Eastern Kentucky and the University of Tennessee at Martin have played football against each other for 13 times since 1973. Roy Kidd has been at the helm of the Colonels ever since, and those Colonels have won all 13 games against Tennessee-Martin.

This past Monday, Kidd announced his retirement as head coach at Eastern Kentucky, effective at the end of the season. The announcement doesn’t come as a shock to football followers.

Tennessee-Martin head football coach Sam McCorkle wonders why the legendary coach waited until Monday to make the announcement. McCorkle and the Skyhawks hope the departure announcement leaves the Colonels off guard this Saturday when the Skyhawks travel to Richmond for the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. CT.

“It’s a real thrill to play a team like Eastern Kentucky,” McCorkle said. “Eastern Kentucky is the bench mark team in the OVC. They have won all the championships and they are an icon in I-AA football as is Roy Kidd.”

“He’s the winningest coach in the history of I-AA football and the third winningest active coach in America today,” McCorkle said. “He’s not only a great coach but he’s a super gentleman. It’s obvious that he does things the right way because his staff has been with him for many, many years.

“We look forward to going to Richmond and competing with a team that epitomizes so many things that people want to see in a football team.”

McCorkle and the Skyhawks are anticipating that Eastern Kentucky will run the football every chance it gets. The Colonels are second in the OVC and rank 14th in all of I-AA in rushing with an average of 231.8 yards per game. Sophomore C.J. Hudson is averaging 103 yards per game, despite seeing little action in last week’s pounding of Glenville State.

Hudson has eight touchdowns so far this season and he’s second in I-AA football with the most touchdowns. Hudson is backed up by junior Terry Ennis with 251 yards and senior Chuck Marks with 174 yards and four TD’s.

“Eastern Kentucky is similar to the way they always are and they are a very hard-nosed football team,” McCorkle said. “Offensively they have probably the top back in the OVC in Hudson.”

Quarterback Travis Turner was held out last week because of nagging injuries, but is expected to play against the Skyhawks. Turner has connected on 34-of-69 passes for 474 yards and one touchdown. Turner’s backup is Toki McCray. In limited action, McCray has thrown 16 passes, completing 11 for 214 yards and two scores. Freshman wideout Matt Miller is leading Eastern in receiving with 14 catches.

“They have two good quarterbacks that are both experienced,” McCorkle said. “Both of them are capable of doing things, both running and throwing the football. They like to run at you.”

“As always, they have a physical offensive line,” McCorkle said. “It’s going to be a challenge for our defense to stand in there and hold up against these guys.”

The Skyhawks have been able to defend the run in the first five games of the season. The Skyhawks are giving up an average of 129.4 yards per game. Against the pass, the Skyhawks are ranked second in the conference in pass efficiency defense, and have picked off a conference-high six passes. Senior Perez Boyd has three interceptions this season and is averaging a team-high nine tackles per contest.

“Defensively, man, they play the game the way it’s supposed to be played,” McCorkle said. “Their defensive line is the most physical and most aggressive defensive line we play against. They’re very experienced, they have good sides and run to the ball well.”

Eastern Kentucky’s defense has allowed just six points in the last two games and leads the conference in total defense by giving up a mere 272.6 yards per game. Against the run, the Colonels are allowing just over 103 yards per game. Senior free safety Tim Roberts is the Colonels’ leading tackler on the season with 35 hits, including 25 solo tackles. Six Colonels have between 21 and 25 tackles this season.

In order for the Skyhawks to win the conference opener against EKU, McCorkle said they must have a great week of practice, eliminate mistakes, and continue to show improvement in kickoff and punt return coverage.

“We improved tremendously last week on some things,” McCorkle said. “We only had seven penalties and we did not turn the ball over one time. That was a tremendous plus to us and that’s something we must continue to do.”

The Skyhawks enter the conference opener with a 2-3 worksheet and they are coming off a 30-10 setback to Division I-A Arkansas State. “I think we grew some last week,” McCorkle said. “We’ve got to build on that.”

<I>Courtesy of Sports Information</I>