Following Saturday’s loss, EIU is 0-2 in the Big South-OVC Football Association standings. (Photo by EIUPanthers.com)
By Dan Verdun
Southeast Missouri accomplished something it hadn’t in the last three weeks – hold a late lead.
The Skyhawks (2-4, 2-0) batted down a pass at the goal line on the game’s final play to fend off Eastern Illinois (4-3, 0-2) for a 35-28 Big South-OVC Football Association win Saturday in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
It marked the second straight close loss for EIU. The Panthers failed on a two-point conversion last weekend in a 28-27 overtime loss to UT Martin.
“We’re certainly so close, and hey, we’ve been on the positive side of some of these games early in the season and unfortunately have been on the short side these last two weeks,” EIU head coach Chris Wilkerson said.
The Panthers held a 21-14 lead second quarter lead before SEMO reeled off 21 straight points. Redhawks running back Geno Hess, an old nemesis of EIU, rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns. The Peoria native has run for 434 yards and six touchdowns in his last three games against the Panthers.
Hess broke away for a 44-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter to put SEMO ahead for good.
Trailing 35-21, EIU pulled within seven points when quarterback Pierce Holley stepped up in the pocket to avoid the rush and connected with a wide-open Justin Thomas for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 6:52 left.
Eastern managed a defensive stop to give its offense one final drive in an attempt to force overtime.
Taking over at their own 18-yard line and 1:22, the Panthers moved the ball to the SEMO 26 with no timeouts remaining.
On the game’s final play, Holley started to roll to his right but was forced to retreat on a deep drop to his left from a strong SEMO pass rush. Holley managed to get a throw off toward the end zone, but Redhawk defender Joedrick Lewis batted the ball to the turf.
The Redhawks beat the Panthers for the sixth straight game in the series between the teams.
Game changers
7:56, 1st quarter: EIU defensive back Blake Ruffin intercepted SEMO QB Paxton DeLaurent and ran 17 yards to the SEMO 32-yard line. Two plays later, Holley threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Justin Bowick to tie things up at 7-7 with 7:09 left.
10:41, 4th quarter: EIU running back Kevin Daniels was dropped for a four-yard loss on a 4th-and-1 at the Panthers’ 39, turning the ball over on downs. SEMO scored a touchdown five plays to gain a 14-point lead.
Less than 24 seconds left in game: Holley completed a 20-yard pass to Eli Mirza, who got out of bounds at the SEMO 26-yard line, giving the Panthers their final chances to tie the game.
What it means
EIU has lost two games in a row for the first time this season. The Panthers have opened conference play with an 0-2 record.
Prime Time Panthers
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Eastern Illinois players in the game:
Holley, QB: The Colorado native passed for 346 yards and two touchdowns.
Thomas, WR: The graduate student had an EIU-high five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.
Ruffin, DB: The redshirt sophomore led the Panthers with 10 tackles. He also had an interception, a pass breakup and a key tackle for loss.
What’s next
EIU returns home to host Bryant Oct. 21 for another league game. Kickoff is 2 p.m.
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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