CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Fairmont State University football hit the road for a rare Friday Night matchup against the 11th-ranked University of Charleston. The Falcons fell to the Golden Eagles in the state capital, 50-30.

Fairmont State (4-4, 3-3) won the toss and elected to receive to start off the game. Starting at their own 35, the Falcons quickly went to the air as Nino Marzullo completed a 34-yard pass to Winston Page to the Charleston 31. After consecutive runs by Dereik Crosby II, Marzullo completed his next two passes to setup 1st-and-Goal at the 10. On the next play, Marzullo completed a pass over the middle to Kobe Harris for the opening score.

Trailing 7-0, Charleston (8-0, 6-0) started its first drive from the 35. The Golden Eagles swiftly moved the ball into Fairmont State territory. On 3rd-and-8 from the FSU 32, UC's quarterback dropped back and threw down field as Eltayeb Bushra intercepted the pass and returned it 19 yards to the Fairmont 42.

The Falcons picked up 10 yards on a Marzullo pass to Gage Michael before Crosby II rushed for 14 yards to the Charleston 34. Unfortunately, the drive stalled there as Fairmont State turned over the ball on downs at the 26-yard line. The Golden Eagles went to work on the ground before completing a 28-yard pass to the FSU 36. After a short gain, Chavon Wright broke free from the line and score from 23 yards out to tie the game at 7.

On Fairmont State's next drive, Crosby II rushed for 20 yards on two carries. The next couple of plays for the Falcons were a mix of runs and passes that moved the ball to the Charleston 32 as the game headed to the second quarter. After changing ends of the field, FSU was unable to pick up a first down as Emmanuel Richardson nailed a 43-yard field goal to give the lead back to the Falcons, 10-7.

Charleston wasted little time as it completed a 56-yard pass to the Fairmont State 12. Four plays, the hosts were in the endzone for their first lead of the game, 14-10, with 12:15 left in the half. The Falcons' offense went to the ground game and on third down, Marzullo kept the ball for a 40-yard gain but a holding call on the play moved the ball back but still picked up the first down. Unfortunately, the drive stalled there as the Falcons had to punt the ball.

The Golden Eagles used the ground game with seven of the first eight plays taking place on the ground. Facing 3rd-and-1 from the UC 44, the home side's quarterback kept the ball and ran in from 56 yards out to extend the UC lead to 11 (21-10). However, Fairmont State quickly responded as on the first play from scrimmage, Marzullo dropped back and found Jolann Alston for a 75-yard touchdown to make it a 21-17 game with 4:58 left in the half.

Like two heavyweight boxers, the two offenses started to trade punches as Charleston's third play of the next drive went 71 yards for a touchdown to reopen the 11-point difference, 28-17. The Falcons went quicker tempo on the offensive end as Marzullo connected on back-to-back passes to Gage Michael and Winston Page. After a three-yard loss, Marzullo found Page once more for 18 yards to the Charleston 36 before completing a short pass to Jermaine Bradford who ran it to the endzone for a touchdown.

Charleston got the ball back leading 28-24 with 1:01 on the clock. The Golden Eagles were able to pick up a first down and nearly got to midfield but the half game to an end with the hosts leading by four.

In the second half, Charleston started to take over as it went 69 yards on six plays in 2:44 to lead 36-24 after a successful two-point conversion. Fairmont State was unable to pick up first down on its first drive as it punted the ball to the hosts. 

The Golden Eagles went back to the ground game, using an eight-play drive with six rushes to go 77 yards to lead 43-24 with 6:23 left in the third. The Falcons were intercepted on the next drive before going three-and-out on the last one of the third. Charleston's next drive extended into the fourth quarter and following a pass and two runs, were into the endzone to extend the lead to 26 (50-24).

Fairmont State was looking to get anything going on the next drive as Marzullo completed passes to Leonard Farrow and Winston Page to move near midfield. On first down, Marzullo found Bradford over the middle for a 32-yard pickup. The next play, Marzullo threw the ball to the back of the endzone as Michael was able to beat the defender for the 22-yard score. The Falcons were unable convert a two-point conversion as the score now read 50-30 with 11:59 left in regulation. 

Neither side was able to get anything going on their next drives as the clock ran out as the Falcons fell by the 20-point margin.

Fairmont State hosts Concord University on Saturday, November 2 for its next game. Kickoff is slated for 12:00 p.m.