By Melville Van Buren

Jones Scores 7 TDs, Leads Cincinnati to 66-13 Win

The Bearcats opened the Satterfield era with their 22nd straight win in a home opener

CINCINNATI – Quarterback Emory Jones totaled six touchdowns in the first half as the Cincinnati football team blew past the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 66-10 on Saturday at Historic Nippert Stadium.

The Bearcats handed first-year head coach Scott Satterfield the victory in his Cincinnati debut thanks to 667 total offense yards. Jones finished 19-of-23 for 345 yards and five touchdowns to five different receivers and added two more rushing scores to account for a single-game school-record seven total touchdowns by a quarterback.

Junior running back Corey Kiner rushed for 105 yards on 13 carries and backup quarterback Brady Lichtenberg added his first two career touchdowns.

The defense harassed EKU’s All-American quarterback Parker McKinney to only 177 yards, while Cincinnati’s junior safety Bryon Threats and senior cornerback Justin Harris each recorded an interception in front of a sold-out crowd of 38,193.

“First thing I want to say is how awesome it was to play in Nippert; it was everything that I anticipated being and then some,” Satterfield said. “We fed off of that energy right from the start, I think on our first drive we went down and hit a big touchdown and from that point forward, we really didn’t slow down. Our players were very focused and intent on coming out and playing a great game. They did that. It was awesome to see.”

Cincinnati faced its first fourth down of the season a little over three minutes into the first quarter. Satterfield didn’t flinch and dialed up a pass play on 4th-and-5 from midfield as Jones uncorked a beautiful 49-yard touchdown pass to fifth-year wide receiver Xzavier Henderson for the first touchdown of the season and the Satterfield era.

“It definitely got us going as an offense. It was a play we had been running a lot. Xzavier [Henderson] got through and got on top of the safety,” Jones said. “I put it up there for him and he did the rest. Definitely, felt good about that. My first touchdown in Nippert Stadium felt good.”

The Bearcats never let off the gas the rest of the way with Satterfield’s fast-paced, no-huddle offense.

“Right from the start, I think on our first drive we went down and hit a big touchdown and from that point forward, we really didn’t slow down,” Satterfield said. “I thought that Emory [Jones] played very well. I thought he did a good job in his decision making. We felt that we had some good receivers and they proved that to be true today.”

Jones and Henderson both played at Florida together from 2020 to 2021 and reunited this summer. By halftime, Jones already had recorded his second career 300-yard passing game and Henderson had set a new career-high with 149 yards on seven receptions, including the Big-12-era-starting score.

Five minutes after the Bearcats’ first score, Jones found sixth-year senior wide receiver Dee Wiggins for a 39-yard touchdown as he started the game 10-of-10 for 206 yards.

The quarterback from La Grange, Ga., closed the first quarter with a one-yard touchdown on the ground to close out a nine-play, 80-yard drive and extend the margin to 21.

The Bearcats opened the second half with Jones finding redshirt junior Payten Singletary for a nifty one-yard touchdown on a quick out to put Cincinnati in front 28-0.

Cincinnati moved in front 35-0 on its next possession when Jones escaped several tackles on a 12-yard touchdown scamper.

The Bearcats scored their sixth touchdown on their sixth drive before the intermission when Jones heaved a pass to fifth-year wide receiver Braden Smith for a 48-yard touchdown with 49 seconds left in the first half.

Sophomore kicker Carter Brown drilled a 46-yard field goal to extend the lead to 45-10 early in the third quarter.

Jones tossed his fifth touchdown pass to slot receiver Aaron Turner later in the third quarter as UC took a 52-10 lead into the final period.

After Litchenberg’s score, the redshirt sophomore quarterback found freshman wide receiver Barry Jackson Jr. for a 65-yard touchdown to cap off the offensive eruption.

UP NEXT

Cincinnati renews the “River City Rivalry” with a trip to Heinz Field to face Pittsburgh at 6:30 p.m. ET next Saturday (CW Network).

GoBearcats.com ##

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