The First Half
On a beautiful day in Richmond, the Colonels kicked off against OVC’s Austin Peay. The game started with an impressive defensive stand, but a muffed punt gave Peay a second chance and they ended the drive with a field goal. It did not take long for the EKU offense to answer when they took the lead six minutes later on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Parker McKinney to Jyran Mitchell.
The Austin Peay offense picked up their pace and it had the EKU defense on their heels. Peay scored two unanswered touchdowns, but the EKU defense came up big late in the first half when Davion Ross got his second pick-six in as many weeks.
The Second Half
The second half started slow, but things picked up quickly. After a field goal by Austin Peay, EKU went on a 21 point run with touchdowns by Parker McKinney, DeJoun Hewitt, and Jaiden Smith. The offense looked great in the third quarter, and slowed down in the fourth with a focus on running the clock down.
Austin Peay added a late touchdown. The Governors’ wide receivers consistently got behind the EKU defense, but they were unable to take advantage of it most of the game. With the EKU offense sputtering to the end, Austin Peay had one more chance with 1:24 to go in the game. First down ended with a Roland Walder sack, second down Ross almost intercepted the ball, and third down the pass was deflected away by Blunt. Fourth down the defense held when Matthew Jackson picked off the pass.
Even though the defense gave up 20 points in the first 40 minutes., they did force consistent pressure on the Peay QB. They ended the game with three interceptions and three sacks. The special teams has been a problem so far this season, but outside of the muffed punt at the beginning of the game, they held their own on this Saturday. The Colonels’ run game has been inefficient so far this season, but DeJoun Hewitt had his best game of the season, carrying the ball 22 times for 115 yards and one touchdown.
Final Thoughts
After the game, Coach Wells said the players responded well all week in practice and felt like it carried over into this game. He said he was pleased overall with the team today.
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