Eastern Illinois quarterback Cole LaCrue threw for three touchdowns and ran for another Saturday night in the Panthers’ 42-35 loss to Indiana State. (Photo by EIUPanthers.com)
By Barry Bottino
CHARLESTON — Eastern Illinois spent just over 15 minutes Saturday night building a furious rally with four touchdowns on its final five drives.
The result – a 42-35 non-conference loss at O’Brien Field – left players and head coach Chris Wilkerson flustered about needing to climb out of a 35-7 hole against the Sycamores.
Penalties, missed tackles and five empty drives that spanned the second and third quarters proved damaging to the Panthers’ fortunes.
“There were just way too mistakes to overcome,” Wilkerson said. “Thirteen penalties (for 120 yards) is almost impossible to overcome. The defense being out there (on the field) for almost 20 minutes in the first half is almost impossible to overcome. They were exhausted.
“While I’m very proud of their effort, we’re beyond any moral victories,” he said. “There are no more excuses.”
After answering Indiana State’s opening-drive touchdown Saturday to tie the score at 7-7, the Panthers fumbled three times, missed a field goal and fumbled the football away on the ensuing five drives.
“Our inability to execute put us in a tough situation,” Wilkerson said.
The Sycamores (1-2) responded with 28 points in that span, thanks to elusive quarterback Elijah Owens, who passed for 284 yards and three TDs, while rushing for 98 yards and two scores.
“We fought and we clawed back, but sometimes you just can’t get out of that hole,” said EIU linebacker Ja’Wuan Nickson, who had 10 tackles and an interception. “Our tackling was very suspect. That’s something that I know for a fact we’re going to get better at in practice this week.”
While running back Charles Kellom rushed for 93 of his 106 yards in the first half, highlighted by a 76-yard TD run on the team’s second offensive play, LaCrue and the passing game shined in the second half.
LaCrue connected with wide receiver Jeremy Reeves, Kellom and fellow running back Jacarre Fleming-Page for TDs. In the second half alone, LaCrue completed four passes of at least 21 yards in the second half.
“We’ve been building that the last couple of weeks and that’s stuff we worked on all summer,” LaCrue said. “When you dig yourself a 35-7 hole, it’s hard to win football games, but I’m glad we fought back.”
Wilkerson added: “I told them that we would find out if they had some pride and some poise, and they showed that to me in the second half. They didn’t quit.”
Game changers
11:11, 3rd quarter: B.J. Wuest caught a 42-yard scoring pass from Owens to give the Sycamores a 35-7 lead.
1:23, 3rd quarter: LaCrue’s 8-yard TD run closed the Indiana State lead to 35-21.
1:14, 4th quarter: Owens rushes for his second first down in the last 3-plus minutes of the game to lock up the Sycamores’ victory.
What it means
The Panthers dropped to 1-2 with back-to-back road games ahead against highly ranked Illinois State and South Dakota State. “If we’re going to want to compete against the big teams, we can’t beat ourselves,” LaCrue said.
Prime Time Panthers
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Eastern Illinois players in the game:
LaCrue, QB: He threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns in the loss, along with rushing for 65 yards and a score.
Kellom, RB: A 76-yard run on Eastern’s second play helped the running back over 100 yards for the second time in three games.
Nickson, LB: The veteran defender had a game-high 10 tackles and a fourth-quarter interception.
What’s next?
Eastern travels to Illinois State for the annual Mid-America Classic rivalry game, which kicks off at 2 p.m. on Sept. 19.
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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