Charleston's Tyreon Jones (95) and Brian Jones (45) put the heat on Glenville State quarterback Anthony Garrett. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

SPENCER — First-year Charleston head man Mike Tesch watched his Golden Eagles fall behind once again here Saturday afternoon at County Stadium, but the two-time defending Mountain East Conference champions held on for a 31-28 victory versus Glenville State.

The G-men (1-3, 0-1) bolted out to a 21-7 lead, but the Golden Eagles (3-2, 2-0) responded with 24 straight before signal-caller Anthony Garrett scored from the 2 with 69 seconds to play. However, the onside kick went out of bounds.

“We were in the same situation last week, down 17-0. It’s just trusting the guys and trusting what we are doing,” admitted UC quarterback Ean Hamric, who threw for two scores and had a pair of rushing touchdowns. “I mean we’ve been in that situation before. In that situation last year.

“In that situation last game (of 2024) against Ashland. We had a 97-yard, 2-minute, drill. We’re used to our backs being against the wall. Obviously you want to start a little bit faster, but I mean I’m proud of the way we came back and fought through and got the victory today.”

Charleston scored on the opening series via a Hamric 3-yard burst to cap a 14-play, 75-yard drive. UC went for it on fourth down at its own 34 and picked it up via an offside penalty. The visitors converted three third downs, which included a 14-yard grab on third-and-11 at the Pioneer 18 by Yves Bosmans.

Glenville State's Graylan Holland looks for running room. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Jeremiah King, who led the hosts with 60 yards on 16 attempts, scored at 7:03 of the first on a 7-yard swing pass from Garrett and Brody Layman converted his PAT like Golden Eagle Gryffin Mitstifer did to square it at seven. The score was set up by a 69-yard Garrett to Arnav Thornhill (2-91) connection.

After the two teams traded punts, UC went for it on fourth-and-1 at its own 33, but Justin McDuffie, who rushed 24 times for 82 yards, was stuffed by Braden Boggs.

Facing a fourth-and-14 at the 37, GSU boss Mike Kellar watched his squad convert when Naseem Pacheco had a 23-yard reception to get into the red zone. King scored on a 6-yard run at 12:59 of the second.

The GSU defense forced another three-and-out and the offense marched right back down the field needing just five plays to go 68 yards and take a 21-7 lead with 8:53 to go in the half following Garrett’s 9-yard strike to Amari Colon-Brown. Tight end Koraun Perdue had a 15-yard reception and Kordell Lewis grabbed a 28-yarder on the drive.

However, a busted coverage allowed Bosmans to go 57 yards for a touchdown less than a minute later and Mitstifer’s 22-yard field goal prior to the half cut the lead to 21-17.

Charleston's Justin McDuffie stiff arms Glenville State's Kaevon Blanding before getting tackled by Henry Lyes (33). (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

“I thought we did a lot of good things. Our kids played hard. They compete,” admitted coach Kellar, who watched his team match UC’s 21 first down while also finishing with a 359-355 edge in total yards. “We made a lot of plays and some unfortunate things, penalties and what not, one blown coverage, but they did, too.

“Both teams really played a pretty evenly matched football game. From when I came here to where Charleston was at to how even this game is now we can take some solace and pride in that, but I feel like we’re hurting right now. We feel like we should’ve won that ballgame.”

The Pioneers picked up a pair of first downs to open the third quarter with the second one getting the ball near midfield thanks to a Tariq Meredith 10-yard catch. However, UC forced a punt and proceeded to go 56 yards in 11 plays to take the lead for good, 24-21, at the 5:52 mark. Aiden Diaz managed to break a tackle at the 10 and went in for the go-ahead score on what was third-and-goal snap from the 15.

Disaster struck early in the fourth for the G-men when Zander Watson’s punt was blocked by Brian Jones and Hamric followed with a 2-yard TD burst.

“Just tough. They’re just really tough,” replied Hamric, who had 18 carries for 83 yards and was 11 of 19 for 141 yards, when asked about the resiliency of the Golden Eagles. “We always talk around and joke around and say ‘Chucktown, tough and nasty.’ That’s what we say. It’s on our shirts. We’ve been making it hard, way too hard for the whole season.

Glenville State running back Micah Brown finds a hole during the Pioneers' 31-28 setback to Charleston on Saturday afternoon at Spencer's County Stadium. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

“We haven’t started fast, but we just believe in each other and just coming out and trusting the defense to keep making stops, and eventually we’ll all figure it out. Once we get going we’re hard to stop and we know that. It’s just about carrying that momentum and keeping it going. Obviously we’d like to have been a little bit better and we left some stuff out there, but at the end of the day we got it done so that’s all that really matters.”

Garrett finished 17 of 30 for 257 yards on a day when UC held a 34:33 to 25:27 edge in time of possession.

“We did a lot of good things to not win. As always there are some things you can clean up and I’ll have to look at the tape to see exactly what those things are,” added coach Kellar. “Whether we really are holding that much and they’re not. I reserve the right to watch the tape and change my mind about what I think I saw, but right now probably not a good mental space. It is what it is.

“We got Fairmont and then Frostburg. I’ve been telling everyone since forever the league has about, you know, four, five, six, seven teams that are the same teams and however the ball bounces that day that team wins. I don’t think Charleston’s going undefeated the rest of the way. I don’t know who will, but this league is definitely for the taking. It’s just where it’s at.”

The Golden Eagles have a week off before heading to Wheeling while the G-men will tangle with Fairmont State in the Battle for the Bit at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Robert C. Byrd.

Glenville State head coach Mike Kellar asks for an explanation during Saturday afternoon's 31-28 setback to Charleston at Spencer's County Stadium. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

Glenville State's Sean Williams comes off the edge trying to block the extra point attempt by Charleston's Gryffin Mitstifer. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Glenville State's Jeremiah King runs through the attempted tackle of Charleston's Deno Wardlow en route to a touchdown. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Glenville State offensive lineman Benjamin Kilgore trots off the field while tight end Koraun Perdue (8) celebrates following a touchdown by Jeremiah King (5). (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Glenville State's Andre Jefferson breaks up a pass near the end zone intended for Charleston's Yves Bosmans. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Charleston's Ean Hamric, who ran for two scores and tossed a pair of touchdown passes, escapes out of the pocket during the Golden Eagles' 31-28 victory Saturday afternoon versus Glenville State at Spencer's County Stadium. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)