Just like a heavyweight champion, the University of Charleston delivered the knockout blow in the final round.
Sophomore quarterback DaRante Hunter ran and passed for a touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Golden Eagles pulled away from Fairmont State for a key 21-7 West Virginia Conference victory Saturday. A crowd of 1,675 attended homecoming at UC Stadium on a sun-splashed fall afternoon.
UC (5-2 overall, 4-1 WVC) remains in the thick of the conference race, a half-game behind unbeaten Seton Hill (7-0, 4-0), which defeated West Virginia State 35-28 Saturday night. The Golden Eagles will play host to Seton Hill at 1 p.m. next Saturday in a battle for first place.
UC quarterback DaRante Hunter looks to pass as teammate Josh Harvey protects against the rush of Fairmont State’s Devin Johnson (99).
Hunter, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound native of Sarasota, Fla., accounted for 138 total yards and three TDs, helping the UC offense roll up 368 total yards and 28 first downs. He completed 9-of-13 passes for 98 yards with a TD and interception and added 40 yards on 14 carries with two TDs on the ground.
"We're always preaching in practice the fourth quarter is ours,'' said Hunter, who saw his team take a 7-0 lead at halftime despite committing three turnovers.
"In the first half we were kind of messing up ourselves so we weren't in a panic. We knew if we stopped the mental errors we could keep on driving. It wasn't like [Fairmont State was] stopping us; it was just we were hurting ourselves.''
Hunter began the final period with a 1-yard scoring run up the middle to put UC ahead 14-0 with 14:01 left in the game. The Falcons answered right away, needing just six plays as sophomore tailback Omoniyi Bakare scored on an 11-yard run to slice their deficit to 14-7 with 11:49 remaining in the fourth.
Fairmont State (3-4, 1-4) attempted an on-side kick, but it only traveled 8 yards, giving UC possession at the Falcons' 38-yard line. Hunter took just four plays to hit junior Aaron Higdon on a 26-yard post pattern over the middle as the Golden Eagles forged ahead 21-7 with 10:15 to go.
"DaRante Hunter is unbelievable even when there's nothing there,'' said second-year Fairmont State coach Mike Lopez . "He's able to get 5 and 6 yards just like that. That's back-breaking stuff because you can't game plan when you have a quarterback that can run.''
The Falcons drove to the UC 14 on what would be their last possession. Fairmont gained just 2 yards on three running plays on the first three downs. On fourth-and-13 from the Golden Eagles 17, Fairmont sophomore quarterback Vick Bradford threw high and wide of junior receiver Travis Hawthorne in the end zone, giving the ball back to the Golden Eagles.
Just like a heavyweight champion, the University of Charleston delivered the knockout blow in the final round.
Sophomore quarterback DaRante Hunter ran and passed for a touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Golden Eagles pulled away from Fairmont State for a key 21-7 West Virginia Conference victory Saturday. A crowd of 1,675 attended homecoming at UC Stadium on a sun-splashed fall afternoon.
UC (5-2 overall, 4-1 WVC) remains in the thick of the conference race, a half-game behind unbeaten Seton Hill (7-0, 4-0), which defeated West Virginia State 35-28 Saturday night. The Golden Eagles will play host to Seton Hill at 1 p.m. next Saturday in a battle for first place.
Hunter, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound native of Sarasota, Fla., accounted for 138 total yards and three TDs, helping the UC offense roll up 368 total yards and 28 first downs. He completed 9-of-13 passes for 98 yards with a TD and interception and added 40 yards on 14 carries with two TDs on the ground.
"We're always preaching in practice the fourth quarter is ours,'' said Hunter, who saw his team take a 7-0 lead at halftime despite committing three turnovers.
"In the first half we were kind of messing up ourselves so we weren't in a panic. We knew if we stopped the mental errors we could keep on driving. It wasn't like [Fairmont State was] stopping us; it was just we were hurting ourselves.''
Hunter began the final period with a 1-yard scoring run up the middle to put UC ahead 14-0 with 14:01 left in the game. The Falcons answered right away, needing just six plays as sophomore tailback Omoniyi Bakare scored on an 11-yard run to slice their deficit to 14-7 with 11:49 remaining in the fourth.
Fairmont State (3-4, 1-4) attempted an on-side kick, but it only traveled 8 yards, giving UC possession at the Falcons' 38-yard line. Hunter took just four plays to hit junior Aaron Higdon on a 26-yard post pattern over the middle as the Golden Eagles forged ahead 21-7 with 10:15 to go.
"DaRante Hunter is unbelievable even when there's nothing there,'' said second-year Fairmont State coach Mike Lopez . "He's able to get 5 and 6 yards just like that. That's back-breaking stuff because you can't game plan when you have a quarterback that can run.''
The Falcons drove to the UC 14 on what would be their last possession. Fairmont gained just 2 yards on three running plays on the first three downs. On fourth-and-13 from the Golden Eagles 17, Fairmont sophomore quarterback Vick Bradford threw high and wide of junior receiver Travis Hawthorne in the end zone, giving the ball back to the Golden Eagles.
UC took over at its own 17 and ran 13 straight times, picking up four first downs and chewing up the final 7:27 to secure the win.
"I thought our offensive line really controlled the line of scrimmage and I thought [Hunter] operated well,'' said UC coach Tony DeMeo, who saw his squad grind out 270 yards rushing.
"It was a good team victory. We were executing pretty well and the kids were running real hard. They're getting the job done.''
Higdon finished as UC's top rusher with 94 yards on 10 carries for a 9.4-yard average and had two receptions for 42 yards and a 21.1-yard average. Golden Eagles junior Xavier Drakeford and junior Ted Schaible each blocked field-goal attempts in the first half.
Bakare rumbled for 145 yards on 25 carries with a TD and Bradford finished 11-of-19 for 70 yards. The Falcons' Drew Rossignol, a former standout at George Washington and Capital, turned in an interception.
"He's got a fully funded operation and it shows,'' said Lopez of DeMeo. "He's got great athletes. He's got speed all over the place. It's hard to contain that much speed. We knew it was a matter of time before they get their adjustments. They're just good at what they do.''
The Golden Eagles know there is little room for error in their battle for an NCAA Division II playoff spot. UC went into the final week of the season last year with a playoff berth on the line but missed out despite winning its final game.
"I like the way we're playing ever since the State game,'' said Hunter of his team's narrow 24-21 loss three weeks ago to West Virginia State. "We've got a motto. We've gotta go 7-0, so three down, four to go. We've got to play everybody our hardest, every game like a playoff game.''
"It was a plan that we would get better every week and that's what I think we're doing,'' added DeMeo. "Every week I see improvement. I think we got better this week.''
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