THURSDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee State 21, @#13 Eastern Illinois 10
TENNESSEE STATE 21, #13 EASTERN ILLINOIS 10
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois will have to wait until Saturday to find out if it will win the OVC Championship outright and get the Ohio Valley Conference's autobid, as the 13th-ranked Panthers lost to Tennessee State 21-10 on Thursday night.
Eastern Illinois (8-3, 6-2 OVC) is now tied in the loss column with Eastern Kentucky who plays at No. 15 Jacksonville State on Saturday. If EKU tops the Gamecocks there will be co-OVC champions and EKU will receive the league's autobid due to a head-to-head victory over Eastern Illinois. EKU/JSU kicks off at 12 p.m. CT.
Tennessee State (4-7, 3-4 OVC) finished the season on a high note winning in the final game under head coach James Webster. After the game Webster announced he was stepping down as TSU head coach after five seasons. Webster compiled a 25-31 record while head coach at Tennessee State.
The Panthers built a 3-0 lead going into the half in a defensive battle as Austin Signor converted a 20-yard field goal after TSU stuffed out the Panthers drive with three stops at the three yard line. Signor would miss a 53-yard attempt as the half ended.
TSU took the lead midway through the third quarter as Calvin McNairl scored on a one yard touchdown run. The big play on the drive was a McNairl 32 yard pass to Marquez Wilkens. TSU had gained possession to start the drive by blocking a Signor 45-yard field goal attempt.
TSU expanded the lead to 14-3 in the opening minutes of the second half as McNairl hit Ronald Bright for a 3-yard touchdown pass. McNairl hit Joseph Hills for a 74-yard catch and run which set up the score. McNairl was 9-of-16 on the day for 135 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception.
EIU marched back down the field on the next drive to close the gap to 14-10. Jake Christensen hit Charles Graves from 22-yards out to bring EIU to within 14-10. Christensen was only 12-of-32 on the day for 149 yards with three interceptions compared to one touchdown toss.
TSU put the game away on the following possession going 55 yards in six plays as Donte Thomas rushed in from 10 yards out. McNairl set up the drive with a 35-yard scramble finishing with 57 yards rushing.
The Panther defense played tough throughout the contest as Trevor Frericks had seven tackles for loss to break Pete Catan's previous game record set in 1978 against Western Illinois. He also moved up to ninth on the career tackles for loss list with 27.5 TFL. Frericks finished with eight total tackles and one forced fumble. Nick Nasti had nine tackles.
TSU was led by Ty'Ron Johnson with five tackles but he did have two interceptions.
Courtesy: Tennessee State Sports Information
