Box Score LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 2025 season began with a loss for Eastern Kentucky University football on Saturday at Louisville, 51-17.
 
"Obviously disappointed in losing the football game," said head coach Walt Wells. "We have got a lot of things we need to work on. We have a young football team that needs to learn from their mistakes today and improve this coming week of practice as we prepare to host Houston Christian."
 
The Cardinals opened the game by scoring the game's first 41 points before Vito Tisdale Jr. got EKU on the board with a 29-yard pick-six for EKU's first points of the season late in the first half.
 
"Vito practices hard, and he loves football," said Wells. "You see it today, practice pays off… I think there are positives that we can take out of this game; there's a lot of learning and improving to do, too, and we now have to focus and get ready for next week."
 
Tisdale quickly added another interception on U of L's next drive, becoming the first EKU player to have two interceptions in a game since 2019 and the first to have a pick-six since 2022.
 
Running back Brady Hensley provided EKU's first offensive touchdown on the season with a 2-yard run early in the fourth. The score was Hensley's first in his collegiate career and was set up by linebacker Brody Wells' first career interception.
 
The Colonels return to action next Saturday, September 6, for their home and FCS opener against Houston Christian at 6 p.m. ET.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
EKU's defense looked to get off the field quickly on the first drive of the game, but the Cardinals were able to convert on 3rd & 19 with a 21-yard pass to EKU's 48-yard line.
 
Two plays later, U of L's Isaac Brown scored on a 31-yard run for the first score of the game.
 
Following a three-and-out for the EKU offense, the Cardinals struck on special teams with a 93-yard punt return for a touchdown, putting Louisville up 14-0 with 7:49 remaining in the first quarter.
 
U of L finished the quarter with its third score of the game as quarterback Miller Moss scored on an 8-yard rush with 44 seconds remaining, capping off a 10-play, 85-yard drive.
 
The Cardinals tacked on another three scores on their first three drives of the second, with the final one coming on a one-yard run up the middle by Keyjuan Brown before the PAT was missed due to a bad snap, putting the score to 41-0 with 8:26 remaining.
 
EKU showed fight late in the half, as defensive back Vito Tisdale intercepted a deflected Miller Moss pass on the left sideline, returning it 29 yards to the house for six for the Colonels' first score of the season.
 
The score came with 50 seconds left in the half. The play marked EKU's first pick-six since 2022, when Joseph Sayles had one against Austin Peay.
 
On the very next drive, Tisdale struck again as defensive back Jaheim Ward broke up a long pass intended for U of L's Antonio Meeks as Tisdale corralled the batted ball off Meeks' chest for another interception before the end of the half.
 
With the pick, Tisdale became the first Colonel since Sayles in 2019 to have two interceptions in a game.
 
After both teams traded punts to open the second half, the Cardinals scored the only points of the third quarter on a 31-yard touchdown pass to go up 48-7 with 9:06 left in the period.
 
On the next U of L drive, the EKU defense forced its third turnover of the game as linebacker Brody Wells intercepted backup quarterback Brady Allen on a pass over the middle, returning it 20 yards to the U of L 16-yard line.
 
Four plays later, sophomore running back Brady Hensley provided EKU with its first offensive touchdown of the season with a two-yard run up the middle early in the fourth.
 
The Colonels then matched a U of L field goal later in the fourth as Buzz Flabiano converted his first field goal on at EKU from 38 yards out, bringing the score to its final of 51-17.
 
UP NEXT
 
EKU (0-1) vs. Houston Christian (1-0) – 6 p.m. ET at CG Bank Field at Roy Kidd Stadium.