RICHMOND, Ky. - The 1998 season opener is upon the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels as EKU hosts the Kentucky State University Thorobreds Saturday night in a 7:00 p.m. contest at Eastern's Roy Kidd Stadium.
Kentucky State will come into the game with one game under its belt, a 36-14 thrashing of Miles College in a game played Saturday afternoon in Birmingham, AL. From watching video of some of the 1997 KSU games, the Colonel coaching staff has been impressed with what it has seen from the NCAA Division II school who closed last season with a 30-26 victory over Livingstone College in the Pioneer Bowl.
"We've got a tough opener in Kentucky State and we're going to have to be ready to go when the whistle blows Saturday night," said veteran head coach Roy Kidd who is beginning his 35th season at the helm of his alma mater.
"This Kentucky State team is big, athletic and can run. We have told our players that we want to start out on a good note and that begins at 7 p.m. Saturday night. We have preached to our players about how every game is important, especially early when the national rankings start coming out. I can guarantee you one thing. We haven't looked past Kentucky State to anybody. This is our most important game on the schedule right now."
Kentucky State used a balanced offensive attack against Miles College that included 203 yards passing and 100 yards on the ground. Defensively, KSU limited Miles to only 11 yards net rushing and 134 passing.
KSU senior quarterback Mike Volarvich hit 16-31 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown, a 56-yard bomb to flanker Shawn Redmond that closed the scoring for the game. Junior split end Brian Gipson was Volarvich's favorite target as he hauled in six passes for 80 yards.
The Thorobreds' running game was paced by junior tailback Phil Smith who had 29 carries for 71 yards and who scored two TD's on runs of five and one yards. KSU's other scores came on a 24-yard interception return by strong safety Cory Stroud and two field goals (27 and 28 yards) by freshman placekicker Jose Rua.
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Defensively, KSU came up with five team sacks and six tackles for loss in throttling Miles' running game. Sophomore strongside linebacker Lakunta Farmer led the way with five solos, a QB sack and two tackles for loss, while defensive tackle Cletidus Hunt had three solo tackles, a tackle for loss and two quarterback sacks.
Eastern will counter the Kentucky State attack with a balanced threat of its own on offense. Junior quarterback Jon Denton, a transfer from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, has won the starting nod and showed the Colonel fans why he is rated as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation when he hit four of his first five passes in EKU's last scrimmage for 186 yards and three TD's. He finished the night 5-9 for 202 yards and three scoring passes.
He has two veteran receivers to throw the ball to this season in seniors Rondel Menendez and Brian Brenneman. In this last EKU scrimmage, Menendez caught five passes for 186 yards and three TD's, while Brenneman had four receptions for 27 yards and a TD.
The '98 running game for the Colonels will be centered around junior tailback Derick Logan, sophomore tailback Corey Crume and junior fullback Jonathan Butler. Logan, an All-OVC choice in 1997, had to sit out the last scrimmage with a slightly bruised shoulder. Crume, a pre-season honorable mention all-conference selection in '98, filled in ably with 115 yards in 10 carries in last Thursday's workout.
Defensively, tackles Justin Ernest and Jason Muchow; ends Shorty Combs and Terry Thomas; linebackers Charles Tinsley, Brad Folke and Butch Printup; and defensive backs Scooter Asel, Tony Woods, Kris Nevels and Shawn Gallant have emerged as the No. 1 unit for the Colonels.
"Offensively, we have the experience and depth back to have a good unit. Defensively, we have some good looking young, inexperienced players mixing with about four or five veterans and we're hoping they will become a cohesive unit early, because I've said it many times. Championships are won on defense," Kidd concluded.
This will be the second meeting between the two schools as Kentucky State visited Hanger Field in Richmond in 1980 to open that season with the Colonels. In a hard-fought game to open a year that saw the Colonels finish as the NCAA Division I-AA national runnersup, Eastern was able to hold on for a 24-21 win over the Thorobreds.
Tickets for the Kentucky State game and each of the other five home contests on Eastern's 1998 schedule 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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