Panthers remain unbeaten in OVC in quest to repeat

~ Eastern Illinois defeated preseason favorite Eastern Kentucky.

With Eastern Kentucky having such a surprisingly disappointing season, the matchup did not contain nearly the hype or glitter that had been anticipated prior to the campaign.

Still, Eastern Illinois cleared a major hurdle Saturday as the Panthers chase their second straight Ohio Valley Conference championship.

The Panthers held off host Eastern Kentucky 28-21 for their 12th consecutive OVC win.

Eastern Illinois improved to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in league play by beating the preseason OVC favorite.

"We came out with a big win obviously on the road against a very good Eastern Kentucky team," Panthers assistant head coach Mark Hutson said during Tuesday's weekly OVC coaches teleconference. "Their record doesn't reflect how good or talented they are."

While the Panthers -- who curiously dropped from 16th to 17th in this week's Sports Network Division I-AA poll -- notched a big victory, Eastern Kentucky continued its puzzling decline.

After losing only one conference game last year -- to Eastern Illinois -- and returning many of their key players, the Colonels were picked to finish first in the preseason by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

But after falling to the Panthers -- coupled with earlier conference losses to Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech -- the Colonels will have to get red hot to avoid their first losing season in more than 30 years.

Eastern Kentucky (2-5, 1-3) has posted 28 consecutive winning seasons and has not had a losing record since 1972. The Colonels need to win their final four games to keep the streak alive.

"We started off with great expectations and great potential," Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope said. "But we don't have the time to wallow in self pity or to feel sorry for ourselves."

Hope, a former Eastern Kentucky player, said trying to continue the long streak of winning records will help motivate the Colonels during the final part of the season.

"That's always a motivating factor. It's a pride thing," Hope said. "I'm very proud of the tradition here at Eastern Kentucky. It's one of the strongest in Division I-AA football.

"It's something worth playing for. We still have everything in the world to play for."

Eastern Illinois capitalized on two first-quarter turnovers to take control Saturday. Tailback Vincent Webb scored three touchdowns as the Panthers stunned Eastern Kentucky fans with a 28-0 lead before the second quarter even began.

"We were able to get on them early, had some big plays," Hutson said.

The Colonels scored touchdowns in the second and third quarters, then made things interesting with a TD midway through the final period.

Eastern Kentucky had one more chance to tie the contest, but linebacker Lucuis Seymour sealed the victory with an interception in the final 2 minutes.

"We didn't take care of some business early in the game, but it had a very exciting finish," Hope said.

Tennessee State (3-3, 2-0) also remained undefeated in OVC play, scoring touchdowns on its first four possessions to hand Tennessee Tech (2-5, 2-2) a 30-20 loss.

The Tigers, who led 27-0 at halftime, improved to 2-0 in the conference for the first time since 2003.

"We were fortunate enough to jump on them early, scored a lot of points ... we had to hold on at the end," Tennessee State coach James Webster said. "I told the players at halftime don't expect a cakewalk."

Last week's only other conference game saw Samford (3-4, 1-3) notch its first OVC victory and keep Murray State (1-6, 0-4) winless with a 33-7 romp. The Bulldogs took advantage of six turnovers by the Racers.

Outside the league, Jacksonville State (3-3, 3-1) and Southeast Missouri State (3-3, 1-2) both took it on the chin against Division I-A opponents.

Jacksonville State fell at Mississippi State 35-3, and Southeast Missouri was hammered at Arkansas 63-7.

Tennessee-Martin (5-1, 2-0), one of three teams without an OVC loss, had an open date but still moved up in the national rankings.

The Skyhawks, who before this season had never been ranked as a Division I-AA program, improved to 16th from 17th according to The Sports Network, as they switched places with Eastern Illinois.

Players of the week

Tennessee State sophomore tailback Javarris Williams is the OVC offensive player of the week. He rushed for 195 yards -- including 170 in the first half -- and two touchdowns against Tennessee Tech.

Eastern Illinois' Seymour, a senior, earned the defensive award for the second week in a row. He had 11 tackles and the late interception against Eastern Kentucky.

Samford senior punter Chris Hicks and Tennessee Tech freshman quarterback Lee Sweeney nabbed specialist and newcomer honors, respectively.

Hicks averaged 40.2 on five punts and placed two inside the 20-yard line against Murray State.

Sweeney, a transfer from Louisville -- he redshirted there last year -- threw for a career-high 305 yards and three touchdowns while completing a school-record 28 passes in 50 attempts against Tennessee State.

This week's games

Four conference matchups highlight this week's schedule.

Perhaps most interesting will be the game between Tennessee State and host Jacksonville State. The Tigers are undefeated in league play but will no doubt rank as underdogs against the Gamecocks.

Tennessee-Martin will try to stay perfect in the OVC when it visits Samford, while Eastern Illinois will be heavily favored to keep its conference record unblemished when it entertains Murray State.

Also, Southeast Missouri hosts Eastern Kentucky.