UCA falls flat at E. Kentucky

EASTERN KENTUCKY 42, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 14

There wasn’t much that went well for the University of Central Arkansas on Saturday.

The Bears traveled to face Eastern Kentucky one win from clinching a share of the first-ever ASUN Conference title.

But a 42-7 loss at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Ky., leaves the Bears chance of that goal much less clear.

Winds in Richmond were blowing more than 20 mph at kickoff. Eastern Kentucky (63, 2-1 ASUN) took a 7-0 lead thanks to a 17-yard touchdown pass from Parker McKinney to Jayden Higgins as both teams battled the conditions.

UCA (4-5,3-1) tied the game at 7-7 when backup quarterback Clifton McDowell rushed for a 15-yard touchdown.

The Colonels’ offense came alive when Eastern Kentucky running back Braedon Sloan hit the end zone twice late in the second quarter to make it 21-7 at halftime.

McKinney and Higgins connected once again midway through the third quarter, and McKinney found Cornelius McCoy in the fourth quarter to extend that lead to 35-7.

McKinney completed 19 of 29 passes for 239 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception, compared to the duo of McDowell and UCA starting quarterback Will McElvain who combined for 13-of-33 passing for 157 yards and 2 interceptions.

Part of UCA’s passing issues came from its inability to find a consistent target for McElvain. Nine different receivers caught passes from either McElvain or McDowell with Christian Richmond and running back Kylin James the only receivers with more than one catch.

Eastern Kentucky running back Joshua Carter brought the score to 35-7 with 6:32 left to play on a 10-yard run. With both teams’ passing games altered throughout, Carter was instrumental to Eastern Kentucky’s success. He rushed 13 times for 125 yards.

UCA was without its bellcow, Darius Hale, who came up injured near the end of last week’s win over North Alabama.

Hale injured his hamstring on a long run in the fourth quarter that helped him to set a personal record with 255 rushing yards.

He said post game he wasn’t sure what exactly had been injured, and UCA Coach Nathan Brown said Monday that this was the first week in Hale’s time on campus that he’d ever been limited in practice.

UCA has more depth at running back than any position on the roster, but against the Colonels the group couldn’t reach its normal heights.

James, who also set a personal record for rushing yards in a game last week with 113, rushed 14 times for 58 yards. Trysten Smith, who recently returned from an injury of his own, rushed eight times for 58 yards. McDowell added 38 rushing yards.

McDowell led UCA to a scoring drive with 4:30 remaining, passing 10 yards to tight end Jordan Owens, but it was too little, too late.

(Photo courtesy UCA Athletics) Wide receiver Christian Richmond, shown in UCA’s victory over Austin Peay earlier this season, was one of the few bright spots for the Bears in a 42-14 loss to Eastern Kentucky on Saturday in Richmond, Ky. Richmond had 3 catches for 43 yards and ran the ball 21 yards on his only carry.