Colonels fall to No. 17 ACU, 34-20, in road loss

Box score ABILENE, Texas – The Eastern Kentucky University football team suffered its second straight road loss, falling to No. 17 Abilene Christian, 34-20.

It was a hard-fought battle with the Colonels trailing by just one point late in the third quarter, but 13 unanswered points from the Wildcats made the difference.

“Winning is the goal and that’s not happening right now,” said head coach Walt Wells said. “I’m proud of our performance, but we need to do better in the areas that make the difference.”

Turnovers played a crucial role in the UAC contest, as 13 of EKU's points and 10 of ACU's points came from turnovers.

The Colonel defense forced two turnovers, an interception and a fumble recovery, but the offense gave the ball away four times, including two turnovers in the red zone.

In loss, receiver Dequan Stanley had a career day with 116 receiving yards on five catches, including a 75-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

In defense, Jaheim Ward recorded his first interception as a Colonel, along with a fumble recovery, a pass breakup and nine total tackles.

EKU returns home for the first time in two weeks next Saturday for homecoming against UAC opponent Utah Tech.

How it happened
The first quarter was scoreless as EKU's defense delivered two crucial stops in its own territory early in the game.

On ACU's second drive, the Colonels defense came up big at defensive lineman Marvion Field deflected a pass on fourth-and-2 at the EKU 34-yard line and forced a turnover on downs.

The Wildcats broke the deadlock on the first play of the second quarter with an 8-yard touchdown run, capping an 11-play, 87-yard drive.

On the Colonels' ensuing drive, the offense marched to the ACU 13-yard line, but a third-down pass into the end zone was deflected and intercepted by a Wildcat defensive back.

ACU quickly moved into Colonel territory with a 36-yard pass before converting a four-and-inch with an 18-yard touchdown pass off a play-action bootleg to extend its lead with 8:44 left in the second quarter expanded to 14:0.

EKU's defense provided a pivotal moment late in the second quarter after ACU gained possession following a punt at the Colonels' 46-yard line. On the first game of the trip, Jaheim Ward intercepted a deflected pass, marking the first interception of his career.

The Colonel offense capitalized on the turnover with a 10-play, 58-yard drive capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass from Parker McKinney To Marcus Calwise Jr. at the front left pylon, cutting the deficit to 14-7 with just 29 seconds left in the half. The result was Calwise's first career touchdown reception.

ACU responded on its first drive of the second half with a 45-yard touchdown pass, extending its lead to 21-7.

EKU responded quickly as McKinney connected with Stanley for a 75-yard touchdown on the Colonels' first offensive play of the second half.

The Colonel defense struck again on ACU's next possession Darrian Baker He forced a fumble, which Ward recovered at the EKU 22-yard line. The offense then orchestrated a smooth drive that culminated in a 3-yard passing touchdown Joshua Carter. ACU blocked the extra point, leaving the score at 21-20 with 5:17 left in the third quarter.

ACU responded with an 11-yard touchdown pass to complete a 10-play, 75-yard drive and extend its lead to 28-20.

The Wildcats defense intercepted an intended pass Jayden West on EKU's next possession and returned it to the EKU 20-yard line. However, EKU's defense stood firm and limited ACU to one field goal, increasing the score to 31-20 with 12:55 left in the fourth quarter.

The Colonels advanced the ball to the ACU 4-yard line on their next drive, but were stopped on a fourth-and-1 pass into the end zone and turned the ball over on downs with just over eight minutes remaining.

ACU added another field goal late in the fourth quarter to bring the score to the final score of 34-20.