WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The No. 9 ranked Charleston Golden Eagles (9-0, 7-0 MEC) remained undefeated on the season as they went on the road to blank West Liberty 38-0. With Saturday's victory, Charleston claimed at least a share of the 2024 Mountain East Conference football championship. A victory next at winless WV Wesleyan would secure the outright championship - their second consecutive MEC football championship.

The Basics
Location: West Family Stadium
Score: UC 38, West Liberty 0
Records: UC 9-0 (7-0 MEC), WLU 2-7 (2-5 MEC)

How it Happened
Charleston won the toss and elected to defer to the 2nd half, giving West Liberty first possession of the game. After an initial first down on a Golden Eagle penalty, Charleston forced a punt and took over on their own 16-yard line. 8 plays and 84 yards later, sophomore quarterback Ean Hamric found Shamarr Wright on the left side for a 24-yard touchdown with 8:15 to go in the opening quarter.

Breece Hoff and Nesta Owens came up with a 3rd down sack and after a 32-yard Hilltopper punt, the Golden Eagles started their second offensive possession from their own 21. Charleston drove down the field to the West Liberty 9-yard line as the first quarter ended. Two plays into the second quarter, junior Chavon Wright took it in from 1-yard out to make it 13-0. After a Levi Paxton extra point, Charleston extended their lead to 14-0 with 14:21 in the second quarter.

West Liberty's next possession looked promising but the bend but don't break mentality of the Golden Eagle defense denied a Hilltoppers 4th down pass attempt. Charleston took over on their own 37. A Chavon Wright 16-yard carry into Hilltoppers territory followed by a Hamric 25-yard pass to Yves Bosmans had the Golden Eagles poised to score again. On the next play Hamric's pass attempt to Bosmans was tipped and picked off by the Hilltoppers cornerback Junus McGraw.

Once again, the Charleston defense forced another West Liberty punt as the Golden Eagles took over at their own 30-yard line with 9:08 to play before halftime. A heavy dose of Chavon Wright put the Golden Eagles inside the Hilltoppers 5-yard line. Hamric found TE Eddie Scott for a big 4th down conversion to give Charleston a 1st and goal from the 3-yard line. Out of the wildcat formation, Chavon Wright took the snap and handed off to Niko Kausky for a three-yard touchdown over the left side. Levi Paxton tacked on the extra point kick as the Golden Eagles led West Liberty 21-0 with 4:23 to go in the first half.

As time winded down in the first half, West Liberty quarterback Kekoa Turangan found Marquez Hurst for a 33-yard reception to the Golden Eagles 14-yard line. Three plays later, David Schweinfuss forced a fumble from running back Hunter Patterson, picked it up and ran it back to the Hilltoppers' 30-yard line. Levi Paxton would drill a 39-yard field goal from the left hash to put Charleston up 24-0 with 5 seconds left in the first half.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Hilltoppers' Vernon Settles couldn't come up with the ball and Charleston's Breece Hoff recovered on the West Liberty 21-yard line. With two ticks left on the clock, head coach Quinn Sanders sent Levi Paxton back out to attempt another 39-yard field goal but Paxton's attempt would sail wide left and Charleston would go into the locker room at halftime leading West Liberty 24-0.

Golden Eagles received the kickoff to start the 2nd half and didn't hesitate to march it down the field for another score. A 13 play, 83-yard drive ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Chavon Wright. His 2nd of the day and 30th rushing touchdown of the season. Paxton's extra point was good and Charleston pushed their lead to 31-0 with 5:40 in the 3rd quarter.

After two15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on the Hilltoppers, Levi Paxton kicked off from the West Liberty 35-yard line. An unsuccessful onsides kick and two plays later, one of the oddest occurrences happened on the field. Two officials running the chain gang decided they had enough, laid down the markers and left the field. That left the West Liberty officials scrambling to find replacements. After the chaos was restored, the Hilltoppers punted it away for the 4th time of the game and Charleston took over on the West Liberty 36-yard line. Golden Eagles could not take advantage as Levi Paxton's field goal attempt was blocked.

Marquis Mauney would intercept Hilltoppers' QB Kekoa Turangan at the West Liberty 40-yard line and return it down to the 19-yard line. 7 plays later Chavon Wright waltzed into the end zone from a yard out to complete the scoring for the day and put Charleston up 38-0 with 11:56 in the 4th quarter.

Charleston finished with 396 yards of total offense including 251 yards on the ground. Chavon Wright was impressive again as the junior running back finished with 31carries for 189 yards and three touchdowns. For the season, Wright has amassed an NCAA Division II leading 1,728 yards on the ground and 31 rushing touchdowns.

The Golden Eagles defense posted their first shutout of the season and the first since blanking WV Wesleyan 44-0 on October 29, 2022. The Hilltoppers finished with 305 total yards of offense but turned the ball over 3 times on the afternoon. Charleston continues to lead the nation with a +17 Turnover Margin.

Up Next
Charleston will be back in action next week as they travel to Buckhannon, WV to take on the Bobcats of WV Wesleyan. Last year the Golden Eagles down the Bobcats 76-16 at UC Stadium in front of a Homecoming crowd. Kickoff for next week is scheduled for 1:00 at Cebe Ross Field.