from the arm of Odom who ended the day with four TD passes.  Shaw would extend their lead to 44-7 before Charleston would add a late touchdown run by Leighton Settle (Madison, WI) from seven yards out to make the final score 44-14. 
 
The theme for the day was third-down conversions for the Bears, who converted on 11-of-16 third down opportunities, keeping the fatigued UC defense on the field for much of the game.
 
Shaw would be led by Odom who finished the day 23-for-30, 264 yards and four passing touchdowns. Kitchens would be his favorite target through the air, but Grizzle would have an impressive game on the ground rushing for 147 yards on 26 attempts, including touchdown runs of nine and 25 yards.
 
The Bears defense would contain an offense that shredded them last season, giving up only 148 net yards on the day to the Golden Eagles.   Maurice Leak (Waxhax, NC) and Knox would combine the finish the day 7-for-16, 59 yards and an interception.  Knox would lead the Charleston ground attack, rushing for 39 yards and one touchdown on 11 attempts.
 
The Charleston defense was led by Justin Avery (Charlotte, NC) who finished with 10 tackles, followed by Kenneth Ridley (Hillside, NJ) and Isaiah Gibson (Hampton, VA) who both finished with 9 tackles.  UC picked up two sacks on the day but didn't force any Bear turnovers.
 
The Golden Eagles will return to action next Saturday in Carbondale, Ill. to face Division I opponent Southern Illinois with game time set for 3pm