Charleston started off strong, scoring on its first drive and holding Salem to no yards on its first drive.  

But a slow rest of the first three quarters caused the Trojans to not be able to keep up with Trey Clark’s 254-yard performance. 

The Wildcats junior running back led his team to a 32-23 win on Friday night at Trojan Hill. 

Charleston (1-8, 1-4) had a strong running back performance of its own in junior Treylin Couch’s 145 yards, three touchdowns, and more yards per carry than Clark with 7.25. However, the ground game didn’t get going until the fourth quarter because Salem focused heavily on stopping the run by stacking the box. 

They were able to continue to because of the Trojans’ passing struggles.  

Despite junior quarterback Wyatt Gordon throwing for 99 yards, the most he has in five weeks, he threw three interceptions and only completed six passes for the fifth time this season. He attempted his highest number of passes, 23, resulting in his lowest completion percentage of the season at 26.1%.  

Charleston also heavily loaded the box, but this allowed for some big passing play opportunities, especially on play action, for Salem. Junior quarterback Kaeden Bevolo completed seven passes for 142 yards and one touchdown. 

The Wildcats’ passing game wasn’t perfect either. They had 10 incomplete passes and were intercepted by junior defensive back Grant Taggart in the redzone. 

Taggart’s interception was a part of the Trojan’s dominance in the first few minutes of the game, but that slowed down until less than a minute left in the third quarter, when Couch ran it into the endzone for the team’s second score of the game. 

Couch would score again with 2:52 left in the game, but time was not in their favor, and the next point came with four seconds left on a 47-yard field goal by senior kicker Max Weber.  

That was his longest field goal of the season, and his longest since he kicked a 47-yarder against Mahomet-Seymour in week four of last season. 

“This is his senior year, and it gets him one more go out,” Couch said. “It made me feel very happy for him.” 

Despite the looming loss, the Charleston fans erupted after the ball went through the goal posts. 

Weber was one of nine seniors honored for senior night. The others include Riley Foreman, Mason Shirley, Holger Kirketerp, Rowan Lee, King Young Booths, Ethan Cox, Devere Hatfield and Jay Buchter. 

“Unfortunately, we didn’t come away with a win tonight, but it’s about [the seniors] and their pride for the sport and their love for the sport,” linebackers coach Chris Creek said. “And how they competed tonight, and they didn’t quit. That’s what it’s about.” 

The team’s mentality to not quit is something Creek said is a positive they will take into the offseason. 

“That’s what we’re going to do and continue to do because that’s our culture,” Creek said.

Statistics courtesy of Victory 103.9 FM. 

Bryce Parker can be reached at 581-2812 or at baparker2@eiu.edu.