JJ Jude rushed for 195 yards and four touchdowns to lift the Eastern Kentucky football team to a 56-24 victory over Morehead State on Saturday (September 21) at MSU’s Jayne Stadium.
The Colonels improve to 2-2 on the season, while the Eagles fall to 0-4 overall. Eastern Kentucky also moves to 51-16-4 in the all-time series with their eighth consecutive win over Morehead State.
Jude, a running back who red-shirted in 2012, entered the day with just 73 rushing yards in three games this season. He posted touchdown runs of two, five, 11 and 17 yards in the contest.
"Credit (JJ) Jude for the way he played tonight," Head Coach Rob Tenyer said. "He's a very good football player, who will do big things in Ohio Valley Conference play. He's strong, fast and balanced. Eastern Kentucky also has about six 300-pound linemen who open up holes for him."
Eastern Kentucky rolled up 345 rushing yards and 261 passing yards for a season-high total of 606. The Colonels registered 31 first downs and converted on 7-of-14 third-down attempts.
"The difference tonight was Eastern Kentucky ran the football and we did not,"Tenyer said. "We really need to correct those two areas to be successful. It's hard to beat a quality (scholarship) program like EKU when you allow that many yards on the ground and only rush for 37."
The Eagles were within a touchdown at halftime, but the Colonels used a 35-10 advantage over the final 30 minutes to pull away. EKU scored five touchdowns in six drives after intermission.
"We tried to make a few adjustments on both sides of the football at halftime," Tenyer said. "We had some big defensive stops in the first half, but we couldn't put the fire out when we really needed to over the final 30 minutes. That's one of the reasons why this loss is so disappointing."
Freshman quarterback Austin Gahafer led Morehead State by going 27-of-42 for 220 yards. He fired two touchdown passes -- one to junior wide receiver Kitaro Lewis from 32 yards out in the first quarter and the other to junior running back Rees Macshara from seven yards away in the second period.
The Eagles passed for 312 yards on 59 attempts, but were limited to an average of just 1.8 yards on 21 carries. Morehead State also committed three turnovers -- all on interceptions.
Eastern Kentucky junior quarterback Jared McClain finished 17-of-26 for 250 yards and two scores. Freshman wide receiver Devin Borders, who pulled in nine catches for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns, was his top target. Eight Colonels ran the ball and seven had at least one catch.
Junior linebacker Jordan Hendrix tallied a game-high nine tackles to lead Morehead State, while three different Eastern Kentucky defenders collected eight stops apiece.
"I still like our football team,"Tenyer added. "I liked our passion, energy and courage tonight. I told our kids this was gut-check week and I reminded them of that at halftime. We had a good first half, but Eastern Kentucky played well down the stretch to pull away. Give them a lot of credit."
Morehead State returns to Pioneer Football League action on Saturday, September 28, when it hosts Davidson at 1 p.m.
