Two teams coming off heartbreaking losses met up on a beautiful day in Richmond, Kentucky. The Colonels dropped a tough game to Western Carolina and SEMO lost by one point to Southern Illinois. EKU leads the series, which dates back to 1990, with SEMO 26-5. The Saturday evening kickoff was sure to end positively for one team. Here is the EKU vs. SEMO recap breaking down how the game went.
First Quarter
SEMO got the scoring going early with a field goal on their first drive and a touchdown on their second drive. EKU failed to get a first down on their first drive. SEMO recovered the pooch kick following their touchdown and took over at the 27. Four plays later, SEMO scored on a 13-yard pass. EKU’s offense took the field for just the second time with 2:32 left in the quarter. McKinney found Jalen Burbage for a gain of 26 yards on one play, scrambled for the first on another, and then found Jaden Smith for a 17-yard TD as time expired. SEMO led 17-7 heading into the second quarter.
Second Quarter
The Colonels started the second quarter with the second team DLine, and CB Jordon Thomas in for Deonta Bembry. The D forced SEMO to punt following a three-and-out. The EKU offense followed suit with their own three-and-out. Following a holding call on SEMO, the EKU D forced them to punt for the second time in the quarter. EKU marched confidently down the field behind the running of Joshua Carter and receiving of Jalen Burbage. They capped off the drive with a TD pass to WR Jaycob Horn. That was Horn’s first catch as a Colonel.
SEMO responded by attacking the porous EKU pass defense and scoring on a 9-yard TD pass. EKU only had 1:17 to make something happen before the half. RB Braedon Sloan had catches of 19 and 5 yards to get them past midfield. Parker scrambled for gains of 5 and 10 yards. With the ball on the 30-yard line, McKinney threw two incomplete passes, then found Sloan for 9 yards setting up fourth down with 22 seconds remaining. Jaden Smith caught a 3-yard pass for the first down, and the Colonels trotted Kicker Patrick Nations out for a 35-yard field goal attempt, and Nations nailed it to end the half. EKU trailed 17-24.
Third Quarter
The EKU offense got things started right! Parker McKinney hit TE Hunter Brown for 42 yards, which set up RB Braedon Sloan for a 1-yard TD. SEMO had the EKU pass D figured out and took only five plays and a 15-yard TD pass to take the lead back. EKU quickly moved the ball downfield with a 43-yard run by Joshua Carter, but Nations missed wide left on a 37-yard field goal four plays later. SEMO’s drive was snuffed with two sacks, first by Darrian Baker, then by Ryan Jackson. The EKU offense had things rolling early on their drive running with Sloan but sputtered out following a 10-yard sack of McKinney and the Colonels punted. SEMO led 31-24 heading into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The EKU D stood strong to start the fourth quarter forcing a SEMO punt. EKU had failed to put points on the board on the two previous drives and needed points on this drive, but three straight incompletions led to a quick punt. A good punt return set SEMO up at the 32-yard line. Following Ryan Jackson’s sack, SEMO hit on a 20-yard pass and then a 15-yard, setting up a 1-yard TD run. SEMO had a 14-point lead with 8:36 to play.
EKU quickly scored when Braedon Sloan busted loose for a 51-yard run, and a 2-yard TD, to pull EKU within one score. SEMO took over with 5:59 to play. The EKU with defense stood firm with Frank Lee getting his second sack of the night. EKU got the ball back, down by 7, with 2:34 left in the game. The Colonels would start their drive at the 7-yard line.
Jackson Hensley caught a 19-yard pass. Jaden Smith caught a 14-yard pass. Braedon Sloan ran for 15 yards. Parker McKinney ran one up the middle for 5 yards when Coach Walt Wells called a timeout with 1:23 to play, and the Colonels at the SEMO 40. Braedon Sloan got a first down with a 6-yard catch, followed by Ethan Bednarczyk’s 10-yard catch. The Colonels took their second timeout following a short pass to Sloan. Mo Edwards caught a 6-yard catch, and Sloan got the first down on a 6-yard catch setting up first-and-goal.
First down brought an incompletion in the endzone. McKinney ran up the middle for 5 yards, and the Colonels took their final timeout with 40 seconds remaining and third-and-goal. A holding call in the endzone gave EKU a first down with 34 seconds left and Parker McKinney found Jackson Hensley for the TD to tie the game! The defense needed to hold SEMO for 30 seconds, and they forced and recovered a fumble at the 29-yard line. Jeremiah Bailey forced it and Darius Sterling recovered the fumble. Patrick Nations came on to hit the winning field goal from 46 yards out.
Final Thoughts
It was nice to see the run game get going a bit. It was the most rushing yards this season for EKU. This was the most balanced the EKU offense has looked this season. The run defense continued to look much better than last season. They held RB Geno Hess to 43 yards on the night. While the pass defense still looked rough in coverage, the Colonels effectivly rushed the QB all night. Sophmore DL Jeremiah Bailey stepped up in a big way with more playing time than he has seen yet. Win number one has the Colonels wearing smiles on Saturday night.
Stats
- Parker McKinney surpassed 12,000 total yards (passing, rushing, and receiving) for his career.
- McKinney has thrown a TD in 12 straight games.
- WR Jalen Burbage had the best game of his career so far with 41 yards.
- A pass interference call in the fourth quarter was the first PI called in Roy Kidd Stadium in 19 quarters, dating back to last season.
- DT Ryan Jackson had his first multi-sack game with 2.5 sacks on the night.
- LB Frank Lee had his first multi-sack game as a Colonel.
Vince and EKU DT Ryan Jackson talk EKU Football every Monday at 8:00 p.m. on the Sports Stove Local Hour. Follow Vince on Twitter for more EKU coverage. All photos used in this article were taken by members of the EKU staff.
