Richmond, Ky. – The Robert Morris University football team took Eastern Kentucky to overtime before conceding, 40-39, at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Ky., Saturday afternoon. The loss wraps up the non-conference and road portions of the Colonials schedule and puts them at 2-8 on the season. Eastern Kentucky improves to 6-4 and the Ohio Valley Conference squad has its fourth win in the last five games.
 
RMU senior quarterback Jimmy Walker threw four touchdown passes, finishing the day 22-of-39 for four touchdowns and 261 yards. He hit DeLano Madison seven times for 92 yards and a 24-yard touchdown strike in the second quarter. Tim Vecchio also collected five passes for 53 yards. Terence Stephens Jr. rushed 33 times for 132 yards and had both a rushing and receiving score.
 
Defensively, Adam Wollet turned in his third consecutive double-digit tackling performance. He had 14 stops, seven solo, and a tackle for loss as the Colonials defense held the Colonels to 75 yards under its season rushing average.
 
Robert Morris dominated the first half right from the get go as it covered 75 yards in 10 plays after the opening kick to take a 7-0 lead. Stephens capped the drive as he hauled in a screen pass from Walker and went 23 yards down the right sideline. Eastern Kentucky answered on the following drive when LJ Scott, who had 82 yards rushing on the day, went over the right side to score from seven yards out. A botched two-point attempt, however, failed and the Colonials held on to the lead, 7-6.
 
The Colonials countered with a 38-yard field goal by Nick Bisceglia. The RMU defense then forced three consecutive negative plays, giving the offense possession at their own 48-yard line. Stephens ripped off a 43-yard run on the first play of the ensuing drive and then found pay dirt one play later to put the Colonials on top. Bisceglia's streak of 31-consecutive point-after makes came to an end as his kick caromed off the upright to make the score 16-6.
 
After a field goal by Sam Hayworth cut the margin to nine points, Walker made two big plays to extend the Colonials lead. He converted a third-and-six by hitting Matthew Gonzalez for a 15-yard completion. Then on fourth-and-four, Walker lofted a deep ball into the left corner of the endzone that Madison was able to high point and give Robert Morris a 23-9 lead on the 24-yard score.
 
The Colonels, however, would seize momentum just before halftime as they blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown, cutting the score to 23-16. EKU rode that momentum to 17 consecutive points as Scott rushed for the only third quarter score and Hayworth hit a 31-yard field goal to give EKU its first lead of the game, 26-23, with 8:41 to go in the fourth quarter.
 
In the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, there would be three scores. Robert Morris regained the lead as Walker drove the Colonials 82 yards in 10 plays, capping the drive when he hit Warren Robinson on a crossing route on fourth-and-four. Robinson took the pass and ran 19 yards to the endzone to put RMU ahead, 30-26, with 3:37 to play. EKU came back and took the lead, 33-20, when Jackson Beerman hauled in an eight-yard pass from Parker McKinney as the clock showed 1:30 to play.
 
Robert Morris took the ensuing kickoff out to their own 43 on the ensuing possession and Walker put the Colonials into position to tie the game. Bisceglia came through, hitting a career-long 40-yard field goal with 26 seconds to play to tie the game.
 
Eastern Kentucky needed just four plays to score on its first OT possession, Scott toting the rock on all four plays to give the host Colonels the lead, 40-33. Dorian Bowie then picked a great time for his first career catch, a two-yard scoring pass from Walker to bring RMU within one point. The Colonials opted to go for two points, but Walker's pass to Gonzalez was swatted away Jared Tucker, handing RMU a loss in its final road game of the 2018 season.
 
Robert Morris wraps up its campaign next Saturday, Nov. 17, when it hosts Wagner in a Noon game at Joe Walton Stadium.