BC rebounds in the fourth quarter to beat Western Kentucky

Boston College erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Western Kentucky 21-20 on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.

Donovan Ezeiruaku forced a fumble at Western Kentucky’s 20-yard line with 6:26 left, which led to an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Grayson James to Jerand Bradley with 3:33 left. KP Price stopped Western Kentucky’s final attempt as the Eagles (4-1) escaped.

The Hilltoppers (3-2) gave the Eagles everything they could, but BC found a way again in dramatic fashion.

James, filling in for the sidelined Thomas Castellanos, finished 19 of 32 yards for 168 yards, one touchdown, one interception and one rushing touchdown.

The Hilltoppers took a 7-0 lead on a 3-yard pass from Caden Veltkamp to Kisean Johnson with 3:05 left in the first quarter.

On Western Kentucky’s next possession, Khari Johnson pounced and intercepted a floating ball from Veltkamp. The Eagles briefly had momentum, but James gave it right back when he threw a pass right into the arms of Keondre Williams for an interception early in the second quarter. James appeared nervous at the start and struggled to get the correct readings on short and medium passes.

Western Kentucky capitalized on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Veltkamp to Easton Messer. At that point, Western Kentucky had a 129-12 advantage in the passing game.

The Eagles were out of form and outmatched. It was clear that BC would miss Castellanos, but it was unclear how much.

BC showed signs of life late in the second quarter when James Lewis found Bond for a key third-down conversion to set up a 3-yard TD rush by Kye Robichaux against his former team. The Hilltoppers struck back when Lucas Carneiro kicked a 22-yard field goal as the first half expired.

Western Kentucky went into halftime with a 17-7 lead and managed 247 yards compared to 133 for BC. The Hilltoppers had 106 yards after the catch while the Eagles only had 33 yards. James finished the half 12 of 16, settling down after a slow start.

The sluggishness on offense wasn’t shocking given the quarterback situation, but the inconsistency on defense was puzzling given BC’s success on that side of the ball this season.

BC started the second half with a promising attack, but Bond attempted to impede a defender and fumbled. Carneiro hit a 35-yard field goal to increase Western Kentucky’s lead to 20-7 with 8:44 left in the third quarter.

The Eagles caught a break when Veltkamp’s pass bounced off Michael Mathison’s fingertips and into the hands of Kam Arnold, who intercepted it late in the third period. This led to a 1-yard TD rush by James that cut the deficit to 20-14 with 11:36 left.

Ezeiruaku (14 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 quarterback hits) recorded a key sack on first down, which led to a Western Kentucky punt moments later. On Western Kentucky’s next possession, Ezeiruaku delivered a devastating blow to Veltkamp to force the fumble and set up Bradley’s touchdown.

Trevor Hass can be reached at [email protected].