RICHMOND, Ky. – Visiting UT Martin rallied for 14 points in the final five minutes of play to stun the No. 18 Eastern Kentucky University football team, 42-35, on Saturday afternoon at Roy Kidd Stadium.
EKU (5-4, 4-2 OVC) appeared to be in control late in the game. The Colonels led by a score, 35-28, and were driving with less than five minutes to play. However, on third-and-11 at the EKU 47, junior quarterback Bennie Coney’s pass was tipped in the air and picked off by Deantae Glover, who rumbled in from 41 yards out to tie the game.
The Colonels went three-and-out on their next possession, and punted to the UTM 42-yard line with 3:31 on the clock. The Skyhawks (6-3, 5-1 OVC) promptly drove 58 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 24-yard catch by Rod Wright with just over a minute to play. It was UTM’s first lead of the day.
Coney’s late interception marred an otherwise spectacular effort, as he threw for 354 yards and five touchdowns in the loss. Senior wide receiver Jeff Glover converted five catches into 104 yards and one touchdown.
The Colonels were limited to just 78 yards on the ground.
UTM quarterback Jarod Neal also aired it out, throwing for 358 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Skyhawks to the come-from-behind victory. The Colonel defense intercepted Neal four times in the first half.
EKU got off to a fast start, as senior cornerback Stanley Absanon picked off Neal at the Skyhawks’ 37-yard line on the first play of the game. On the ensuing offensive play by the Colonels, Coney hooked up with a wide-open Glover for a 37-yard score in the corner of the south endzone.
UTM settled in, though, and, on the Colonels’ next drive, forced a Coney fumble at the EKU 28. Facing a short field, Neal and the Skyhawks drove down and tied the game on an 11-yard touchdown catch by Caylon Weathers with 8:04 remaining in the first quarter.
Eastern retook the lead on the first play of the second quarter, as Coney capped a 62-yard drive by finding sophomore running back Kentayvus Hopkins in the flats, who broke loose for a 22-yard TD scamper.
The back-and-forth first half continued, though, as UTM responded with a seven-play, 78-yard drive of its own that was capped by another Neal-to-Weathers touchdown with 11:44 left in the second quarter.
It looked as if UT Martin would take the lead before halftime, as the Skyhawks drove to the EKU three-yard line with just over two minutes to play in the half; however, junior safety Kiante Northington picked off Neal in the endzone to halt the potential go-ahead drive.
The EKU offense capitalized on the momentum generated by Northington’s pick, briskly driving down the field and taking the lead, 21-14, on a spectacular, diving catch by senior tight end Ben Madon in the back of the endzone just before halftime.
UTM picked off Coney on the first play of the second half and cashed in with a 27-yard field goal to pull to within four, 21-17; however, Eastern bounced back with a 76-yard drive that ended when Coney found senior wide receiver Joel Brown streaking down the sideline for a 30-yard touchdown, making it 28-17 in favor of the Colonels with 10:57 left in the third quarter.
The Skyhawks made it 28-20 with a 23-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and then tied it, 28-28, on a one-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion with 9:35 left in the game.
Eastern faced a third-and-11 on its ensuing drive, but got a juggling 34-yard catch down the sideline by Glover to move the chains. Three plays later, Coney found junior slot receiver Bryan Green on a screen pass, who made one defender miss and then cruised into the endzone from 35 yards out to give EKU a 35-28 lead with 7:21 on the clock.
The Colonels return to action next Saturday, November 14, at Murray State. Kickoff is schedule for 2:00 p.m.
NOTES
-Eastern Kentucky is ranked No. 18 in the STATS.com Poll and No. 19 in the FCS Coaches Poll. UT Martin is receiving votes in both polls.
-Bennie Coney tied the school single-game record with five touchdown passes. He had tied the record earlier in the season against Tennessee Tech. T.J. Pryor set the mark with five against Jacksonville State in 2011.
-EKU’s four interceptions in the game were the most by the Colonels since picking off four passes against UT Martin on Oct. 17, 2009.
-Bennie Coney set a new career-best with 354 passing yards.
-The Skyhawks came into the game allowing a league-low four sacks all season. UTM allowed two on Saturday while the Colonels gave up just one.
-Tennessee-Martin quarterback Jarod Neal had five interceptions in the first eight games of the season. He had four in the first half at EKU.
-UT Martin began the game with the worst turnover margin (-0.88) in the conference. The Skyhawks had turned the ball over 13 times and had gained just six turnovers. UTM had one more turnover than the Colonels (4-3).
-Eastern Kentucky was 15th in the nation with just eight turnovers lost this season. Eastern had three turnover against UTM.
-Redshirt junior Noah Spence entered the game second in the nation with an average of 2.0 tackles for a loss per game and sixth in FCS with 1.0 sacks per game. He finished Saturday’s game with three tackles for a loss, including two sacks.
-Stanley Absanon’s interception on UTM’s first offensive play was his third pick of the season and eighth of his career.
-Senior Jeff Glover’s touchdown catch in the first quarter was his third of the season and sixth of his career.
-Kobie Grace’s interception on UT Martin’s second offensive possession was his first career pick.
-The 23-yard second quarter touchdown reception by Kentayvus Hopkins was his first career touchdown reception and second career touchdown.
-D’Vonta Derricott’s second quarter interception was his first pick as a Colonel. Derricott transferred to EKU before the season from Kansas State.
-Kiante Northington’s second quarter interception in the end zone was his third INT of the season and fifth of his career.
-Senior Ben Madon’s second quarter touchdown reception was his second of the season and second of his career.
-Senior Joel Brown’s 30-yard third quarter touchdown catch on fourth down was his third scoring catch of the season and the fourth of his career.
-Bryan Green’s fourth quarter 35-yard touchdown reception was the fifth of the season for the transfer from Akron.
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