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Independence Day Magazine

Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University football team remained within striking distance into the fourth quarter, but Eastern Kentucky was able to put the game away in the final 10 minutes to claim a 29-10 decision in each team's season opener Thursday evening at a sunny Joe Walton Stadium.
 
The contest marked the Division I head coaching debut of John Banaszak, only the second head coach in program history.
 
RMU had been able to stay within reach of the Colonels thanks to a number of factors, including a +4 turnover margin and a defense that allowed only two touchdowns in seven trips when their backs were in the red zone. Robert Morris also had advantages in passing yards against EKU and had fewer than half of the penalty yards that Colonels accrued.

Junior David Taylor was the biggest contributor to the turnover differential as he registered the first two interceptions of his career, becoming the 17th distinct Colonial to grab multiple picks in a game. It marks the second time in RMU's past five games that a Colonial tallied multiple interceptions. Taylor added a career-high 10 tackles, including nine solo stops.
 
Sophomore Nic Lamica notched an interception, two pass breakups and a game-high 14 tackles in his collegiate debut. Eight of his stops were of the solo variety, and he added a half-tackle for loss.
 
Sophomore quarterback Luke Brumbaugh completed 28-of-51 passes for 222 yards without throwing an interception in his collegiate debut. His 28 completions are the third-highest amount in single-game school history and the most since 2003.
 
Senior Duane Mitchell caught a career-high and game-high nine passes from Brumbaugh, the most by any Colonial since 2011. Mitchell, who moved into fifth place at RMU in career receptions (88) Thursday, caught a pass for the 23rd consecutive game. That figure represents a new school record for any RMU wide receiver although tight end Shadrae King holds the overall record with 30 straight games with a catch.
 
Junior Sean Gavin caught a career-high eight passes for a career-best and game-high 102 yards Thursday. Gavin has now set a career high in receptions in each of his last two games.
 
After RMU punted on the season's opening drive, Eastern Kentucky drove to the RMU 5-yard line, but then the Colonial defense stiffened as Lamica stepped in front of a pass and snatched it right near the goal line.
 
Three more punts followed before Eastern Kentucky used good field position to launch a scoring drive, which was capped by a 42-yard pass play.
 
RMU was forced to punt after picking up a first down on its next drive, but the defense then notched its second pick of the first quarter as Taylor snared the ball out of the air.
 
That turnover helped RMU get on the board as senior Hunter Khaleghi knocked through a 39-yard field goal on the ensuing drive.
 
Eastern Kentucky responded right away, though, as it used an 11-play drive to find the end zone again, a drive capped off with a quarterback keeper.
 
Robert Morris moved near midfield on its next drive before a procedure penalty halted the chance to continue moving the sticks. The Colonels then used a 43-yard drive to add on to their lead with a 34-yard field goal.
 
The RMU offense then began to develop some flow as it moved well into EKU territory on its next two drives, but a fourth down attempt came up less than a yard short on one drive while a punt was elected with the other. The Colonial defense allowed EKU little room to move on its final two drives of the half.
 
Eastern Kentucky drove inside the 10-yard line to open the second half, but RMU forced the guests to settle for a short field goal, which was converted.
 
After a pair of punts, RMU again crossed the midfield line and was on the move, but a fourth down pass fell incomplete. EKU used the turnover on downs to its advantage as it tacked on another field goal with a 10-play drive.
 
Robert Morris then moved into Colonel territory for the fourth time in five drives before settling for a punt. On the first play of the next drive, RMU's defense would get the ball right back as junior Austin Trgovcich stripped the ball free and sophomore Andy Smigiera scrambled to jump on top of it.
 
A sack on the following play set RMU behind with regard to down and distance, and the Colonials could not recover and get back on track. Taylor collected his second interception of the evening on the second play of EKU's ensuing drive to keep the Colonels from adding to their lead.
 
Six plays later, true freshman Rameses Owens ran in practically untouched from 17 yards out on a well-executed draw play to pull RMU with two scores.
 
The RMU defense was able to force a punt after four plays, getting the ball back to its offense with about 10 minutes left and trailing by 13. However, Robert Morris was unable to threaten on its final two possessions of the evening and came up short.
 
Senior Tony LaMancusa tallied four punts downed inside the 20-yard line, tying a single-game school record that he had already once achieved. He has notched at least three punts downed inside the 20 in each of his past three games.
 
Owens' touchdown marks the second straight year in which a Colonial true freshman scored the team's first touchdown of the season. True freshman Jamison Williams grabbed seven passes in his collegiate debut Thursday.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Brumbaugh's 51 pass attempts mark a new single-game school record.
 
Taylor and Lamica helped extend RMU's streak of games when grabbing at least one interception to eight. Thursday marked the fourth time in the team's past six games that the Colonials intercepted the opposing quarterback(s) at least three times.

Senior linebacker Mike Stojkovic notched a career-high 13 tackles, including a tackle for loss, while Trgovcich posted 11, including a half-tackle for loss. Smigiera added nine stops along with his recovery.

14 of Robert Morris' 22 offensive and defensive starters made their first-career start Thursday night. Additionally, 26 Colonials made their collegiate debut in the contest, which marked the first non-Saturday home game in school history.
 
With its weekday opener complete, RMU will now embark on an extended road trip as it plays three games away from home in three straight weeks. The Colonials will begin the stretch with a trip to North Dakota next Saturday, Sept. 6.

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