RICHMOND, Ky. - Coach Roy Kidd's Eastern Kentucky University Colonels went through their last full-scale scrimmage of the fall drills Thursday night as EKU continues to prepare for its season opener at Roy Kidd Stadium, Sept. 5 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Kentucky State University.

Junior quarterback Jon Denton, who joined the Colonel program in late July after starting the past two seasons for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, wasted no time in making an impression on the more than 500 Colonel Club members and fans in attendance for the practice session.

Named as starting quarterback earlier in the week by Kidd, Denton hit four of his first five passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns (4, 62, 86 yards) just 10 minutes into the scrimmage! He finished the night 5-9 for 202 yards and 3 TD's.

"I was really impressed with the way Jon through the ball. After missing spring practice, he needs all the work he can get before we open up for real next Saturday night," Kidd said. "And I thought Waylon (Chapman, sophomore QB) did a good job, especially after we let him go with the No. 1 offense."

Junior tailback Derick Logan was held out of the scrimmage because of a slightly bruised shoulder. This led the way for more carries for sophomore tailback Corey Crume who 10 responded with for 115 yards. Junior fullback Jonathan Butler added 14 yards on five carries and scored on a three-yard TD run in the scrimmage that lasted one half and five minutes into the third quarter.

"Corey looked good out there. He does a good job keeping his balance and getting those few extra yards. As I've said before, we consider him and Logan as No. 1 tailbacks," Kidd added.

Senior split-end Rondel Menendez and senior flanker Brian Brenneman led the way for the Colonel receiving corps. Menendez caught five passes for 186 yards and three TD's, while Brenneman had four catches for 27 yards and one TD.

"All our receivers did a good job on concentrating on catching the football first. Their consistency in this area was much better tonight," Kidd said.

Defensively, Eastern's No. 1 unit allowed but one field goal to the No. 2 offense as tackles Justin Ernest (3 tackles, 2 assists, one QB sack) and Jason Muchow (4 T, 2 A, one sack) paced this unit. Junior end Terry Thomas added three tackles, two assists and one sack, while newcomer junior defensive backs Remond Goode and Isaac Carter each had four tackles and one assist.

"Our defense overall is young and we've got to realize that. We lack experience, especially on our No. 2 unit at tackles and in the secondary," Kidd said.

"This scrimmage was also good for us from an organizational standpoint. We worked on substitution patterns, the kicking game and making sure everybody was in the right place at the right time," Kidd added.

EKU has six home games this season, beginning with Kentucky State on Sept. 5. Other home contests include Oct. 10, Tennessee State; Oct. 17, Murray State (Homecoming); Nov. 7, Southeast Missouri; Nov. 14, Appalachian State; and Nov. 21, Eastern Illinois.

Season tickets for this attractive home slate are on sale weekdays at the EKU Athletics Ticket Office in Room 126 of Alumni Coliseum from 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Tickets may also be ordered by phone by calling (606) 622-2122 or 1-800-262-7493, inside Kentucky.

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