ards 45-21 Section C

But it was no contest. Not in the beginning. Especially not in the end.

Just consider:

• Eastern ran out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, led 28-7 at the half and built the lead to 42-7 by the end of the third quarter.

• The Colonels racked up 555 yards of total offense.

Quarterback Mike Whitaker completed nine of 10 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns, while tailbacks James Crawford and Elroy Harris were their usual sensational selves. “Mike played great,” said EKU offensive coordinator Leon Hart. “And James and Elroy did it –– again.”

Crawford had 167 yards, and that boosted his season total to 1,282 yards. Harris had 150 yards and three TDs, giving him 1,134 yards and 14 touchdowns for the year. They are the first tandem in the OVC, just the third in the history of I-AA, and only the 17th in the history of the NCAA to break 1,000-yard barrier.

• Eastern could have made it worse. The Colonels who allowed two fourth-quarter TDs while playing their second- and third-string defenses had the ball at the Louisville 30-yard line and just sat on it until time ran out. “One of my assistants told me we could score if we ran Z258 (a pass play),” Kidd said. “I just told him, ‘No. If it comes, it comes, but let’s not try for it.’ I’m just not made that way. I want to win. I love to win. But I don’t like to rub people’s noses in the ground if I can help it.”

Yesterday, Eastern couldn’t help it. Early in the game, on a firstand-15 play at the EKU 36-yard line, Whitaker spun away from center, cut to his left and headed upfield on an option. When he reached midfield and just a second before he got sandwiched,

Sunday, November 24, 1985

Whitaker side-armed a lateral outside to Harris, who rolled untouched for a 64-yard touchdown.

“I saw Elroy out of the side of my eye, and I just flipped it to him,” Whitaker said. “When he got it in the open field, I knew he was gone. The key was getting up on them early. It encouraged us and they got down.

“I think a lot of us had something to prove today. We wanted to show people that we could beat a Division I team; that we’re just as good. We wanted to prove to people that we should be in the playoffs, too. If they don’t let us in, it’s probably because they’re scared of us.”

Just three plays after Eastern’s first TD, Louisville quarterback Ed Rubbert was intercepted by end Joe Mauntel, giving the Colonels the ball at the U of L 15. Eight plays later, Harris scored his second TD.

It quickly became 21-0 early in the second quarter thanks to another U of L turnover. Fullback John Adams fumbled and EKU’s Jeff Walker recovered at the Louisville 37. Four plays later, Harris had TD No. 3 a four-yard run.

“I wanted to show I could play Division I,” said Harris, who was recruited by Schnellenberger. “I think I did.”

U of L made only one semi-serious threat in the game. It cut the lead to 21-7 and then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kick at the EKU 31. But the Cards failed on a fourth-and-one play at the 22.

“I think that was the turning point in the game,” Kidd said. “We didn’t let them in it, and our kids took them out of it. They just retaliated. It was fun.”

The Colonels scored touchdowns with just six seconds left in the first half and on their first two possessions of the second half to turn it into a 42-7 blowout.