Charleston, W.Va. — First-year head coach Mike Tesch and his Golden Eagles opened the 2025 campaign with a 39-10 victory over visiting Livingstone College last Thursday evening inside UC Stadium at Laidley Field. The Charleston offense rolled up 556 total yards highlighted by redshirt junior quarterback Ean Hamric (Glenville, WV) tossing 5 touchdowns including three to senior receiver Yves Bosmans (Fort Worth, TX). Hamric now totals 20 career touchdown passes while Bosmans collected his 20th career touchdown reception.
This week, Charleston travels to the Keystone State for a Thursday night, Top 25 battle against the Vulcans of California, PA. In the latest AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, Charleston is ranked No. 12 while California is slotted in at the No. 14 spot. Kickoff is set for 6:00 at Adamson Stadium.
A Look at the Golden Eagles —
OFFENSE | Charleston entered the 2025 season with a large question mark in the offensive backfield. How would they replace All-American running back Chavon Wright who transferred to Northern Illinois? That question may have been answered as a combination of Zachariah Williams and Jaylen Butera combined for 38 carries, 202 yards and a touchdown against Livingstone. Williams, a 5'-9, 180lb. redshirt sophomore from Dayton, Ohio rushed for a career-high 112 yards and a touchdown while also scoring the first touchdown of the game on a 10-yard pass reception from quarterback Ean Hamric. Butera, a 6'-2, 210lb. junior from Jamestown, NY finished with 90 yards on 19 carries.
Another solid showing for quarterback Ean Hamric as he completed 20-of-27 passes (74%) for 285 yards and five touchdowns. Yves Bosmans led the Golden Eagles with 6 receptions, 163 yards and 3 scores while Caleb Barringer (Charlotte, NC) hauled in 5 passes for 32 yards and Marquan Herron added 2 catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. Altogether, Hamric connected with 7 different receivers on the night.
DEFENSE | The Golden Eagles were led by senior defensive back Deno Wardlow (Winston-Salem, NC) with 9 solo tackles. Last year's leading tackler, linebacker Aiden Miller (Cincinnati, OH) added 5 tackles while safety John Clifford, Jr. (Cincinnati, OH) contributed 4 tackles. Charleston got to the Livingstone quarterbacks 4 times on Thursday night as Charvez Carter (Blue Springs, MO) led the way with two sacks and a forced fumble.
Charleston was +23 in turnover margin a year ago and looks continue that trend as the Golden Eagles recovered two fumbles while limiting the Blue Bears to just 76 total rushing yards.
A Look at the Vulcans —
A former four-year starter for the Vulcans and a veteran offensive coordinator at the FCS level, Gary Dunn enters his 10th season as head coach at California (PA) in 2025.
A successful 2024 campaign saw the Vulcans go undefeated in the PSAC West and finished with a 10-3 overall record while advancing to the Super Region One Championship game — a 31-13 loss to Slippery Rock.
OFFENSE | The Vulcans return just a handful on the offensive side including junior running back Bobby Boyd, Jr. (5'-8, 185lb.) who rushed for 938 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and 7 touchdowns in 2024. Junior receiver D'Vay Johnson contributed 27 receptions for 488 yards and 4 scores.
California, PA will have a new starter at the quarterback position as two-year starter Davis Black has graduated. Black completed 61% of his passes for 5,473 yards and 40 touchdowns the past two seasons. Coach Dunn will look to 6'-1, 215lb. senior Roman Purcell and 6'-3, 185lb. sophomore Phaeton Hill to help fill that role. Hill is the only quarterback to attempt a pass at California (1-1 for 43 yards vs. Gannon) while Purcell is a transfer from Indiana University but did not see any action in two seasons with the Hoosiers.
DEFENSE | Junior defensive back Keith Charney, senior linebacker Grant Hopple and junior defensive backs Khalil Taylor and Amory Thompson are the returning starters for the Vulcans defense. Charney was selected the PSAC West Freshman of the Year in 2023.
Taylor and Charney led the Vulcans in total tackles last year with 75 and 56, respectively. Taylor added 7-1/2 tackles for loss.
The 2024 Vulcans defense allowed 125.7 yards rushing and 216.3 yards passing per game while giving up 21.3 points per game to their opponents.
Charleston vs. California (PA) | Thursday September 4, 2025 | 6:00 PM | Adamson Stadium | Watch: https://psacsportsdigitalnetwork.com/calvulcans/
