RICHMOND, Ky. -- For the first time since 1981, there is more on the line that just school pride when the Eastern Kentucky University football Colonels meet the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers Saturday night for "Pack the House Night" at Roy Kidd Stadium.

Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. with pre-game ceremonies honoring former Colonel All-American defensive back George Floyd who was recently inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame scheduled for 6:50 p.m. EKU's 1979 NCAA Division I-AA national championship squad will be recognized at halftime.

Western, who left the league in 1981, has rejoined the Ohio Valley Conference in football and is eligible for the 1999 title. A quick look at the current conference standings shows that the 'Toppers are serious about making a run at the crown in their first year in the league as Western, following last Saturday's 21-15 defeat of Murray State, stands 3-0 and alone in first place in OVC play.

"The fact that Western has come back into the conference adds a lot more to the game on our end. The game was always special to me, but it was hard to convince our kids of what the Eastern-Western game meant," said EKU head coach Roy Kidd. "Now it's a conference game again which makes it have more meaning this year, which just adds a little more pressure."

Kidd's EKU Colonels, 4-1 overall and ranked 16^th, 17^th and 18^th in the three I-AA polls this week, are one of three league schools who stand at 1-0 in league play thus far and who are tied for second in the conference standings.

Eastern ran its winning streak to three games in a row after taking care of the Southeast Missouri Indians last Saturday in Cape Girardeau, MO, 37-28.

EKU bolted to a 28-7 first quarter lead against SEMO, only to see the upstart Indians rally and tie the game at 28 late in the third quarter. However, a 53-yard TD pass from Colonel quarterback Waylon Chapman to junior wideout Tyrone Browning put Eastern ahead for good. A 28-yard field goal by EKU's Jason Martin closed scoring for the night.

Chapman continued his excellent '99 season by throwing for 249 yards and two TD's vs. SEMO, running his season's total to 892 yards passing and 10 touchdown passes. He has hit 67-111 passes for an outstanding 60.4 percent completion rate and an efficiency rating of 150.39.

Tailbacks Corey Crume and Derick Logan and fullback Chad Culver have handled the bulk of the running chores for Eastern this year. Crume has picked up 453 yards and has scored three TD's, while Logan has gained 294 yards with one TD, and Culver has added 108 yards rushing to the Eastern attack this season.

Eastern sports three receivers with double-digit catches with junior Alex Bannister leading the way with 22 catches for 329 yards and four TD's and Browning, only four catches back on the season, with 18 receptions for 228 yards and two TD's. Junior split end Anthony Boggs has caught 10 passes for 215 yards and two scores. Senior tight end Anthony Watson has seven receptions for 73 yards and two scores.

Defensively, tackles Terry Thomas and Jason Muchow, cornerback Kris Nevels, linebackers Brad Folke and Nick Sullivan, and safeties Shawn Gallant and Scooter Asel came up with big plays against SEMO. Thomas leads Colonel tacklers on the season with 47 hits, followed by Asel at 42, Folke at 36 and linebacker Adam Rader at 32.

Western has been playing most of the last four contests without the services of sophomore quarterback Donte Pimpleton who has been bothered by a knee injury. Runningback Shane Ricketts, a converted tight end, was a big factor in the Western's six-point win over Murray State last Saturday as he ran for two TD's.

"Western is really quick on defense. They swarm to the ball like a bunch of bees. They're really impressive," said Kidd. Western held Murray State to just 15 points last Saturday and has given up only 63 points all year in compiling their 4-1 overall record.

Western leads the overall series, 41-32-3, although EKU won at Bowling Green last year, 27-16.

Tickets to the Western game, EKU's Oct. 23 Homecoming contest with UT Martin and the Colonels' Nov. 20 game with Eastern Illinois may be purchased by visiting the EKU Athletic Ticket Office in Room 126 of Alumni Coliseum or by phoning the ticket office at (606) 622-2122 or 1-800-262-7493, inside Kentucky.