Australian punter Jacob Horvath, shown here gaining 31 yards on a fake punt at Bowling Green, returns for his sophomore season. (Photo by EIUPanthers.com)
By Dan Verdun
CHARLESTON – The last two seasons have produced some impactful special teams plays for Eastern Illinois.
🏈 In 2022, coordinator Kyle Derickson drew up the block of a field goal attempt that resulted in a 65-yard touchdown return by Mark Aitken.
🏈 Last season, there was a successful fake punt run for a first down by freshman punter Jacob Horvath against FBS Bowling Green.
🏈 Then there was the 56-yard game-winning field goal by Stone Galloway to beat McNeese State.
🏈 NiJhay Burt blocked and recovered a punt inside the 10-yard line to set up a touchdown against Tennessee State.
It’s game-changing plays like those that played a role in EIU’s turnaround 8-3 season last fall.
Derickson has since been promoted to offensive coordinator following the departure of Joe Davis, who became the head coach at Western Illinois.
The unit is now led by Andrew Brady, who also coaches outside linebackers.
Brady, who worked with special teams in previous jobs at Wheaton College and Harding University, learned much from his predecessor.
“Coach Derickson did a phenomenal job building the foundation the past two years,” Brady told Prairie State Pigskin. “(He developed) the culture, the scheme and the technique. I’m taking that, trying to build off it and run with it with my own fingerprints on it.”
Adventures in kicking
Despite his game-winning heroics, Galloway suffered through an injury-riddled, inconsistent 2023 season.
This came a year after he earned first team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors after making 11-of-12 field goal attempts. In addition, Galloway set the EIU record with 14 straight field goals over two seasons (2021-22).
Galloway’s issues began when he was injured during pregame warmups in the season opener at Indiana State. Backup Will Orth made just 1-of-3 extra point attempts and the Panthers were forced to go for two-point conversions in the 27-0 shutout of the Sycamores.
That led to the EIU coaching staff reaching out to Julian Patino, a kicker who had left the team to become a student assistant with the Panther soccer program.
Patino rejoined football and kicked a 31-yard field goal at FBS Bowling Green the following week.
His biggest moment, however, came when the Chicago Mount Carmel graduate delivered the game-deciding extra point as EIU slipped past rival Illinois State, 14-13, in the annual Mid-America Classic game.
Galloway, however, wasn’t done.
His biggest moment came when the senior was called on by head coach Chris Wilkerson to kick the game-winning 56-yarder, lifting the Panthers to a 31-28 victory on Family Weekend. It was Galloway’s first appearance of the season.
It was also one of his last big moments.
After his Sept. 23 game-winner, Galloway made just three of his next 13 field goal attempts. Opponents also twice blocked field goal tries. Galloway did connect on 12-of-14 extra points.
Patino, meanwhile, made all three of his field goal kicks and was 12-for-13 on extra points.
Wilkerson pointed out more than once, that misses and blocks aren’t just on the kicker. Certainly the line, long snapper and holder must also do their jobs.
This year’s competition
Brady is fully aware that the kicking unit often means the difference between wins and losses.
“My role is that I want those guys to be confident,” he said. “I want that unit to be confident when they take the field and to score points. I want the rest of the team to be confident that points will be put on the board.”
Patino remains the familiar face among four candidates to be EIU’s kicker when the Panthers open their season Aug. 29 at the University of Illinois.
EIU brought in freshmen recruits Nico Carrier and Drew Schiller. Ruben Popoca returns after taking his redshirt freshman season last fall.
Carrier, from Metea Valley High School in Aurora, made five field goals in 2023. He also attended a kicking camp in which he connected on all five of his attempts with a long of 55 yards.
Schiller, who also played soccer at Lincoln-Way Central, made 9-of-10 field goals attempts and 30-of-31 extra points for a team that won nine games and advanced to the second round of the IHSA Class 7A playoffs.
“Julian has a real mature, veteran presence. He’s the leader of the group, along with (long snapper) Jack (Valente). He’s got a great head on his shoulders. I really appreciate his leadership and his humility,” Brady said.
Patino didn’t expect football to be back in play a year ago.
“I was coaching soccer (at this time last camp),” he said. “But now having last season under my belt (as a kicker), I have a lot of confidence . . . I’m definitely more comfortable in a leadership role.”
Other specialists
Valente, a senior from Batavia who started seven games in the offensive line, was the primary long snapper last season. He was All-Ohio Valley Conference second team at long snapper in 2022.
Brett Galletti, a redshirt junior from Lincoln-Way East, served as the long snapper for punts early last season. With Valente out with injury, Galletti also snapped in both long and short situations, according to his EIU athletic biography capsule.
“We’ve got to continue to focus on the process,” Galletti said.
Sophomore Jacob Horvath, who averaged 38.2 yards per punt, is back. He also took over holder duties on field goals and extra points when Cooper Willman suffered a season-ending injury in the opener at Indiana State.
Horvath, a native of Bentleigh, Australia, said “it’s night and day difference” from his rookie season to now.
“This time last year I was getting acclimatized to the U.S. and I’d only been here for just over a week,” Horvath said. “I feel way more settled in, and I’m just ready to go.”
Return game
EIU welcomes back a veteran group of returners, primarily Aitken and Zay Gentry on kickoffs and Willman on punts.
Aitken, a redshirt senior from Chicago’s Kenwood Academy, averaged nearly 20 yards a return. Aitken, who also made 10 starts at safety, had a season-long 52-yard return against Lindenwood.
“He’s been a prolific guy for us in the past,” Brady said.
Gentry, a senior from Texas, had two kickoff returns for a 16.5 average.
Willman, Aitken and receiver Eli Mirza accounted for two-thirds of the six punts EIU returned last fall. Fair catches are not included in those statistics.
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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