Eastern Illinois offense looked sharp on Saturday morning as the Panthers football team wrapped up their second week of fall camp in preparation for the season opener on Thursday, Aug. 31 at Indiana State.
Â
Starting from various spots on the field for offensive possessions, the passing game was effective as the unit had five offensive touchdown passes with junior college transfer
Alexander Hollins hauling in four during the scrimmage.
Â
Starting quarterback
Mitch Kimble connected with Hollins on the first touchdown score from 43 yards out as three quarterbacks hit Hollins for touchdowns on the day.Â
Jaylon Banks connected on a 67-yard strike while
Scotty Gilkey Jr., hit Hollins on an acrobatic grab from 33 yards out.Â
Â
The offense added touchdown grabs by
Aaron Gooch and a run by
Isaiah Johnson.
Â
Kicker
Nick Bruno added a 45-yard field goal to round out the offensive scoring.
Â
"I was excited to see the big plays by the offense today. I thought that group threw the ball well and we had some guys make nice catches," said head coach
Kim Dameron. "It's still early in camp and we are getting guys a lot of reps in practice.  I think everybody that played today has some things we can look at on film and correct those small errors. This next week will be big as we start to develop our roster and prep for the season opener."
Â
The defense added some key plays by newcomers that are trying to earn a spot on the depth chart. Cornerback
Durron Burton knocked away two passes in the end zone late in the scrimmage.Â
Chibuike Nwuda added two sacks with
Sean Williams and
D'Mitri George registering tackles for loss to stall drives. Â
Malcolm Miller picked off a pass late in the scrimmage for the only turnover of the day.
Â
EIU football will have one more week of fall camp before classes begin on the Charleston campus. The season opener is August 31 at Indiana State with the home opener on Sept. 16 against Illinois State. Season and single game tickets are now on sale by calling 217-581-2106 or online at
www.eiupanthertickets.com
