The UCA Bears lost 42-14 to the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in an ASUN Conference football game at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Kentucky, on Saturday, Nov. 5. 

The Colonels began the game with a lead, scoring a touchdown near the end of the first quarter, which the Bears were able to quickly match at the start of the second quarter with a 15-yard run by junior quarterback Clifton McDowell, finishing a 72-yard drive that took five plays. 

The Colonels scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter, which kept them ahead of the Bears 21-7 by the quarter’s end. 

In the third quarter, the Colonels scored a fourth touchdown. The Colonels followed with two additional touchdowns at the beginning of the fourth quarter. 

The Bears were able to score one touchdown at the end of the fourth quarter after a 10-yard pass from McDowell to freshman tight end Jordan Owens, but the Bears couldn’t catch up to the Colonels’ significant lead after they scored 35 consecutive points. 

Coach Nathan Brown said the Bears got outplayed and “didn’t play up to our potential” in this game. 

“Give credit to EKU and their team. We have to put it behind us,” Brown said. 

Junior defensive back Cameron Godfrey said the team could’ve done better on both sides of the ball. 

“Although our special teams played really well, we can’t expect to win games against good teams if we are only winning one out of three phases,” Godfrey said. 

Throughout the game, the Colonels gained 155 more yards than the Bears, with the Colonels gaining 483 total yards and the Bears gaining 328 total yards. 

The Bears’ offensive struggles Saturday differ from their performance in recent games. The Bears were only able to secure 21 points which deviates from their 53-point average over their past four games. 

Sophomore safety TaMurion Wilson led the Bears’ defense with nine tackles, followed by Godfrey and junior Corley Hooper, who each got 7 tackles.

Godfrey said the team could prepare better for big games during practice. 

“Practice was up and down throughout the week and it showed out there on the field. I do think the team as a whole did a good job not giving up and we proved that we can use special teams as one of our strengths when we face other opponents. It was a tough loss, but we are going to learn from it and be ready to play [Stephen F. Austin] next week,” Godfrey said. 

Brown said, “We will have a great week of practice and get it right like we have all year when we had setbacks.” 

The Bears will face the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in Nacogdoches, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 12 at 4 p.m.