RICHMOND, Ky. - "The Drive for 300" begins Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. at Roy Kidd Stadium as the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels start the 2000 football season by hosting the Glenville State College Pioneers.

"We definitely tired of practicing," said EKU head coach Roy Kidd who stands just seven wins shy of his 300^th collegiate coaching victory as he begins his 37^th year at the helm of the EKU football program. "This team has worked hard in the off-season and has worked hard since we started practice three weeks ago. It's time to see what kind of team we have."

Monday's practice was shortened to just an hour and 40 minutes, and Tuesday, the squad will only go out in shoulder pads and shorts.

"We going to start working to get our legs back and start healing up some of these minor injuries," Kidd said. "Some of our kids are sore, so we're going to stop hitting on each other so much."

Pre-season injuries have taken their toll on the Colonels this fall as starting defensive tackle Chad Carpenter (separated shoulder) and starting fullback Chad Culver (hamstring) will be held out of the opener.

Starting tailback Corey Crume is nursing a foot injury, wideout Nick Towns has a shoulder injury and backup fullback Corey Pritchard is back practicing after suffering through heat-related problems earlier in fall drills. All three are expected to see action Thursday night.

"We feel we've done about all we can do to get ready. The kids have had a great attitude about practice and are ready to go. It's time to play," said Kidd.

Seniors will fill the role of game captains throughout the 2000 season for the Colonels. Quarterback Waylon Chapman and defensive end Shorty Combs will serve as captains Thursday night when EKU hosts Glenville State, an NCAA Division II school from Glenville, WV.

"Shorty and Waylon were here during our summer workouts and have been doing a good job getting ready for the season, so we're going with them as our captains Thursday night," Kidd said.

Tickets for Thursday's season opener and the remaining five home games on the pre-season Ohio Valley Conference favorite Colonels' 2000 schedule may be obtained by visiting the EKU Athletics Ticket Office in Room 126 of Alumni Coliseum or by phoning the ticket office at 859-622-2122 or 1-800-262-7493, inside Kentucky.

Ticket windows open at the stadium Thursday at 4:30 p.m.