CHARLESTON, W.Va. – There were only a few drives during the contest where on team did not find the end zone on Saturday as the University of Charleston Golden Eagles fell to the Notre Dame Falcons on 63-53. It was the fast-paced throwing game of the Golden Eagles against the surging ground game of the Falcons that combined for 116 points in the contest.  
 
JUST THE BASICS
SCORE: Notre Dame 63, Charleston 53
LOCATION: Charleston, W. Va.
TEAM RECORDS: Charleston (4-2, 3-2 MEC), Notre Dame (6-0, 6-0 MEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After an offsides call gave the Golden Eagles a first down, on drive number one of the game, it was Joe Street who got the nod, and took the ball three yards to open up scoring for the day.  
 
Immediately after Charleston's kickoff it was Marvelle Ross who took the ball 80 yards to even the score with 12:50 to go in the first quarter.
 
In classic Golden Eagle fashion, Charleston came out fast as they struck back on their very next drive as Senior Quarterback Brant Grisel hit Mike Strachan with a 75-yard ball for the Golden Eagles second score of the game.
 
Jaleel McLaughlin found the endzone for the first time with just over six minutes remaining in the first quarter. A quick 35-yard ball from Chris Brim to Zaire Mitchell put the Falcons inside the Golden Eagles 20-yard line, setting up McLaughlin's first scoring opportunity to tie the game up at 14.
 
The Golden Eagles drove the field their next time out, ending the drive on a field goal from Freshman kicker, Tim McCutchen.
 
The first quarter came to a close with the Golden Eagles holding a 17-14 advantage over the No. 5 Falcons. Notre Dame took the lead for the first time in the second quarter on a run by McLaughlin bringing the score to 21-17.
 
With seven minutes to play in the first half, Ladennyawn Green carried the ball 41 yards during the Falcon Drive for the 28-17 lead with five minutes to play. NDC was had one more score in them before the half came to a close as McLaughlin notched his third touchdown of the day, bringing the score to 35-17.

Before the close of the second quarter, Charleston clawed their way to the endzone with less than a minute to go as Joe Street punched the ball in bringing the score to 35-24 before intermission.
 
The Golden Eagles tallied over 300 yards of offense in the first half, to the Falcons 225, as the two teams would continue to go tick-for-tack in the second half.
 
Notre Dame went to the air for their next two touchdowns, connecting with Jeremy Hamilton and McLaughlin to increase their lead to 49-24 with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
 
After a muffed punt from the visitors the Golden Eagles recovered the ball on the Notre Dame 20-yard line setting up a quick two-pass drive that ended with a Charleston touchdown as Grisel found Strachan on the 16-yard pass to the end zone.
 
The Golden Eagles defense kept attacking as D'Vaughn Whitt stripped McLaughlin on the Falcons 20-yard line, running the ball in to set the score at 49-38.
 
On the next drive Tyreik McAllister took the ball 56-yards, followed by a successful two-point conversion to bring the Golden Eagles within three points of the Falcons.
 
With 9:40 to play in the fourth quarter, Grisel connected with Tremaine Ross on an 88-yard bomb to give the Golden Eagles their first lead since the first quarter as the score was 53-59.
 
Mclaughlin took the ball 67-yards on Notre Dame's next drive to put the Falcons back up 56-53 at the 9:30 mark.
 
Finally, with just under eight minutes to go in the final stanza, Nik Cotton scored on a fumble recovery to bring the score to 63-53.
 
Both teams tallied 539 yards of total offense and 116 combined points for this MEC shootout. Senior quarterback, Brant Grisel tallied 464 yards in the air with three touchdowns as he went 27-45. McAllister notched 109 yards on the ground in the effort with one touchdown for the Golden Eagles.
 
UP NEXT
The Golden Eagles are set to hit the road on the short week as they head to Frostburg state to face the Bobcats for the first time in program history. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.