RICHMOND, Ky. – ACU (3-3, 0-2) and EKU (4-2, 2-0) were playing one another for the first time in history and for each team's second time in the WAC/ASUN Challenge series of games this season, pitting representatives of the Western Athletic Conference and Atlantic Sun Conference.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Parker McKinney threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 98 yards and another score to lead Eastern Kentucky University to a 30-15 win over Abilene Christian on Saturday night in Roy Kidd Stadium.
EKU, playing its fourth straight regular-season home game, took leads of 10-0 in the first quarter and 27-7 at the half, and overcame several comeback threats by the Wildcats, especially in the final 15 minutes.
ACU snuffed out an EKU trick play on the game's opening drive, forced a punt, had the kick touch a blocker and the resulting fumble recovered by the Colonels deep in Wildcat territory, and then saw the home team miss a 37-yard field goal.
Eastern Kentucky recovered from the early chaos, taking a 10-0 lead in the first quarter by dominating Abilene Christian in nearly every way, holding the visitors to 6 plays, 6 yards of offense and no first downs. A 6-yard run by McKinney and a 24-yard field goal by Patrick Nations provided the scoring margin.
ACU rattled the Colonels with the last two plays of its first drive of the second quarter, using a 49-yard pass from Earle to wide receiver
Alex Spadone and a 6-yard run by
Tyrese White to cut the EKU lead to 10-7.
But the Colonels rallied back with gusto: a 60-yard drive in four plays for a TD, and six plays for 71 yards for a field goal, the latter powered by a 61-yard scramble by McKinney that flipped the field in Eastern Kentucky's favor. The offensive outbreak increased the home team's lead to 20-7.
ACU appeared to be ready to answer the challenge.
The Wildcats moved 77 yards on 10 plays in methodical fashion and into scoring position on its next drive, but Mansell was intercepted at the EKU 4-yard line. The Colonels marched back downfield to take a 27-7 lead just seconds before the half ended, capped by an 18-yard TD pass from McKinney to wide receiver Jayden Higgins.
Wildcat hopes were boosted with their first turnover of the night early in the third quarter, recovering a fumble by Higgins following a catch at the EKU 31-yard line. The Colonels dodged the Wildcat scoring opportunity, however, pressuring Earle to overthrow a receiver in the end zone on 4
th-and-4 in ACU's first drive of the second half.
EKU then capped its longest drive of the night with a 30-yard field goal by Nations to put the Colonels up 30-7 with 1:36 on the clock.
ACU rallied with a long drive of its own, with Earle faking a pitch and running untouched for 6 yards and the TD, then running in the 2-point conversion play himself to cut the Colonel lead to 30-15 with 12:15 on the clock.
The Wildcats forced their second turnover of the evening with 5:20 left when redshirt safety
Elijah Moffett caught his first interception of the season at the ACU 43-yard-line on the ensuing series, but Abilene Christian could not find a way to cash in on the break.
After the slow first half, ACU rebounded to dominate the fourth quarter, outgaining EKU 111 to 2 in total yards (86 to -1 on the ground, 25 to 3 in the air) and holding the Colonels scoreless and without a first down.
ACU rushed for a healthy 160 yards in the game but trailed in total yards 434 to 319, even though the two teams ran an identical 67 plays each.
Earle completed 15 of 28 passes for 157 yards and ran for 29 yards and one of the Wildcats' two TDs.
Jermiah Dobbins ran for a team-high 51 yards (5.7 average per carry) and White added 38 yards and a TD on the ground.
Kobe Clark led ACU with five catches but Spadone's 49 yards were tops for his team.
Safety
Brian Bullock and linebacker
Greg Green were ACU's tackle leaders with eight each. Defensive back Davion Ross led EKU with nine (seven solo) and linebacker Mathew Jackson added eight.
Da'Joun Hewitt ran 19 times for 88 yards for EKU and Kyeandre Magloire rushed eight times for 53 yards. Allen led the Colonels in receiving with four catches for 61 yards and one TD.
