Wide receiver Landers Green is averaging a team-high 19.33 yards a catch for Eastern Illinois, which has struggled offensively in first quarters this fall. (Photo by Sandy King, EIUPanthers.com)
By Barry Bottino
NORMAL – Turnovers and touchdowns. It’s a mantra that Eastern Illinois head coach Chris Wilkerson has repeated often this season about the two things his team needs most.
The Panthers (1-3) have the turnover part down thus far. EIU is plus-4 in turnovers and the offensive unit has turned the ball over only once.
The touchdowns part? That’s a work in progress, especially early in games.
“We’ve got to punch first,” quarterback Cole LaCrue said Saturday after EIU’s 49-13 loss to Illinois State, which moved up to No. 3/4 in FCS national polls Monday. “We’ve got to find a way to score on the first two drives. We’ve got to get the first first down and keep building.”
Through four games, Eastern has been outscored 42-10 in the first quarter with Charles Kellom’s 77-yard run against Indiana State providing the lone touchdown.
In the first two drives of each of the Panthers’ four games, they also have compiled six punts and a field goal. The eight drives have yielded a combined seven first downs.
“We can’t kill ourselves, whether that’s a missed assignment, a dropped ball, a bad throw or a bad read by me,” LaCrue said.
Eastern managed three yards on three plays on its first drive at ISU, then went 60 yards in 12 plays on the second drive, which culminated with a 41-yard Drew Schiller field goal.
On the second drive, however, Eastern had a second-and-2 at the Redbirds’ 22-yard line but could not advance any further.
On the day, EIU managed 66 rushing yards on 26 carries against the No. 2 run defense in FCS.
“There were times early in the game that we went a little sideways,” Wilkerson said. “We’ve got to project a little more downhill of a run game to complement some of those sideways runs.”
The Panthers’ coach, despite the lopsided defeat, found things to build on.
“No turnovers again is a positive thing,” he said. “Two-for-2 in the red zone is a positive thing. (We need) more third-down conversions and to finish with sixes and sevens instead of field goals.”
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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