Charleston pulls away from Rams

September 26, 2009

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- DaRante Hunter rushed 24 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns and completed 10-of-15 passes for 211 yards and a score on Saturday to lead 20th-ranked University of Charleston to a 30-17 win over Shepherd University in a WVIAC game at Ram Stadium.

The Golden Eagles (5-0, 3-0) blew open the game with 16 unanswered points in the second half.

Shepherd (3-2, 2-1) took a 7-0 lead with 2:42 left in the first quarter. Quarterback Kevin Clancy connected with freshman tight end John Frick, of Greencastle, Pa., for a 3-yard touchdown pass. Eric Dobratz added the extra point.

Charleston tied the game on the first play of the second quarter on a 5-yard run by Hunter.

The Golden Eagles took a 14-7 lead with 3:28 left in the half when Hunter fumbled while heading to the end zone, allowing lineman Derek Pauley pounced on the loose ball for the score.

The Rams moved within 14-10 on Dobratz's 26-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the half.

Charleston took a 16-10 lead with 10:28 left in the third quarter when Marcus Young tackled Shepherd running back Tommy Addison in the end zone for a safety. Minutes later, the Golden Eagles extended their lead to 23-10 when Hunter teamed with Andre Higgins on a 50-yard scoring pass.

Hunter scored on a 2-yard plunge with 12:13 left in the fourth quarter to extend the Charleston lead to 30-10.

Shepherd scored with 9:15 remaining when strong safety Chris Patton pounced on a Hunter fumble in the end zone to cut the lead to 30-17. The Rams had three more possessions, but turned the ball over twice on downs and tossed an interception on their final drive.

Clancy completed 12-of-28 passes for 104 yards for Shepherd. Running back Jimmy Sutch rushed nine times for 37 yards to lead Shepherd.

Charleston amassed more than 395 yards of total offense, while limiting Shepherd to just 200 yards.

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