Charleston, W. Va. – Back-to-back years it would be that the Golden Eagles suffered a heartbreaker in the NCAA Super Region One Playoffs. On Saturday, Charleston hosted the 7th seeded Ashland Eagles for the opening round of the NCAA DII Football Playoffs. It proved to be a fantastic matchup as this one came down to the wire in a great atmosphere for playoff football in the Mountain State.

The Basics
Location: UC Stadium
Score: UC 38, SU 40
Records: UC 11-1 (9-0 MEC), AU 9-3 (8-1 GMAC)

How it Happened
After sneaking their way into the playoffs when Findlay lost their final regular season matchup, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Champions had something to prove on Saturday. They would win the opening toss and elect to put their defense on the field to open the game. The Golden Eagles were able to find a first down on their third play from scrimmage, but on a 3rd and 8 Jeffrey Barnett would force a fumble out of the hands of Ean Hamric and the Eagles took the ball deep in Charleston territory. On their first offensive play, the Eagles decided to take a shot that would pay off after a long ball from Trevor Bycznski found the gloves of Tony Pannunzio from 41 yards out, taking an incredibly early 7-0 advantage. After stalling out on a 4th and 1, the Golden Eagles would send their defense out on the field once again without cashing in for any points. Ashland would drive down the field and connect on a 37-yard field goal from A.J. Rhodes to extend their lead to 10-0.

In the second quarter, the Charleston found their first score of the game after Niko Kausky slammed his way into the endzone from a yard away to cut the lead to 10-7 with 9:48 left to play in the half. Charleston's defense put up a great second-quarter performance, forcing Ashland to punt on each drive in the quarter. On the other end, it looked as though Charleston was knocking on the doorstep getting ready to take the lead with Chavon Wright's first touchdown of the year, but Bobby Young flew in and jarred the ball free on a massive collision and gave the Eagles the ball, preventing Charleston's rushing attack to find the endzone once more. On their next offensive possession, Charleston elected to score points through the air as Hamric and Yves Bosmans would connect from 41 yards out, giving the Golden Eagles their first lead of the game at 14-10 heading into the halftime break.

Charleston forced a turnover on downs to start the second half as a pass from Trevor Bycznski and Dru Johnson failed to convert on a 4th and 9. The Golden Eagles turned the defensive stop into points as Wright found his first rushing score of the day from two yards out, extending Charleston's lead to 21-10. An unnecessary roughness penalty on the extra point would haunt the Golden Eagles, as the great field position for Ashland from the ensuing kickoff resulted in Ashland's first score of the half, bringing the deficit back to four.

Heading into the fourth quarter, Ashland immediately took the lead with a rifle from Bycznski to Brock Henne from nine yards out, taking the 24-21 lead over Charleston. The Golden Eagles would strike right back as Ean Hamric scored a rushing touchdown from 11 yards out on a 3rd and 2 to give Charleston the lead once more at 28-24. Bycznski continued to remain untouched in the pocket and threw another lawn dart to Jamari Croom from 45 yards away giving the Eagles the two-point advantage after a missed extra point by Rhodes.

With 5:28 left to go, Ashland had looked like they would take the victory after Olando Kamara busted through the line for 77 yards untouched to extend Ashland's lead to two scores, but the Golden Eagles weren't done just yet. A Charleston drive that took a crucial 2:30 off the clock would result in a clutch 40-yard field goal from Levi Paxton to keep the Golden Eagles' hopes alive, bringing the game back to just a one-score deficit. Charleston's defense had done its job and forced a punt from the Eagles, but the ball would land at the Charleston three-yard line. The Golden Eagles would have to go 97 yards downfield to score to keep their season's hopes alive. With 1:47 on the clock and no timeouts, it was crunch-time for the home team. After a couple of plays moving downfield, Hamric and Bosmans would electrify the crowd with a 44-yard pitch and catch to tie the game up at 37-37. Levi Paxton would add the extra point to take the 38-37 lead with 1:05 left on the clock.

The Eagles managed to run down the remainder of the clock and set AJ Rhodes up for a 37-yard game winning field goal attempt. With two seconds left on the clock, the redshirt junior knocked home the kick to upset Charleston at home in the opening round of the playoffs 40-38.