RICHMOND, Ky. – If anyone thought the Battle of the Bluegrass was dead, Eastern revitalized it Saturday evening.

The Colonels snapped their four-game losing streak in the series by holding off a late Western rally, winning 26-21.

The loss was the Toppers’ sixth straight dating back to last season.

“This was a good game for us to get back on our feet,” Eastern senior tight end Patrick Bugg said. “We had to come in and we knew we had a big game this week, so we just had to step up and do what we had to do.”

Down 26-14 with 3:35 remaining in the game, Western (0-2) capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive as senior quarterback Justin Haddix found sophomore fullback Jared Johnson in the back of the end zone for a four-yard touchdown catch.

Luck seemed to be on the Toppers’ side as junior safety Clay Stephens recovered Western’s onside kick at his own 46-yard line. That luck soon ran out however, as Haddix threw four straight incompletions to turn the ball over. The Colonels then ran out the clock.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the way these guys fought, down two scores. We just kept hanging in there, then we ended up coming up short,” coach David Elson said.

Last season, Western needed a Chris James 27-yard field goal to beat Eastern 23-21 in Smith Stadium as time expired after blowing a first half lead.

It was a special teams play that started the last second drama last year too. With just over a minute to play, Eastern punter Benton Kusmaul watched a snap sail over his head and into Western territory to set-up James’ winning kick.

Western opened Saturday’s scoring as senior running back Lerron Moore bounded ahead for a 16-yard touchdown run with 4:03 remaining in the first quarter.

The Toppers’ bid to add to that lead ended when junior kicker Chris James’ 49-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right less than five minutes into the second quarter.

Eastern (1-1) capitalized on its next drive, finishing off with a five-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Bobby Washington to tie the game at seven with 5:42 left in the second quarter.

After Haddix fumbled the exchange from center on Western’s next drive, Eastern sophomore kicker Taylor Long nailed a 21-yard field goal just before halftime for a 10-7 lead.

“Turnovers is one thing we talk about every week, and we put an emphasis on, sometimes, it just happens,” Elson said. “Whenever they get the ball in the red zone and they come away with just a field goal, we feel like we’ve won.”

Western’s special teams also showed a few kinks. The Colonels came out with an 81-yard kickoff return by sophomore Davin Walker to Western’s 14-yard line but would have to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Long for a 13-7 lead.

With Eastern driving late in the third quarter, the Toppers seized some momentum when redshirt freshman linebacker Blake Boyd picked off a pass from Colonels junior quarterback Josh Greco at Eastern’s 40-yard line. Boyd ran in the pick off into the end zone, but a holding penalty would bring the ball back to the 24-yard line.

“I was just in good coverage and kept my eyes on (the ball),” Boyd said. “It was a big play for our defense in general. We needed that touchdown, and it really shifted the momentum.”

The Toppers took the lead six plays later as Moore punched in a three-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Eastern responded on the next drive with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Greco to senior tight end Patrick Bugg. The Colonels would fail on the two-point conversion attempt to lead 19-14 with 9:55 remaining in the game.

Moore fumbled the ball three plays into the next drive with the Colonels taking over at Western’s 22-yard line. Four plays later, Long’s 32-yard field goal attempt went wide left.

The momentum quickly shifted once more as Haddix fumbled on the next play at Western’s 14-yard line.

“It just came out,” Haddix said. “It shouldn’t have happened.”

Three plays later, Dunn iced the game with a five-yard touchdown run to put Eastern up 26-14 before Western’s failed late rally.

Moore finished with 116 yards on 26 carries but Western gave up 176 combined rushing yards to the Colonels.

“It takes a little bit of time to get used to his quickness and his speed,” Eastern coach Danny Hope said. “He’s got great vision, and he’s a heck of a football player. Coming into the game we had to be gap sound because we’d had trouble against Lerron Moore.”

Junior receiver Curtis Hamilton finished with eight catches for 100 yards, the first 100-yard performance of his career.

The Toppers will try to get on the winning track when they make their first home appearance at 6 p.m. Saturday against Chattanooga.

“We’ve got a lot of things to build on, a lot of things to improve upon,” Elson said. “I still really, really like this football team, and I’m looking forward to the next nine weeks. It hurts, and it’s no fun being 0-2, but we’ve got a whole season ahead of us.”

Reach Jason Stamm at sports@wkuherald.com.

UP NEXT FOR THE TOPS

Chattanooga at Western

Saturday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m.

Smith Stadium

Chattanooga leads the overall series 8-3 with the Mocs winning the most recent meeting, 26-22 on Nov. 2, 1991.