RICHMOND, Ky. - In the final regular season game for both teams, the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (4-6, 3-2 UAC) Faced off against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (3-7, 0-5 UAC) on Saturday afternoon.
The Colonel senior class including quarterback Parker McKinney went out on a high at Roy Kidd Stadium, defeating SFA, 36-24.
In the win, McKinney threw for 257 yards and one touchdown going 25-of-38 through the air in the win.
"I think he's one of the greatest to play here, and to play FCS football," said head coach Walt Wells following the win. "I think the toughness he's shown this year says a lot about him...Whoever drafts him or picks him up is going to get one heck of a player."
The performance secured the Coalfield, Tennessee native 11th place all-time in FCS passing yards at 12,494 in his career.
How It Happened:
Late in the first, SFA wide receiver Lawton Rikel dropped a touchdown pass on the opening Lumberjack drive, but they were able to salvage a score early with a 23-yard good field goal for Chris Campos.
The end of the first quarter saw EKU march down to the SFA 22-yard line and put themselves in position to score, and a 32-yard Patrick nations field goal tied the game at 3 apiece at the 12:48 mark in the second quarter.
EKU took the ball down to the SFA 10-yard line courtesy of an 18-yard McKinney to Smith pass connection but was unable to advance further. Another Patrick Nations 27-yard attempt sailed through the uprights to give EKU their first lead at 6-3 with 7:17 left in the 2nd quarter.
The Colonel defense got into the act as linebacker Maddox Marcellus sacked SFA QB Brian Maurer, forcing a fumble, and DL Jeremiah Bailey snagged the loose ball, taking it 43 yards to the house to give EKU a 13-3 lead with 4:46 to play in the second quarter.
SFA chipped in a field goal with 54 seconds left, courtesy largely to a 24-yard one-handed grab by WR Josh Thompson, bringing the score closer at 13-6.
On a crucial third–and-10 play on their own 28 yard line, SFA was caught being a little overzealous on defense picking up a costly roughing the passer penalty. EKU then advanced to the 14-yard line and Nations picked up his third field goal of the day on a 31-yard field goal as EKU grabbed a 16-6 halftime lead.
SFA converted on its drive of the second half, completing a 4th & goal play at the EKU 4 with a Maurer to Lawton completion to close the gap to a 16-13 EKU advantage with 8:58 left in the 3rd.
Lumberjack Dylan Tooker forced a Colonel running back Joshua Carter fumble at the SFA 1-yard line, prohibiting an EKU score and the Lumberjacks earned a chance to take the lead for the first time since 3-0.
Stephen F. Austin capitalized and knocked in a 33-yard field goal to tie the game at 16 apiece with 1:11 to play, creating what appeared to be another close finish in Roy Kidd Stadium.
EKU was able to take the ball down to the SFA 36 before the start of the 4th quarter. A critical unnecessary roughness penalty was tagged to SFA's Tkai Lloyd which saw wide receiver Mo Edwards Jr. fall hard to the ground, bringing the ball to the SFA 15.
Braedon Sloan cashed in on the Lumberjack's mistakes and found a wide-open seam for a 15-yard Colonel touchdown run, giving EKU the lead at 23-16 with 14:03 left to play.
Later in the fourth, Parker McKinney tossed up a jump ball that was nearly intercepted in the endzone, but WR Jalen Burbage somehow reeled it in for an 18-yard touchdown reception, giving EKU a critical 2-score, 30-16 lead with 7:24 left to play.
Brian Maurer and Lawton Rikel combined for 42 yards and a touchdown in the air in the final two plays of the following drive, punching in a 10-yard pass to bring the game to 30-22. SFA went for two and made it a 30-24 game with a Kylon Harris 2-point conversion with 5:05 in the ballgame.
Braedon Sloan sealed the deal however, taking it 45 yards to the house to effectively seal a senior night win for EKU. The Colonels would also go for 2 to re-gain the 14-point lead, but McKinney's pass was incomplete, and EKU took a 36-24 lead with 2:57 to play.
EKU defense forced a near sack, and Maurer was cited for intentional grounding. Maurer's heave on 4th & 10 at the EKU 30 with 1:24 to play was broken up in the endzone, and EKU coasted to a regular season finale victory. EKU intercepted the final heave with 4 seconds left just for good measure.
RB Braedon Sloan ran for 150 yards on 14 attempts, punching in two touchdowns. Jaden Smith led all Colonel receivers with 75 yards on 7 catches, and Jaden Burbage added another touchdown.
Brian Maurer finished the game with an impressive 328 yards on 30-53 (56.6%), chipping in two passing TDs. Lumberjack WR Lawton Rikel led the way with 85 receiving yards in 7 attempts, adding in two TDs. SFA RB Jerrell Wimbley led the attack on the ground, adding 41 yards on 15 tries.
Eastern Kentucky (5-6, 4-2 UAC) ended the season on a high note and prevented Stephen F. Austin (3-8, 0-6 UAC) from winning a conference game all year and will look to replace McKinney's heroics of the past five seasons.
