Killtoppers90
September 8th, 2006, 09:55 AM
As Justin Haddix enters the final season of his college football career he can look back at a lot. Western Kentucky University has gone 24-13 since he was installed as the starting quarterback as a true freshman.
But there's one particular opponent he may enjoy beating more than all the others.
He'll attempt to beat Eastern Kentucky for the fourth time when the Hilltoppers (0-1) face the host Colonels (0-1) at 6 p.m. EDT tomorrow. Haddix, a former Breathitt County High School standout who grew up an Eastern fan, has plenty of motivation. Haddix had a scholarship offer rescinded by Eastern, which led him to Western.
It looks like WKU got the better of that deal, going to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs twice with him under center. Eastern hasn't seen the postseason since 1997.
But while Haddix says he does get some satisfaction out of beating an archrival, he played down having extra motivation for beating a program that spurned him.
"It would be nice," Haddix said of remaining unbeaten against the Colonels. "It's the next game on the schedule. We're ready to play. …. I'm happy I ended up where I did. Everything has worked out great for me. I want to stay healthy and have a good year. I have great teammates, and everybody supports me here. I love it here."
Haddix's statistics against Eastern aren't overwhelming. In three games, he has completed 55.7 percent of his passes for 492 yards and one touchdown, with one interception and three TD runs.
But Haddix has never been about statistics. He makes winning plays. In last year's game, Haddix threw a 17-yard completion on third-and-10 to help set up a game-winning field goal in a 23-21 victory.
In typical Haddix fashion, he handed off the credit to others.
He pointed out that Lerron Moore has been a huge factor against Eastern. Moore has totaled 409 rushing yards and four scores in those three games. Last season kicker Chris James went 3 for 3, including a 27-yarder as time expired.
"I have great players around me," Haddix said. "When you have Lerron Moore back there it makes it a lot easier on you. He makes big runs and big carries. It also helps to have a kicker like Chris James. If we get the ball in certain areas, he can score for us from there."
WKU coach David Elson said he's certain that Haddix will have extra motivation, but he added that playing a rivalry game creates plenty of motivation of its own.
Eastern is No. 23 in the I-AA poll, and Western is not ranked.
"Any kid who went through what he went though in the recruiting process, there's that competitive fire," Elson said of Haddix. "And it's Eastern. It's the Battle of the Bluegrass. With all of our seniors, we'd like to be able to say that they were successful against Eastern."
But there's one particular opponent he may enjoy beating more than all the others.
He'll attempt to beat Eastern Kentucky for the fourth time when the Hilltoppers (0-1) face the host Colonels (0-1) at 6 p.m. EDT tomorrow. Haddix, a former Breathitt County High School standout who grew up an Eastern fan, has plenty of motivation. Haddix had a scholarship offer rescinded by Eastern, which led him to Western.
It looks like WKU got the better of that deal, going to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs twice with him under center. Eastern hasn't seen the postseason since 1997.
But while Haddix says he does get some satisfaction out of beating an archrival, he played down having extra motivation for beating a program that spurned him.
"It would be nice," Haddix said of remaining unbeaten against the Colonels. "It's the next game on the schedule. We're ready to play. …. I'm happy I ended up where I did. Everything has worked out great for me. I want to stay healthy and have a good year. I have great teammates, and everybody supports me here. I love it here."
Haddix's statistics against Eastern aren't overwhelming. In three games, he has completed 55.7 percent of his passes for 492 yards and one touchdown, with one interception and three TD runs.
But Haddix has never been about statistics. He makes winning plays. In last year's game, Haddix threw a 17-yard completion on third-and-10 to help set up a game-winning field goal in a 23-21 victory.
In typical Haddix fashion, he handed off the credit to others.
He pointed out that Lerron Moore has been a huge factor against Eastern. Moore has totaled 409 rushing yards and four scores in those three games. Last season kicker Chris James went 3 for 3, including a 27-yarder as time expired.
"I have great players around me," Haddix said. "When you have Lerron Moore back there it makes it a lot easier on you. He makes big runs and big carries. It also helps to have a kicker like Chris James. If we get the ball in certain areas, he can score for us from there."
WKU coach David Elson said he's certain that Haddix will have extra motivation, but he added that playing a rivalry game creates plenty of motivation of its own.
Eastern is No. 23 in the I-AA poll, and Western is not ranked.
"Any kid who went through what he went though in the recruiting process, there's that competitive fire," Elson said of Haddix. "And it's Eastern. It's the Battle of the Bluegrass. With all of our seniors, we'd like to be able to say that they were successful against Eastern."