Charleston, W.Va – Glenville and Charleston played in a slugfest Saturday afternoon on Laidley Field at UC Stadium. In the end the two teams combined to tally over 700 total yards, with the Golden Eagles scoring in the final minute to take a 41-34 win in MEC Football action.
It was a back and forth game all afternoon with a bevy of lead swings throughout the contest. Glenville jumped on the board first with freshman
Anthony Garrett finding fellow rookie
Tariq Miller from 13 yards out, staking an early 7-0 lead. Charleston answered with a Javonte Howard connecting with Tae Marrero for a 36-yard scoring strike, and minutes later taking the ball himself on a quarterback keeper from 18 yards, pushing UC ahead 14-7.
Javian Bellamy scored the second Glenville touchdown of the afternoon, racking in from six yards on a reverse. The point after was blocked, leaving the Pioneers down 14-13. UC extended their lead to 17-13 at intermission on a 23-yard field goal from Tim McCutcheon.
Glenville's
Saeed Galloway scored his first of three touchdowns on Glenville's first drive of the3 second half, powering in from two yards to give the Pioneers a 20-17 advantage. UC answered four minutes later, taking a 24-20 lead on a 28 yards TD pass from Howard to Colby Cooper.
Charleston extended their lead to 27-20 at the 13:18 mark of the fourth quarter, with McCutcheon connecting on a 36-yard field goal. Glenville came back with their biggest power surge of the contest, scoring on each of their next two possessions to take 34-27 lead with only 4:03 remaining. They tied the game with Galloway breaking outside for a 22-yard tally on fourth-and-one, and grabbed the lead with a two-yard plunge from Galloway.
Unfortunately for the Pioneer faithful, UC answered quickly on a 75-yard scoring strike from Howard to Marquan Howard, tying the contest at 34-34. Charleston's Josh Brown closed the scoring for the day, finding the end zone from five yards out with only 41 seconds left.
Garrett was 27-45 through the air in his initial start, for 343 yards and a score.
Alfred Menjor led the rushing attack with 20 carries for 80 yards, with Galloway rambling for 31 yards on five carries for three touchdowns. Bellamy was the top target for Galloway, collecting 12 catches for 177 yards.
Defensively,
Sean Bowers and
Seth Arnold each registered eight tackles to lead the squad.
Bob Jonjo was the big play man for the defense on the day, recording three tackles for loss.
Team-wise, the two teams were almost identical in total yardage. Glenville rushed for 171 yards on 38 carries and UC 172 yards on 35 carries. Glenville had 368 passing yards to 372 for UC…for a total yards tally of 539 yards for Glenville and 544 for Charleston.
Charleston improves to 3-3 overall and 3-2 in the MEC. Glenville falls to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in the league
Glenville is back in action next Saturday, hosting Alderson-Broaddus for Homecoming.
