CHARLESTON, WV – The Golden Eagles fell in their season opener to West Virginia State on Saturday afternoon. This marks the first time since 2008 that Charleston has not taken home the Kanawha Classic trophy.

Just the Basics
SCORE -   University of Charleston 28, West Virginia State 51
TEAM RECORDS - Charleston (0-1, 0-1 MEC), Yellow Jackets (1-0, 1-0 MEC)

Game Leaders: Offense
-Mason Olszewski led the Golden Eagles going 10-15, with 78 yards passing, 182 yards on the ground, and three touchdowns. While John Wiernicki led with five receptions for 45 yards.
-Matt Kinnick led State in the air with 311 yards passing leading to four touchdowns.
-Calil Wilkins led the yellow jackets in the run game with 191 yards and one touchdown.

Game Leaders: Defense
-Jonte Pooler led the Golden Eagles with 8 tackles while Keon Mabin had 7.
-Khave Konteh led State with 13 total tackles.

How it Happened
-The Yellow Jackets drew first blood when Quinton Gray caught a 59 yard pass up the seam from Matt Kinnick, just 1:30 into the first quarter. Half way through the first quarter Kinnick hit Dionta Brown for the second score bringing the score to 13-0 State.
-To start the second quarter Kinnick connected with Gray on a 12-yard ball to bring the score to 20-0.
-With 9:16 to go in the half Charleston's Jermaine Kelly scored on a two-yard run to put the Golden Eagles on the board (20-7). Less that 3 minutes later Calil Walkins made his way to the end zone to give State the 20-point lead.
-The Yellow Jackets brought the score to 30-7 to end the half on a 24-yd field goal by Aaron Ball.
-Coming out of the break Juwan Etheredg punched the ball into the end zone for West Virginia State building the Yellow Jacket advantage to 30. Just over a minute later the Yellow Jackets force a fumble on the UC return, and find the end zone two plays later (44-7)
-In the final minutes of the third quarter Olszewski scores on a seven-yard run UC's second score of the day.
-Olszewski finds Mason Kauffeld in the end zone to start the fourth quarter, cutting the State lead to 44-20. Charleston appeared to gain momentum with 5:49 to go when Olszewski took the ball himself on a three-yard run to score. Charleston went for two, to bring the score to 44-28.
-Inside the final minutes of play, the Yellow Jackets drove down the field to score their eighth touchdown of the game. West Virginia State went on to win 51-28.
 
Up Next
-Charleston's home opener will kick off at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night against Concord University.