Strong 2nd half lifts UC past WVWC
By Matt McCartney
For the Sunday Gazette-Mail
They didn’t exactly look impressive in the first half of Saturday’s matchup with West Virginia Wesleyan at University of Charleston Stadium, but the UC Golden Eagles certainly did in the second, finishing off a 33-6 victory.
At the end of the first half, Charleston led by just a single point, 7-6. The Eagles exploded in the second half, however, to score 26 points and hold the Bobcats scoreless to improve to 3-1 on and score their first West Virginia Conference win of 2007.
“We simply stepped up in the second half and our defense played very well, especially up front,” Eagles coach Tony DeMeo said. “We’ve got a lot of depth and we use it. We know that if we play great defense, control the offense and win the kicking game, we’ll be in a position to win and that’s exactly what we did.”
That great defense wasn’t evident on the game’s opening series, when Wesleyan drove 80 yards on 14 plays and used up more than seven minutes. That drive was capped by a 1-yard plunge by Jim Bowersock. After a failed extra-point kick attempt, the Bobcats led 6-0.
It wasn’t until midway through the second quarter that Charleston answered. Dominick Iacovone recovered a Wesleyan fumble at the Bobcat 15 and, eight plays later, Josh Culbertson powered into the end zone from 2 yards out for a UC TD, and Wes Sherrill drilled the extra point for a 7-6 lead.
The Eagles scored on the opening series of the second half. The drive covered 52 yards and was capped by the first of two touchdown runs by quarterback DeRante Hunter.
After Wesleyan turned the ball over on downs on the ensuing series, the Eagles took over at their own 26 with 8:19 remaining in the third quarter. They embarked on a 14-play drive that took just over eight minutes and covered 74 yards. Hunter scored his second touchdown and Charleston took a 19-6 lead into the fourth quarter.
UC ran just nine plays in the final period but managed to score twice more — once on a touchdown run by Rusty Taylor and another when Stephen Howard picked off a Wesleyan pass and returned it 98 yards to paydirt with just under two minutes remaining. Aside from the final drive in which Hunter simply took a knee to run out the clock, Charleston scored on all of its second-half possessions.
The UC defense, however, did not allow the Bobcats to get any offensive momentum in the final two quarters. The Eagles forced a punt on one possession, held as Wesleyan turned the ball over on downs on another and forced and recovered a fumble late in the game — in addition to making the interception that resulted in a score.
Many of Charleston’s troubles in the first half were the result of penalties. The Eagles were flagged eight times for 87 yards in the first half and 17 times for 141 yards in the game.
“The penalties took us out of drives and took us out of our game plan,” DeMeo said.
The officials weren’t exactly friendly to the visiting Bobcats, who were flagged eight times for 61 yards.
Hunter led Charleston in rushing with 93 yards on 18 carries. He also completed 4-of-9 passes for 60 yards. Culbertson finished with 73 yards on 19 carries.
Brandon Burton led the Bobcat ground attack with 79 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback Harry Lorusso hit on 10-of-17 passes for 104 yards. Alex Puente caught six passes for 65 yards and Nigel Smith caught five for 49.
The Golden Eagles will travel to face West Virginia State next Saturday, while Wesleyan (1-2) visits Concord.
For the Sunday Gazette-Mail
They didn’t exactly look impressive in the first half of Saturday’s matchup with West Virginia Wesleyan at University of Charleston Stadium, but the UC Golden Eagles certainly did in the second, finishing off a 33-6 victory.
At the end of the first half, Charleston led by just a single point, 7-6. The Eagles exploded in the second half, however, to score 26 points and hold the Bobcats scoreless to improve to 3-1 on and score their first West Virginia Conference win of 2007.
“We simply stepped up in the second half and our defense played very well, especially up front,” Eagles coach Tony DeMeo said. “We’ve got a lot of depth and we use it. We know that if we play great defense, control the offense and win the kicking game, we’ll be in a position to win and that’s exactly what we did.”
That great defense wasn’t evident on the game’s opening series, when Wesleyan drove 80 yards on 14 plays and used up more than seven minutes. That drive was capped by a 1-yard plunge by Jim Bowersock. After a failed extra-point kick attempt, the Bobcats led 6-0.
It wasn’t until midway through the second quarter that Charleston answered. Dominick Iacovone recovered a Wesleyan fumble at the Bobcat 15 and, eight plays later, Josh Culbertson powered into the end zone from 2 yards out for a UC TD, and Wes Sherrill drilled the extra point for a 7-6 lead.
The Eagles scored on the opening series of the second half. The drive covered 52 yards and was capped by the first of two touchdown runs by quarterback DeRante Hunter.
After Wesleyan turned the ball over on downs on the ensuing series, the Eagles took over at their own 26 with 8:19 remaining in the third quarter. They embarked on a 14-play drive that took just over eight minutes and covered 74 yards. Hunter scored his second touchdown and Charleston took a 19-6 lead into the fourth quarter.
UC ran just nine plays in the final period but managed to score twice more — once on a touchdown run by Rusty Taylor and another when Stephen Howard picked off a Wesleyan pass and returned it 98 yards to paydirt with just under two minutes remaining. Aside from the final drive in which Hunter simply took a knee to run out the clock, Charleston scored on all of its second-half possessions.
The UC defense, however, did not allow the Bobcats to get any offensive momentum in the final two quarters. The Eagles forced a punt on one possession, held as Wesleyan turned the ball over on downs on another and forced and recovered a fumble late in the game — in addition to making the interception that resulted in a score.
Many of Charleston’s troubles in the first half were the result of penalties. The Eagles were flagged eight times for 87 yards in the first half and 17 times for 141 yards in the game.
“The penalties took us out of drives and took us out of our game plan,” DeMeo said.
The officials weren’t exactly friendly to the visiting Bobcats, who were flagged eight times for 61 yards.
Hunter led Charleston in rushing with 93 yards on 18 carries. He also completed 4-of-9 passes for 60 yards. Culbertson finished with 73 yards on 19 carries.
Brandon Burton led the Bobcat ground attack with 79 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback Harry Lorusso hit on 10-of-17 passes for 104 yards. Alex Puente caught six passes for 65 yards and Nigel Smith caught five for 49.
The Golden Eagles will travel to face West Virginia State next Saturday, while Wesleyan (1-2) visits Concord.