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LEXINGTON, Kentucky (Ticker) -- Seventh-ranked Tennessee found the cure for its frustration -- a meeting with Southeastern Conference East rival Kentucky. Travis Henry ran for three first-half touchdowns and the Volunteers continued their dominance in the series with a 56-21 drubbing of Kentucky. Henry, a junior who backs up Jamal Lewis, raced for touchdowns of 40 and 61 yards, respectively, in the first quarter before scoring on a 13-yard run in the second as the Volunteers scored the game's first 27 points. Henry finished with 179 yards on 23 carries and has rushed for 390 yards the last three games. Lewis did not play due to a shoulder injury. Tee Martin passed for a pair of touchdowns for Tennessee (8-2, 5-2 SEC East), which lost any real chance for a second straight national championship with last weekend's loss at Arkansas. The Volunteers finish their season next weekend against Vanderbilt. For the last several decades, the winner of this game received the "Beer Barrell" but that tradition was discontinued this season in the wake of the tragedy that hit Kentucky during the week leading up to last year's contest. Scott Brock, the best friend of then-quarterback Tim Couch, and Wildcats defensive end Artie Steinmetz were killed early on a Sunday morning after a pick-up truck driven by center Jason Watts flipped over in Somerset. Alcohol was involved. Tennessee, which rolled to a 59-21 win over the Wildcats last season, has won the last 15 meetings between the teams and improved to 63-23-9 in the all-time series. The current winnning streak, dating to 1985, is the longest by either school in series history. Dusty Bonner completed 32-of-50 passes for 361 yards with three touchdowns, but was intercepted five times for Kentucky (6-5, 4-4), which concluded its regular season but is elgible for a bowl. After the Volunteers stymied Kentucky on the opening drive, Martin directed a nine-play, 73-yard drive, which he culminated with a 29-yard TD pass to Cedrick Wilson with 9:40 left in the first quarter. Just under three minutes later, Henry busted loose for his 40-yard TD run and he followed that up with his career-long 61-yard scamper with 3:48 to play in the period for a quick 21-0 advantage. Henry, who finished with the seventh 100-yard performance of his career, had 125 yards rushing in the opening quarter. He also finished 18 yards shy of his career-high total, set last season against Arkansas. Henry continued the onslaught with his 13-yard run with 10 1/2 minutes left before intermission. Alex Walls missed the extra point. Bonner had TD passes of 34 yards to tight end James Whalen Jr. and three yards to Anthony White in the final 6:51 of the second quarter, pulling the Wildcats within 27-14. Whalen had nine receptions for 114 yards. But the Volunteers put the game out of reach in the third quarter. Martin found David Martin with a 21-yard TD pass and plunged over from one yard, extending the margin to 28 points entering the final 15 minutes. Freshman Onterrio Smith, who had seven carries all season, got into the act in the fourth quarter with TD runs of 61 and two yards. Smith carried 10 times for 82 yards. Tennessee finished with 294 yards on the ground.
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