RICHMOND, Ky. - EKU fell just short in its home opener against Western Carolina on Saturday night, falling 27-24 in front of 13,596 fans at Roy Kidd Stadium.

In the first game since legendary EKU head coach Roy Kidd passed away on Sept. 12, the Colonels drove the field in the waning seconds, but saw a game-tying field goal attempt sail wide right. 

EKU made its presence known immediately, driving 75 yards in nine plays to cap the march with a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Parker McKinney to wide receiver Jackson Hensley for Hensley's first career touchdown as a Colonel. EKU converted on a two-point conversion play to take an 8-0 lead.

Following a defensive stop, EKU marched down the field and tacked on three more points as Patrick Nations converted  a 41-yard field goal attempt to make the score 11-0 Colonels with 6:17 to play in the first quarter.

The Catamounts would answer with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Cole Gonzales to Censere Lee, making it 11-7 Colonels. 

Following a WCU 35-yard field goal miss, the Colonels tacked on another field goal with two seconds to go in the half as Nations made the score 14-7 EKU at halftime.

Western Carolina punched in their opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Gonzales to Censere for their second connection of the game, knotting the game at 14-14 early in the third quarter. The Catamounts took its first lead as Desmond Reid leapt over the line of scrimmage from the EKU one-yard line to put WCU up 21-14 with 14:24 remaining.

The Colonels used a Braedon Sloan 56-yard kickoff return to ignite a drive and score off of a 14-yard touchdown pass from McKinney to Jaden Smith, tying things up once again at 21-21 with 11:32 to play.

A 41-yard pass from McKinney to Mo Edwards Jr. put EKU inside the Catamount red zone on its next possession, but the Colonels settled for a third field goal from Nations to grab a 24-21 lead with 4:19 to play in the game.

Logan Blake hauled in a massive interception for the EKU defense with less than four minutes to play, but the Catamounts forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with 1:55 on the clock. WCU then embarked on a go-ahead touchdown drive, taking the lead at 27-24 with 25 seconds left.

McKinney connected on a 23-yard pass to Ethan Bednarczyk and added a run of 16 yards to get the ball to the 23 before EKU's field goal sailed wide as time expired. 

McKinney went for 366 yards on 27-of-46 passing, connecting with Smith and Bednarczyk for 189 yards. Smith caught a career-high 10 passes and Bednarczyk tallied a career day with four grabs for 68 yards.

Braedon Sloan posted 118 yards in three kickoff returns. Blake led the defense with nine tackles on the night.

The Colonels are back at Roy Kidd Stadium next Saturday at 6:00 PM against the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks.


By Austin Miller & Rixon Lane