2014 UT Martin vs Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats enjoyed beginning a season at home for the first time in seven years, trouncing the UT Martin Skyhawks 59-14 in Lexington to begin the 2014 season. The Cats led 35-0 at halftime and 52-0 through three quarters before taking their foot off the gas in the final quarter.

Patrick Towles made his first start at quarterback for the Wildcats and dazzled by completing 20-of-29 passes for 377 yards and a touchdown pass to freshman Blake Bone. Towles also ran for a 23-yard touchdown, the first of his career. He completed passes to 10 different players for the game.

The Cats also leaned on five different tailbacks who, along with Towles, combined for 243 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Braylon Heard had a fantastic debut for the Cats, taking his only two carries to the house for a pair of touchdowns from 73 and 43 yards out, respectively. Mikel Horton also rushed for two touchdowns with seven carries for 46 yards. Sophomore Jojo Kemp rushed for 34 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

Kentucky’s defense was equally impressive in the one-sided victory, holding UTM off the scoreboard for close to 48 minutes. Linebacker Khalid Henderson led the Cats with eight tackles and an 89-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown. As a unit, the defense forced five Skyhawks turnovers, including interceptions by UK safety A.J. Stamps and cornerback Fred Tiller.

For the game, UK out-gained UT Martin with 656 total yards to the Skyhawks’ 398.