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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Cole Stinson connected on 19-of-26 passes for a career high 308 yards as the senior quarterback led Eastern Illinois (1-0, 1-0 OVC) to an impressive 45-25 win over Tennessee Tech (0-1, 0-1 OVC) in the Ohio Valley Conference and season opener for both teams.
In what turned out to be a quarterback shoot out it was the senior Stinson who was able to out duel his sophomore TTU counterpart Lee Sweeney as both passers had more than 300 yards through the air. The game marked the return of EIU head coach Bob Spoo who collected his 120th career win after missing all of last season with a medical issue. The Panthers improved to 11-1 in OVC openers.
Both quarterbacks had two touchdowns to their credit as Stinson connected with former high school teammate Micah Rucker for both scores. Rucker hauled in 9 catches for 169 yards with one score coming from 31 yards out and the other from 18. It was the fifth career 100-plus yard game for Rucker, a preseason All-American
Sweeney's first touchdown landed in the hands of Larry Shipp with 1:03 remaining in the first quarter that actually gave TTU a 10-7 lead. His second touchdown pass was to Derrian Waters with 37 seconds left in a blow out contest.
Following the Shipp score the Golden Eagles were able to force EIU to a three-and-out to get the ball back. Eastern Illinois' defense then stepped up as red-shirt freshman Rashad Haynes picked off a Sweeney pass that turned the momentum to the Panthers favor.
EIU tied the game on the next possession on a 29-yard Tyler Wilke field goal with 9:36 left in the second. Matt Westrick picked off another Sweeney pass on the next TTU drive that led to Rucker's first touchdown and put EIU out to a 17-10 lead. Chip Keys added a late first half touchdown from 3-yards out and the Panthers were off and running at 24-10.
Tennessee Tech never moved to within two touchdowns for the remainder of the contest. Shipp did finish with six catches for 92 yards which placed him in a tie for the record for TTU career receptions. Sweeney finished 28-for-41 and 302 yards. The defense was led by Maurice Smith with 11 tackles.
The Panthers which led the NCAA FCS ranks with 36 turnovers gained last year got off to a great start in that category with three turnovers gained. In addition to Haynes and Westrick's interceptions, Trevor Frericks also recovered a fumble.
The EIU defensive backfield which entered the contest with some question marks stepped up to the challenge as Ke'Andre Sams had a team-high 9 tackles followed by cornerback Sinque Turner's 8. Buck Buchanan award nominee Donald Thomas had eight tackles including one for loss as he did not play a majority of the fourth quarter.
EIU will head to Big Ten Country next weekend as the Panthers will travel to take on head coach Bob Spoo's alma mater Purdue with an 11 a.m. (Central) kick off time on Saturday.
