Panther rewind: Eastern QB Holley uses his legs to secure OT victory

Quarterback Pierce Holley rushed for three touchdowns and the winning two-point conversion in overtime to lift the Panthers to a 25-24 victory against Bryant. (Photo by EIUPanthers.com) 

By Barry Bottino 

Thanks to Pierce Holley’s legs – and a timely push from his teammates in overtime – Eastern Illinois snapped a six-game conference losing streak with a 25-24 victory on a two-point conversion Saturday at O’Brien Field.  

“If nothing else, we’re exciting to watch,” EIU head coach Chris Wilkerson said of the Panthers, whose last six games have been decided by a total of 21 points. “You’ve got to stay until the end to see what’s going to happen.”

Holley, the transfer quarterback from Georgetown, rushed for three touchdowns and plowed in on the conversion run – thanks to a push over the goal line from multiple Panthers – to lift Eastern to a 5-3 record (1-2 Big South-OVC Association).

“On the two-point play, we wanted to make sure the ball was in his hands with a decision to make and he got it across the goal line. (That play) was one we work hard on the last couple weeks and executed it in a critical situation,” Wilkerson said.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Holley scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter, a 1-yard second quarter run and a 2-yard TD in overtime before the winning conversion.

“He’s a big guy,” Wilkerson said, “and physical. He’s been very rugged and durable.”

Holley took off on several runs Saturday and junior Kendi Young had a team-best 69 rushing yards on 11 carries after injuries to the team’s top two running backs – M.J. Flowers and Kevin Daniels.

“We didn’t really miss a beat when our top two guys went down,” Holley said. “We had some designed QB runs, and some of them just ended up being scrambles.”

“Some different guys got their number called today, but I’m very excited about the way we responded,” said Wilkerson, whose team heads into its bye week with the most wins in a season since 2017.

Over the last six weeks, the Panthers have played five games decided by one score or less.

Game changers 

1:19, 2nd quarter: Holley’s second TD of the day (from 1 yard away) gave EIU a 17-10 halftime lead. 

0:00, overtime: Facing third down with 4 yards to go, Holley connected with wide receiver Justin Thomas on a 17-yard gain. 

0:00, 1^st overtime: Holley called his own number on the game-winning two-point conversion run and got a big push from his teammates over the goal line. 

What it means 

EIU now has the most wins in a season since 2017 and has three potentially winnable games on the schedule (Lindenwood, Tennessee State and Robert Morris).

Prime Time Panthers 

Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Panthers players in the game:  

Holley, QB: Three touchdown runs and a two-point conversion helped the QB lead the way to victory. He was also 20-for-29 passing for 244 yards on a gusty day.

Justin Bowick, WR: The sophomore had six receptions for 96 yards to lead all pass catchers.  

Russell Dandy, DB: The senior cornerback had three pass breakups in the victory. He entered the game with the third-most breakups (10) in FCS.

What’s next?  

The Panthers have a bye week – the latest one of the season for Illinois FCS teams – on Oct. 28 and travel to face Lindenwood for a 2 p.m. kickoff Nov. 4. 

Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995. 

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