Eastern Illinois defense had several standout performances on Saturday during the Panthers Ohio Valley Conference win at Tennessee Tech. At the end of the weekend, defensive end
Jordan Miles was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the EIU win.
Miles finished the game with four tackles but three of them were for sacks as he became the first EIU player in 18-years to collect three or more sacks in a game. The last was Kory Lothe with four sacks on Nov. 8, 2003, ironically enough against Tennessee Tech.
Miles final two sacks of the game both ended Tennessee Tech's final two possessions of the game as both were strip sacks that ended in EIU recovered fumbles.
His three sacks on the season currently leads the OVC while his 7.5 tackles for loss for the season also leads the OVC while ranking 22nd in the FCS. Miles two forced fumbles rank him 32nd in the FCS.
Miles added two quarterback hurries on an afternoon that the Panthers defense was able to collect five sacks, 11 tackles for loss and four turnovers gained.
In addition to Miles strong performance that earned him OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors,
Jason Johnson registered 16 tackles with a fumble recovery as the linebacker now leads the OVC in tackles.
Bryce Dewberry scooped up a fumble in the third quarter and returned it a school-record 90 yards for a touchdown as part of his day that included four tackles and a tackle for loss.
Tim Varga added two sacks while
Kaelin Drakeford had EIU's first interception this season.
Miles is the second EIU player to win a weekly OVC Award this season joining punter
Logen Neidhardt who won the award following the Panthers game at Dayton.
EIU returns to action on Saturday at Murray State as the Panthers will face the Racers in a non-conference game with a 4 p.m. start. The two schools will meet on Nov. 20 in Charleston for their OVC contest.
