Horsemen hold off Ohio Valley for season-opening win
Published on March 24, 2006 under United Indoor Football Association (UIF) News Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. - First-year Lexington quarterback Eddie Eviston threw for 182 yards with four touchdowns Friday to lead the Horsemen past Ohio Valley, 38-24, in the season opener for both teams in Rupp Arena. The game marked Mike Zuckerman's first as the Horsemen's head coach.
The Horsemen (1-0), who led 32-3 early in the third quarter, watched their lead dwindle to eight points, 32-24, with 7:06 remaining in the game after three consecutive Greyhounds (0-1) touchdowns. After wide receiver Chad Spencer, caught a late 26-yard touchdown strike with 4:40 remaining in the game to put Lexington up 38-24, Leonard Burress intercepted Ohio Valley quarterback Matt Kohn in the end-zone to seal the win for the Horsemen.
"This was a pretty exciting game," Zuckerman said. "It feels good to finally get on the field and play. Eddie is a great athlete and he is so good at both dimensions of the game - both rushing and passing. With that, he puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses."
Spencer finished the game with four catches for 41 yards with two scores, while Harry Lewis led all receivers with seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Running back Derek Homer led the Horsemen ground game with 10 carries for 58 yards with a touchdown.
Eviston went 16-of-22 from scrimmage, while Kohn finished 18-of-41 with an interception for Ohio Valley.
After an early field goal by the Greyhounds, wide receiver Chad Spencer put the Horsemen on the board with an 5-yard reception for the score at the 7:31 mark of the opening quarter to move Lexington in front 6-3. On the Horsemen's next possession, Eviston found JaQuar Sanders 5 yards out for a touchdown at the 2:42 mark of the opening period, extending Lexington's advantage to 13-3 heading into the second quarter. It marked Sanders' first touchdown reception since April 2, 2005 at Evansville.
Lexington carried the momentum of the first quarter into the second, as Homer ran it in from 4 yards out to give the Horsemen a commanding 20-3 advantage with 11:32 remaining until halftime. The Horsemen continued their offensive blitz as Lewis hauled in a 6-yard pass from Eviston for a 26-3 lead with 4:58 left in the second quarter. The Horsemen carried the 23-point lead into the locker room at halftime, as they led the rushing game 99-9 at intermission.
The Horsemen wasted no time out of halftime as William Mulder returned the opening kickoff a franchise-record 55 yards for the touchdown to put Lexington ahead by 22, 32-10, just nine seconds into the third quarter. Ohio Valley cut its deficit to 32-26 after Kohn threw three consecutive touchdowns.
The Horsemen have a week off before returning to action on April 8, when they travel to Peoria, Ill., to take on the Peoria Rough Riders. Kick-off is set for 8:30 p.m. EST and the game will be carried live on WLAP 630 AM with Gary Ball.
Single-game tickets are still available for purchase. Please contact the Horsemen at 859-422-PASS or the Lexington Center Ticket Office at 859-233-3535. For more information on the Lexington Horsemen, please log on to the team's official Web site at www.lexingtonhorsemen.com.
United Indoor Football Association Stories from March 24, 2006
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- Horsemen hold off Ohio Valley for season-opening win - UIF
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