Southeast Missouri wide receiver Donnie Cheers (right) grabs one of his seven receptions, which included two touchdowns, in a win against Eastern Illinois Saturday in Cape Girardeau, Mo. (Photo by EIUPanthers.com)
By Dan Verdun
Saturday’s Eastern Illinois at Southeast Missouri game time was moved up two hours because of the threat of impending inclement weather. In the end, it was SEMO that stormed out of the gate en route to a 42-13 victory at Houck Field in Cape Girardeau.
The Skyhawks (3-4 overall, 1-1 in OVC-Big South) flew to a 21-6 second-quarter lead and didn’t look back. SEMO defensive back D.J. Delmore opened the scoring with a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The Skyhawks added to their lead on a 54-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman Johnny Weber to receiver Donnie Cheers. The duo connected again for a touchdown pass, this time a 54-yarder giving SEMO a 21-6 lead in the second quarter.
Weber made it 35-6 at the half with a pair of touchdown passes to Kalvin Gilbert, the first for 44 yards and the second from four yards out with only 7 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Skyhawks scored 21 points off first-half turnovers. Both starter Connor Wolf and backup Cole LaCrue threw interceptions before halftime.
EIU (3-4, 2-2) dropped its second straight conference game after wins against Western Illinois and Tennessee State to begin its OVC-Big South Football Association schedule.
“It’s extremely disappointing,” EIU head coach Chris Wilkerson said. “With six turnovers and mistakes all over the place, it’s not going to be even good enough to give ourselves a chance to be competitive.”
True freshman Brady Ford, EIU’s third-string quarterback, took over the offense for some second-half series before LaCrue returned. Ford completed 4 of 6 passes for 54 yards, but threw the third Panther interception of the day.
“Connor was limited,” Wilkerson said. “If something were to happen to Cole, Brady is the next guy in, so we felt like that was the right time to try to get him some live college football snaps.”
By game’s end, Eastern quarterbacks were intercepted five times – three by LaCrue.
Weber passed for 283 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted once. Cheers caught seven passes for 165 yards and two TDs.
Game changers
10:47, 1st quarter: Delmore intercepted a Wolf pass and returned it 95 yards – the second longest in SEMO history – for the game’s first points.
8:35, 1st quarter: Weber completed a 54-yard TD pass to Cheers. The score gave the Skyhawks a 14-0 lead.
11:25, 2nd quarter: After EIU got within eight points on a Drew Schiller field goal, SEMO upped its lead to 21-6 as Weber again found Cheers for a long touchdown pass.
Prime Time Panthers
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the the top three Eastern Illinois players in the game:
LaCrue, QB: The redshirt sophomore led EIU with 99 rushing yards and one touchdown.
Ju’Wuan Nickson, LB: The junior college transfer led the Panthers with 12 tackles, 2.5 for loss and a forced fumble.
Mason Miller, P: The NAIA transfer averaged 53.8 yards per punt. Three of his four kicks went for more than 50 yards, including a 60-yarder.
What it means
Eastern Illinois suffered its second consecutive OVC-Big South loss. The Panthers have not won at SEMO since 2014.
What’s next
Eastern Illinois travels to Charleston Southern Oct. 25 in OVC-Big South play. Kickoff is 1 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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