CHARLESTON, Ill. – Southeast Missouri (2-4, 1-1) scored 21 points in the second half, but came up short in a 33-28 loss to Eastern Illinois (2-3, 2-0) Saturday afternoon at O'Brien Field.
Southeast trailed by 20 points with 6:34 left to play in the third quarter before mounting another big comeback. The Redhawks, however, simply ran out of time.
Paul McRoberts' 8-yard reception, one of two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Southeast, cut EIU's lead to 33-28 with 5:30 left in the game.
The Redhawks forced the Panthers to punt on their ensuing possession and Mike Bernier's 54-yard kick was downed at Southeast's 5-yard line.
Southeast had one last chance with 34 seconds left and quickly went to its star wide receiver.
Dante Vandeven completed three of his first four passes to McRoberts to get the Redhawks into EIU territory.
McRoberts jumped to make a spectacular one-handed 36-yard catch in double coverage and followed that up with a 9-yard reception as Southeast suddenly faced a second-and-1 at the Panthers 43-yard line (15 seconds).
Vandeven, under pressure, threw three consecutive incompletions as time expired. His hail mary pass on fourth down was knocked away by Bradley Dewberry in the end zone, allowing EIU to hang on.
"There's a lot to be proud of after we started the game really bad," said Southeast head coach
Tom Matukewicz. "I loved the fight we showed and we never gave up. We are making progress, but still aren't playing as well as we should."
It was a tale of two halves for Southeast, which started slow.
The Redhawk offense sputtered to just 76 total yards in the game's first two quarters. EIU immediately keyed on Southeast tailback
Tremane McCullough, holding him to a mere five yards on his first nine touches.
EIU scored on the opening drive of the game when Devin Church hit paydirt on a 3-yard run. Jalen Whitlow broke free for a 21-yard scamper to give the Panthers a first-and-goal at the Southeast 6 before Church found the end zone to grab EIU a 7-0 advantage with 12:30 left to play in the first quarter.
A 37-yard punt return by Shepard Little and 27-yard run by Church gave EIU another first-and-goal, this time at the Redhawks 8-yard line. The Panthers settled for a 20-yard field goal by Nick Bruno to extend their lead to 10-0 with 51 seconds.
Bruno added a second field goal when his 39-yard kick capped a 14-play, 58-yard drive to put EIU ahead, 13-0, with 5:28 in the second quarter.
After moving the ball to EIU's side of the field just one time in the first 30 minutes, Southeast needed a big play and would get it right before the half.
Following a 38-yard punt by
Alex Knight, Whitlow threw a pass behind receiver Tray Mitchell. The ball went off Mitchell's arm and into the hands of
Josh Kinzer who ran 28 yards to the end zone, slicing the Panthers lead to 13-7 at the 1:16 mark. It was the second pick of Kinzer's career and third defensive touchdown for Southeast this season.
Southeast went three-and-out to start the second half.
EIU marched 69 yards in seven plays to up its lead to 20-7 when Whitlow completed an 11-yard pass to Addison Bounds with 10:52 remaining in the third quarter.
Ryan McCrum missed his fifth field goal of the season with an attempt that soared wide left and EIU scored shortly after that.
Whitlow again hooked up with Bounds who was wide open downfield on a play that went for 65 yards, as EIU built its largest lead at 27-7 with 6:34 in the third quarter.
The Redhawks used completions of 15 and 38 yards from Vandeven to McRoberts to get into the red zone. Vandeven later threw an 8-yard pass to
Lewis Washington, who stretched the ball over the goal line to shrink EIU's lead to 27-14.
Southeast forced EIU to punt and scored on its second-straight possession.
McCullough was tackled for a loss of one on a third-and-goal at the Panthers 7-yard line. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by the Panthers resulted in a new set of downs for Southeast at the EIU 4. Vandeven scored from a yard out on fourth down to make it a 27-21 game with 13:39 to go in the fourth quarter.
A 33-yard pass from Whitlow to Paul Gossage and a pass interference penalty by the Redhawks keyed EIU's next scoring drive that ended on a 6-yard pass from Whitlow to Church. EIU held a 33-21 lead with a little under nine minutes after coming up empty on its 2-point conversion.
Vandeven completed three-consecutive passes after being sacked for a loss of 10 yards, and threw a 24-yard pass to McCullough on a fourth-and-5.
Darrius Darden-Box picked up 25 more yards on a reverse to put Southeast in striking distance with a first-and-goal at the EIU 10. Vandeven's 8-yard pass to McRoberts trimmed the Panthers lead to five at the 5:30 mark and that was as close as Southeast would get.
McRoberts recorded his second 100-yard receiving game in a row, securing a season-high nine catches for 132 yards and a touchdown. He is now two touchdown receptions away from breaking Southeast's all-time career record. McRoberts accumulated 17 catches for 301 yards and three touchdowns in his last two starts.
Vandeven, who had a hand in three touchdowns, completed 20-of-32 passes for 217 yards and two TDs, and rushed for 55 yards and another score on nine carries. His 55 rushing yards marked a season-high.
McCullough, after rushing for 100 yards in three-straight contests, had 30 on 17 carries, averaging under two yards per attempt.
Southeast finished with 334 yards of total offense, including 258 in the second half. The Redhawks were 3-of-13 (23 pct.) on third down, as well.
Defensively,
Stephon Williams paved the way with 11 tackles. Williams made his first career start at linebacker against the Panthers today.
Whitlow threw for 282 yards (19-of-29) and three touchdowns, and picked for 78 yards on 12 carries to lead EIU. Bounds, like McRoberts, had over 100 receiving yards. He made five catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
EIU racked up 455 total yards, averaging over six per play.
The Redhawks host #17/20 Eastern Kentucky during Homecoming weekend on Oct. 17. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., CT, at Houck Stadium.
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