Eastern Illinois defenders Kaleb Lyons (21) and Lonnie Burt (43) pursue Western Illinois running back Ihson E. Jackson-Anderson (1) during Saturday’s action at O’Brien Field. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Dan Verdun
CHARLESTON – Any potential momentum Eastern Illinois may have gained from last week’s decisive win at UT Martin was wiped out by rival Western Illinois Saturday at O’Brien Field.
WIU used long drives and big plays on offense, defense and special teams to maul the Panthers, 44-23.
“They out-executed us in all three phases,” EIU head coach Chris Wilkerson said.
The defeat dropped EIU to 3-7 overall and 2-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference. WIU (6-4, 4-1) remains in a first-place tie with Lindenwood and Southeast Missouri in the OVC standings.
Eastern scored on its first possession, going 84 yards on eight plays to take a 7-0 lead. Running back Jacarre Fleming-Page capped the drive by catching a pass on a wheel route from quarterback Cole LaCrue and racing 36 yards for a touchdown.
However, Western answered with touchdown drives on its first two possessions.
With the Leathernecks leading 14-7 late in the second quarter, WIU quarterback Kennedy McGill punted out of shotgun formation on fourth down. His kick pinned EIU at its 1-yard line with 55 seconds remaining before halftime.
After a 4-yard run by LaCrue on first down, the Eastern quarterback made a costly mistake on second down. LaCrue faked a run and then pulled up for a pass that was intended for Charles Kellom out of the backfield.
WIU safety Jouvenson Romulus intercepted the pass and returned it four yards for a touchdown. The score began a string of 30 straight points by the Leathernecks to pull away for the convincing victory.
“That was a massive play going into the half,” Wilkerson said. “As they (WIU) came out on the first drive of the third quarter, they possessed the ball for almost half of that quarter right out of the shoot.”
That drive ended with a 22-yard field goal by junior Ronan Culkin. Western then scored touchdowns on its next two drives.
“Our guys came out and drove the length of the field (on the first possesion) and just never really got settled back into the game,” Wilkerson said. “The things that continue to haunt us did (again) today.”
The Panthers managed just 10 first downs and 44 rushing yards. EIU turned the ball over twice.
Big plays, wild action
Western ran 67 plays compared to 47 for Eastern. The Leathernecks rang up 430 yards of total offense, led by quarterback Kennedy McGill’s 321 (215 passing, 106 rushing).
“Everything that they do with their quarterback is plus-one in the run game. You’ve got to account for him in every single defense that you’ve got,” Wilkerson said. “That does put a little bit of stress on your secondary in terms of how you’re going to cover guys.”
McGill scored touchdowns on runs of 8 and 4 yards as well as throwing a 76-yard TD pass.
“Kennedy did a great job with his feet and certainly also made some plays passing the football,” Wilkerson said. “He’s one of the most impactful players in all of FCS this fall.”
EIU linebacker Ja’Wuan Nickson said McGill’s 12-for-14 passing featured “a lot of explosives.”
“We knew he was going to run the ball a lot,” Nickson said. “We tried to minimize as much as we could, but all in all, (giving up) 44 points is way too much to win a football game.”
LaCrue and Fleming-Page connected on a 75-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to pull to within 37-16.
“When a play is called, you’ve just got to execute,” Fleming-Page said.
That momentum was short-lived as Western cornerback Rodney McNeil Jr. gathered in an EIU onside kick attempt and sprinted 44 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown.
Eastern produced its own special teams score when James Collins blocked an extra point.
Issac Engle scooped up the loose ball, ran with it and then lateraled to Jerry Addo-Boateng who returned it for a 2-point score less than a minute earlier than the onside kick.
Game changers
0:44, 2nd quarter: LaCrue’s pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by WIU defensive back Jouvenson Romulus, giving the Leathernecks a 21-7 halftime lead.
4:28, 3rd quarter: McGill found wide-open receiver Israel Hiraldo for a 76-yard touchdown, boosting Western to a 31-7 lead.
14:41, 4th quarter: Fleming-Page gathered in a LaCrue pass and raced 75 yards for an Eastern touchdown.
Prime Time Panthers
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the the top three Eastern Illinois players in the game:
Fleming-Page, RB: The junior led the Panthers with four receptions for 115 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown. He also caught a 36-yard TD.
Nickson, LB: The senior led the team with 10 tackles, six of which were solo.
LaCrue, QB: The junior completed 11 of 17 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a 24-yard run. However, LaCrue was intercepted twice.
What it means
Eastern saw its two-game winning streak in the rivalry come to an end. The loss ended the Panthers’ bid for a third consecutive victory in the rivalry, which would have been the first such streak since a five-game winning streak from 1980 to 1984.
Western leads the all-time series, 43-23-4.
What’s next
EIU travels to Nashville for a 2:30 p.m. OVC game at Tennessee State.
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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