RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky rallied for a touchdown with 4:04 left to cut HBU's lead to one, but the Huskies blocked the extra point and returned it for two points of their own to escape with a 33-30 victory in a Football Championship Subdivision non-conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Roy Kidd Stadium.
Senior quarterback
Bailey Zappe completed 35-of-46 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns for the Huskies (1-3), topping 10,000 career passing yards on his final completion of the game. Sophomore
Vernon Harrell made a career-high 10 catches for 98 yards and a touchdown, junior
Jerreth Sterns had 10 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown, while his brother,
Josh Sterns, made four catches for 96 yards and a score. Senior
Ben Ratzlaff had six catches for 49 yards and senior running back
Dreshawn Minnieweather led HBU with 38 rushing yards and a touchdown and freshman
LaDarius Turner added 37 yards on only three carries.
Senior linebacker
Caleb Johnson led HBU with 13 tackles and sophomore defensive end
Philip Ossai had 10 tackles, including one that forced a fumble that proved to be the key play of the game. Senior safety
Patrick Wolfe had nine tackles, an interception and recovered a fumble. Junior linebacker
Brennan Young made eight stops and sophomore safety
Tra Fluellen had an interception and returned the blocked extra point for the score.
Parker McKinney completed 25-of-40 passes for 296 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, while also rushing for 59 yards for EKU (1-3). Keyion Dixon made six catches for 112 yards and a touchdown and Matt Wilcox Jr. had four catches for 27 yards and two touchdowns. Jacquez Jones added seven catches for 54 yards. Alonzo Booth had 17 carries for 108 yards and a touchdown.
Matthew Jackson led the Colonels with 15 tackles and Joseph Sayles had seven.
HBU picked up 520 yards in total offense, while EKU had 480. The Colonels turned the ball over three times, while the Huskies did not have a giveaway. HBU was penalized 12 times for 137 yards, and EKU was only penalized eight times for 60 yards.
HBU struck first, as Zappe's 27-yard completion to
Jerreth Sterns set up an eight-yard touchdown pass to Harrell.
EKU was poised to respond when McKinney found Dixon for a 55-yard gain down to the 20, but Ossai pressured McKinney to throw an interception to Fluellen at the five and he returned it 38 yards to the 43. The Huskies wasted little time capitalizing, as Zappe hit
Jerreth Sterns for a 42-yard touchdown to jump out to a 14-0 lead with just over six minutes left in the opening quarter.
The Colonels did answer back with an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped by McKinney's 10-yard touchdown pass to Wilcox. The Huskies drove down the EKU 7, but settled for a 24-yard field goal by sophomore
Gino Garcia to extend the lead to 17-7 a minute into the second quarter.
HBU got the ball back with 3:32 left in the half and Zappe's 15-yard completion to Harrell down to the one set up Minnieweather's touchdown run. An interception and 21-yard return to the EKU 27 by Wolfe gave the Huskies another shot to score before the end of the half, but Garcia's 26-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
The Colonels took the second-half kickoff and marched down the field on a 10-play, 75-yard drive. Dixon's 15-yard run on a reverse led to McKinney's seven-yard touchdown pass to Wilcox to trim the deficit to 24-14 with 10:53 on the third-quarter clock.
A holding penalty derailed the Huskies' first drive in the second half and Garcia missed wide right on a 53-yard field goal attempt, setting the Colonels up with good field position. EKU put points on the board on the ensuing drive, as Alexander Woznick made a 26-yard field goal to pull the Colonels within seven with 1:36 left in the third.
HBU had a quick answer as Zappe found
Josh Sterns on a crossing route, then he outran the defense for a 65-yard touchdown. EKU came right back and Booth barreled up the middle for a 29-yard touchdown run to open the fourth-quarter scoring.
The Huskies faced a fourth-and-three at the EKU 41, but punted the ball away, resulting in a touchback that gave the Colonels the ball back at their own 20 with 10:26 remaining. McKinney led a 12-play, 80-yard drive over the next 6:22, hitting Dixon for a 27-yard touchdown to finish it off. HBU blocked the extra point and Fluellen returned it the distance to give the Huskies a 33-30 lead.
HBU went three-and-out and gave the ball back to EKU at their own 20 with 2:22 to go. McKinney was flushed out of the pocket, Ossai hit him from behind to jar the ball loose and Wolfe recovered it as the Huskies took back over with 2:03 on the clock.
Facing a third-and-five, Zappe completed a 12-yard pass to
Coleman Robinson to pick up the first down, allowing the Huskies to run out the clock.
The Huskies have wrapped up their four-game fall schedule and have opted out of the Southland Conference's spring season.
