Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs Purdue Boilermakers Match Player Stats On Sep 03, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Sep 3, 2016

Purdue's defense scored one touchdown and set up another, and the Boilermakers built an early 21-0 lead and never trailed Saturday, defeating Football Championship Subdivision opponent Eastern Kentucky, 45-24.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback David Blough ran for two Purdue touchdowns and passed 35 yards to DeAngelo Yancey for another, helping Purdue win its 13 consecutive home opener, including 4-0 for fourth-year coach Darrell Hazell, who improved to 7-30 with the Boilermakers.

Blough completed 25 of 43 passes for 245 yards, and Markell Jones rushed 24 times for 145 yards and a TD. Purdue finished with 512 yards of total offense.

Eastern Kentucky (0-1) started Missouri fifth-year graduate transfer Maty Mauk at quarterback, but the former Tigers starter threw an interception on the Colonels' first possession and lost a fumble the second time his team had the ball.

Bennie Coney replaced Mauk for the third series and directed Eastern Kentucky to 18 first-half points and 284 yards during the first 30 minutes.

Purdue grabbed a quick 7-0 lead, driving 64 yards in six plays after receiving the opening kickoff, scoring on Jones' 3-yard run with 13:04 remaining in the first quarter. Blough's 27-yard pass to Tario Fuller moved the ball to the Colonels' 3-yard line.

Boilermakers safety Leroy Clark's interception of Mauk and 17-yard return to the Eastern Kentucky 23 set up Purdue's second touchdown -- a 1-yard Blough run with 10:13 left in the opening period, extending the lead to 14-0.

The Boilermakers took a 21-0 lead with 3:31 to play in the first quarter when defensive end Gelen Robinson intercepted a pass and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown.

Eastern Kentucky pulled to within 21-8 when Dan Crimmins ran 10 yards for a TD with 50 seconds remaining in the first quarter and Neiko Creamer ran for a two-point conversion.

Purdue responded with a 50-yard drive capped by the Blough to Yancey touchdown pass with10:04 left in the half, pushing the advantage to 28-8.

The Colonels scored the first half's final 10 points, including Ethan Thomas' 10-yard touchdown run with 2:04 to play in the second quarter.

Purdue scored 17 points during the final 12:48 after failing to score in the third quarter.