Next Saturday, Abilene Christian plays Lamar for the second time in 2021, after blasting the Cardinals 56-0 in Beaumont on Sept. 25. This time the teams meet in ACU's Wildcat Stadium for Homecoming, in a game that counts in the WAC/ASUN Challenge series. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. CST on Anthony Field.
PLAYS THAT MATTERED
1Q – Parker McKinney ran 5 yards for a TD with 4:18 left in the quarter. A successful PAT kick by Patrick Nations put the Colonels on top, 7-0. Scoring drive: 13 plays, 66 yards, 6:43
1Q – Nations booted a 24-yard field goal on the last play of the quarter, making the EKU lead 10-0. Scoring drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 2:57
2Q –
Tyrese White ran 6 yards for a TD to open ACU's scoring, and a successful PAT kick by
Blair Zepeda drew the Wildcats closer, 10-7. Scoring drive: 8 plays, 77 yards, 3:14
2Q – McKinney threw a 22-yard TD pass to Dakota Allen to take a 17-7 lead with 9:50 left. Scoring drive: 4 plays, 60 yards, 1:56
2Q – Nations kicked a 21-yard field to build EKU's lead to 20-7 with 6:13 left. Scoring drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 2:02
2Q – McKinney thew a 21-yard TD pass to Jayden Higgins to give EKU a 27-7 advantage with :07 left. Scoring drive: 8 yards, 61 plays, 0:53
3Q – Nations kicked his second field goal of the game, a 30-yarder with 1:36 left to put EKU ahead, 30-7. Scoring drive: 13 plays, 83 yards, 5:52
4Q – Earle scooted 7 yards for a TD with 12:15 left, and ran in a successful two-point conversion to make the score 30-15. Scoring drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 4:21
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- ACU's fourth-quarter performance was as dominant as EKU's first, but the Wildcats couldn't make up enough ground on the 30-7 lead the Colonels had built in the first three quarters.
- ACU converted 10 of its 17 third downs tonight, and held EKU to just 3 of 11.
- Jermiah Dobbins bounced back from early season injuries to rush for a solid 51 yards tonight, but overall, the 199-37 EKU ground-game edge forged in the first half proved too much to overcome later.
STAT CORNER
- After one quarter, EKU led in first downs (10-0), passing yards (37-0), total yards (134-6), time of possession (11:40 to 3:20) and the scoreboard (7-0).
- At the half, EKU led in first downs (18-6), rushing yards (199-37), passing yards (142-121), total yards (341-158), time of possession (16:31 to 13:22), and the scoreboard (27-7).
NOTABLE
- The Wildcats are playing in their 100th season in 2021. Abilene Christian did not play football from 1943-45 because of World War II, and this is its first time to play a team in this sport from the Bluegrass State, named not after a popular acoustic music style but the turfgrass cultivated for lawns and pastures in the southeastern and northern U.S.
- EKU plays in the Atlantic Sun Conference, which includes Kennesaw State, Central Arkansas, Jacksonville State and North Alabama.
- Eastern Kentucky has twice qualified for the FCS national playoffs – in 2011 and 2014 – and has considerable experience playing FBS teams in the last decade. The Colonels have played Purdue (twice), Kansas State, Louisville (three times), Florida, Kentucky (twice), North Carolina State and West Virginia. EKU lost 30-3 to Louisville earlier this season and warmed up for ACU by beating WAC-member Tarleton 20-3 last week.
- The Colonels have played home football games in Roy Kidd Stadium since 1969. It was renovated/expanded in 2017 – a year before ACU opened Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium – and has seating for 20,000. Kidd Stadium is named for its former longtime head football coach who won 314 games at EKU, including NCAA Division I-AA titles in 1979 and 1982.
- FCS national rankings: Entering the game, ACU was tied for first with three defensive TDs. Wide receiver Kobe Clark was sixth with five TD pass receptions and quarterback Stone Earle was seventh in completion percentage (68.38) and TD passes (13).
