By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois took its beating at the hands of the Tennessee Tech football team in 2019 personally.
From the onset of the game, the Panthers put pressure on the Golden Eagles as EIU was ready to shed its winless label. The energy on their sideline, the chanting at the Tech players – they remembered.
Oh, how they remembered.
Before half of the opening quarter had worn away, Eastern Illinois was up by two scores. It then became a mission for the Golden Eagles to chip away. Tech did, climbing back within four points before halftime. But it wasn't enough as EIU climbed back out by 18 in the third quarter.
As the contest ended and Jyron Gilmore intercepting Panther freshman quarterback Otto Kuhns on the final play of the game, Eastern Illinois stood victorious for the first time this spring and now it's the Golden Eagles remembering the sting of a 28-20 loss on Sunday in Charleston.
Going into the game, optimism was on the Golden Eagles' side. Quarterback Bailey Fisher was back in the starting role, as was Tai Carter on the defensive side.
Fisher, however, had to work for the 230 yards he got on 22-of-37 passing as the Panther defense chased him from one side of the field to the other, sacking him three times and finishing his day with a net of negative-11 rushing yards.
Two special teams miscues plagued the Golden Eagles early. As Tech got pinned back on its own 16 on the first drive of the game, Jacob Anderson had his first career punt blocked by EIU's DeAirious Smith. The ball rolled into the end zone and Marcus Bornslater jumped on top of it to put the Panthers up.
After the Golden Eagles' next drive failed, Tech was able to hold EIU to 4th and 2 at the Panther 31, but a roughing the kicker penalty on the ensuing punt gave EIU a fresh set of chains, then Kuhns threw a 41-yard pass to Jay Vallie to get into the red zone. On the next play, Jaelin Benefield rushed in for the four-yard touchdown. William Orth's PAT was good, putting EIU up 14-0.
Tech's defense held EIU on the next two series, then the Golden Eagles were able to march up the field on the next attempt, aided by a targeting call against Ray Crittenden on a hit on a pass attempt to Metrius Fleming. The play put Tech on the EIU 30, then Fisher faked to Fleming, then fired to D.J. Worthy, who was streaking up the left sideline and got in for the score.
On Tech's next drive, the Golden Eagles were able to get up to the EIU 25, but a sack on Fisher knocked Tech back to the 34. It wasn't out of distance for true freshman Hayden Olsen, who knocked a career-high 51-yard field goal through the uprights, making it a 14-10 game.
Kuhns, however, was able to put some distance between the Panthers and the Golden Eagles. Facing 4th down twice on the next drive, he moved the chains on a 23-yard pass to Jay Vallie, then scored on a 17-yard pass to Arron Foulkes on 4th-and-3 from the Tech 17 just 28 seconds before the intermission.
After Fisher was intercepted for the first of three times on the first drive of the second at the EIU 39 – Mark Williams returning it all the way to the Tech 36 – Kuhns used the first plat to throw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Foulkes. Orth's PAT made it 28-10.
Olsen added a 29-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter, making it a 15-point game, then stopped EIU on its next drive. Tech marched down the field, collecting 81 yards on nine plays, scoring as Willie Miller came in on a package play and rushed for a two-yard score.
Back within eight, the Golden Eagles tried to get something going, but after converting on 4th-and-2, Fisher threw his third interception, Colin Bohanek picking it off at the Tech 32 and 1:46 remaining in the game. With just one timeout remaining, Tech tried to get the ball back, which Gilmore was able to do on the final play of the game with an interception in the end zone, but time expired on the play.
Kuhns ended the game with 153 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-19 passing, with Vallie catching five passes for 66 yards, Foulkes three for 60. Benefield led their passing attack with 11 carries for 50 yards.
Jason Johnson led the EIU defense with 15 tackles, including two for-loss and a sack.
Kurt Taylor, Jr., led Tech in rushing with 12 carries for 39 yards, while Worth led the receiving effort with five catches for 52 yards. Fleming also completed his one pass for 17 yards.
The Golden Eagles, now at 1-3 on the season, return to action next Sunday as they travel to Southeast Missouri. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Photo | Dominic Baima, EIU
