Sept. 24, 2005
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AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - Blake Field completed 13-of-20 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start to lead Auburn to a 37-14 victory over I-AA Western Kentucky Saturday.
Field got his chance when starter Brandon Cox came down with a stomach virus shortly before game time and was unable to play. Cox is expected to be back in the lineup when Auburn plays South Carolina next week.
Auburn (3-1) took control of the game early, jumping out to a 24-0 halftime lead and holding the Hilltoppers to just 98 yards total offense in the first half.
But Western Kentucky (2-1), the top ranked team in I-AA, fought back with two fourth quarter touchdowns to make the final score respectable.
Field showed few rookie jitters. He completed passes to 10 different receivers and had no interceptions.
Kenny Irons rushed 18 times for 111 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers, who featured a balanced attack. Auburn rushed for 209 yards to complement the 200 passing yards.
Quarterback Justin Haddix rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown and completed 11-of-21 passes for 176 yards for Western Kentucky. He was intercepted twice.
Lerron Moore had a 1-yard-run for a Western Kentucky score.
For one play, Western Kentucky looked like it could hang one of the defending Southeastern Conference champions. Haddix ran for 51 yards on the game's first snap, setting up a first down on Auburn's 28. But the Hilltoppers could not move the ball from there and Chris James missed a 48-yard field goal attempt.
It was as close as Western Kentucky would get to scoring in the first half.
From there, Irons took over for Auburn. Irons carried the ball seven times for 54 yards on the Tigers' first possession, which ended in a 28-yard John Vaughn field goal. It was the first of three field goals for Vaughn.
On Auburn's next possession, Iron had an 8-yard touchdown run and finished the first half with 108 yards.
Field threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter - 38 yards to Brad Lester and 9 yards to Anthony Mix - as the Tigers took a 24-0 halftime lead.
Field also had a 13-yard scoring toss to Lee Guess in the fourth quarter.