House, Mitchell, EKU defense rips Western

Colonels’ fired-up offense unleashes

BY KEN GREEN Sports Editor

Powered by heads-up defense and an awesome offense, Coach Roy Kidd’s Colonels vented three weeks of frustration on Western Kentucky University Saturday afternoon at Hanger Field as EKU rolled to a 35-10 shellacking of the Hilltoppers.

A record-breaking crowd of near 25,000 packed Hanger Stadium for Homecoming ‘77 as WKYT-TV’s cameras aired the lopsided victory throughout Central Kentucky.

Of course, a win over Western by any margin is a treasured commodity to Eastern athletes and fans alike, but Saturday’s score marked EKU’s largest margin over the Hilltoppers since the two rivals’ first meeting in 1914, won by the Maroons 36-6.

Despite a fumbled (but recovered) pitch-out in the early opening seconds, the Colonels’ offense played with near perfection as senior quarterback Ernie House and junior tailback Stan Mitchell turned in their most impressive performances of the ‘77 season.

House hit Western’s defense where it really hurt . . . in the secondary, as the London signalcaller connected on nine of 15 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. The key target for

35-10 embarrassment upon arch rival Hilltoppers

House’s aerials was flanker Jim Nelson, who hauled in three receptions for 47 yards, two catches of which resulted in Colonel TDs.

House’s third touchdown strike sailed 39 yards to Stan Mitchell, speeding his way untouched to the end zone. This particular move drew a special thrill from Coach Kidd, who was already on “cloud nine” after the big win. The EKU mentor had reflected on Mitchell’s early attempts two years ago to make it as a wide receiver.

Mitch’s heroics proved to be the sparkplug for EKU’s momentum as the speedy Lexington product totalled 119 yards in 18 carries, while heading for the bench in the fourth quarter to give Colonel subs some game experience. His second of three touchdowns came via a pitchout from House from two yards out, while the third TD was on an eight-yard scamper.

Eastern’s other pair of touchdowns made the scoreboard on respective strikes of 21 and 24 yards from House to Jim Nelson. Soccerstyle kick specialist, Dave Flores, made all his conversions, while barely missing a 52-yard field goal.

Western’s offense was unable to get any momentum (with the exception of the scoring drive in the final seconds) due to an outstanding effort by the EKU defense, led by quick end Chris Roberts and cornerback Anthony “Smokey” Miller.

Roberts finished the game with 10 solo tackles and three assists, while Miller had nine solos and one assist, while batting down a WKU field goal attempt in the first quarter. The pair’s other accomplishments included two quarterback sacks, batting down two passes and causing two fumbles.

With the exception of Dave Betz’ 35-yard field goal in the first half, Western’s only other score came on a fourth-and-goal with eight seconds left in the game.

Runningback Mike Hayes surprised the Colonel defense when he took a pitchout, went left and passed to flanker Bill Lindsey for a touchdown. Betz’ kick sealed the final 35-10 verdict.

Looking quickly at some of the final statistics, Eastern rolled up 172 yards rushing and 163 passing, while Western had 244 and 86 yards, respectively, in those departments. The Colonels had 15 first downs as compared to WKU’s 19.

Individually, Western tailback Jimmy Woods led all ground gainers with 12.8 yards on 19 carries, while EKU’s Stan Mitchell was next in line with 119 yards on 18 carries. However, “Mitch” sat out the final quarter as Coach Kidd gave his bench some valuable experience.

Hilltopper quarterback John Hall completed only nine of 20 passes for 82 yards. Flanker Billy Lindsey led Western in receptions with five for 45 yards.

Now 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the OVC, the Colonels hit the road Oct. 29 for a game with Murray, while Western prepares to entertain a tough Morehead squad for its homecoming. The Hilltoppers are now 1-6 overall and 1-3 in the OVC.

FOR A LITTLE MORE THAN 10 YEARS STARTING IN 1979, THE BEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL IN THE STATE OF KENTUCKY WAS NOT PLAYED IN LEXINGTON OR LOUISVILLE. IT WAS PLAYED IN RICHMOND AT EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY.