GEORGETOWN, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky may have been playing in unfamiliar surroundings Thursday night, but the Colonel offense had no problem negotiating the field at Georgetown College's Toyota Stadium.
The No. 17 ranked Colonels (3-2/2-0 OVC) scored points on each of their first seven possessions to take a 41-7 halftime lead and claimed a 48-17 victory over Tennessee Tech (2-4/1-2 OVC) in a game that was moved off the EKU campus due to a security threat.
On a night when security personnel may have outnumbered the fans in attendance, Eastern Kentucky's offensive line provided enough security for quarterback Bennie Coney to lead EKU to 629 yards of total offense. Coney was 32-for-46 for 351 yards and five touchdowns. The Colonels also rushed for 247 yards, led by Dy'Shawn Mobley's 115 yards on 25 carries.
Tech, meanwhile, was led by backup sophomore quarterback Colby Brown who was making his first start and seeing the first action of his Tech career. Brown replaced starter Jared Davis, who has been hampered by a wrist injury.
Brown was 16-for-28 for 148 yards with one touchdown, avoiding a constant EKU rush that flushed him from the pocket throughout the night and chalked up five quarterback sacks. His top receiver was Brock McCoin, who caught nine passes for 71 yards. The touchdown pass was a four-yard connection with Krys Cates in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, Bill Dillard topped the tackle chart with 13 while Tra'Darius Goff had 11 tackles, two quarterback hurries and one tackle-for-loss.
The Tech defense, which had not recorded an interception in the first five games, picked off three passes, with Maleek Hall, Anthony Flemister and Daniel Pierce each getting one.
The Colonels scored on each of their first seven possessions, putting their first points on the board on the third play of the game when Arien Beasley scooted across the middle to get open, caught a pass from Coney and raced 70 yards for a 7-0 lead.
After one Tech first down and a punt, Eastern Kentucky made it 14-0 on a three-yard run from Devin Borders, capping an 81-yard, 13- play scoring drive.
The Golden Eagle defense held EKU to a 37-yard field goal by Lucas Williams on the next possession, which went 60 yards in 12 plays before stalling at the Tech 20.
The Golden Eagle offense got things together, with Brown hitting Jordan Smith for a first down at the 15 serving as a key play. On first down, Ladarius Vanlier broke through several attempted arm tackles for a 15-yard touchdown to cut the different to 17-7 in the final minute of the opening quarter.
Eastern Kentucky got that one back quickly in the second quarter, with Coney hitting Ben Madon for a three-yard score and a 24-7 lead. The drive moved 71 yards in nine plays.
The Colonels were forced to settle for another field goal on the next possession midway in the second quarter, following a third down blitz in which Goff rushed Coney, hit him as he released it, and caused an weak, incomplete toss down the middle. Williams converted with a 45-yard field goal to make it 27-7 with 8:52 to play before halftime.
The sixth first half score for EKU was a three-yard pass from Coney to Bryan Green, finishing off a 74-yard, six-play drive.
Adam Lane poked through the defense untouched for a two-yard touchdown with 3:46 to play in the half, the final play in a 46-yard, four-play scoring drive that made it 41-7.
Flemister grabbed Tech's first interception of the year, picking off Coney's pass at the Tech 35 and returning it all the way to the EKU 26. After a personal foul penalty against the Colonels, one of several in the game, the Golden Eagles had a first-and-goal from the 10, but a third down blitz caught Brown for a loss and John Arnold was called on for a 32-yard field goal. The sophomore kicker made his fourth of the year in as many tries to make it 41-10 at the half.
EKU got greedy at the close of the half, trying to tack on points to a 31-point lead. With 3.3 seconds to play, the Colonels called timeout, and then threw a Hail Mary pass to the end zone where Daniel Pierce made Tech's second interception in a three-minute span to end the half.
After slugging their way through a scoreless third quarter, Tech struck first in the fourth quarter when Brown engineered an 88-yard, 10 play scoring drive. The touchdown came on a fourth-and-two from the four, as Brown fired a strike over the middle to Cates for the score and Arnold tacked on the PAT.
The Colonels put the final points on the board with a nine-yard toss from Coney to Mobley in the corner of the end zone with 3:36 remaining. It also came on a fourth down play, this one fourth-and seven from the nine.
The Golden Eagles get a couple of days off over the weekend, then return to practice Monday to begin preparations for hosting the top FCS team in the nation when No. 1 ranked Jacksonville State comes to Tucker Stadium Saturday night. That game kicks off at 6 p.m. on Overall Field, and it is the Golden Eagle Blackout IV, with fans encouraged to wear black to support the team. The first 2,500 fans into the stadium will receive a free blackout t-shirt.
For ticket information, please visit or call the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center (931-372-3940).
PREGAME NOTES
* The game was moved from the EKU campus on Wednesday, following a security threat indicted by a message in graffiti. The EKU campus was closed and the games was moved midday Wednesday to Georgetown College's Toyota Stadium.
* Sophomore Colby Brown made the first start of his career, filling in for junior Jared Davis who has started the previous five contests.
* Another Golden Eagle making his first career start was H-back Cooper Jackson, who moved ahead of Dametris Watson on the depth chart for this game.
* Tech is decked out in white jerseys with purple numbers, along with purple pants and purple helmets. EKU is wearing black jerseys with maroon numbers, plus maroon pants and maroon helmets.
* The Georgetown field served as the summer training camp home of the Cincinnati Bengals. The turf field features a large GC logo at midfield, black turf in the end zones, and the word TIGERS in orange across each end zone.
* The Colonels are ranked 17th nationally in the Stats.com poll, and 20th in the FCS Coach's Poll.
* The game will feature the two top kick returners in the OVC. Tech's Ladarius Vanlier ranks first (26.6 per return) while EKU's Stanley Absanon is second with 26.3 yards per return.
* Tech and EKU have claimed a combined 30 OVC championships. EKU owns 20 titles while the Golden Eagles have 10 OVC crowns.
