Tweet #WinTheMoment

PDF Box Score  |  Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)

MJ Flowers rushed for third most yards in Eastern Illinois program history on Saturday afternoon but it was a Stone Galloway 56-yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining that completed the Panthers comeback in a 31-28 win over McNeese on Family Weekend at O'Brien Field.
 
Galloway's kick was the first of the season for the returning All-Ohio Valley Conference selection as he strained a muscle in his kicking leg during warm-ups of the Panthers opener on August 31 at Indiana State.  On Saturday he drilled a low line-drive kick just over the cross bar for the second longest field goal in program history.  It was the only the eighth EIU field goal over 50-yards.
 
Flowers was a large part of the Panthers offensive story running off 272 yards on the ground on 37 carries with no rushes for loss.   It was the third best single game effort in program history trailing only J.R. Taylor's 308 yards against Florida Atlantic (2002) and Kevin Staples 283 yards against Grand Vallay State (1983).  
 
Flowers touchdown early in the fourth quarter brought EIU within a touchdown at 28-21 with 12:35 remaining in the game.   EIU had trailed 28-14 at the half after opening up the game with a 7-0 lead following a Pierce Holley 1-yard plunge on the opening drive.
 
McNeese ran off 28-straight points with two Nate Glantz to Jon McCall touchdown passes of 30 and 22 yards.  Those were sandwiched around a 12-yard touchdown run by D'Angelo Durham.  Glantz passed for 196 yards.
 
The Cowboys final score came with 5:16 to play in the opening half as Coleby Hamm burst up the middle for a 72-yard touchdown scamper.  He would finish the day with 131 yards on the ground as McNeese rushed for 271 as a team.
 
EIU rushed for 311 as a team behind Flowers big day but did spread the wealth with a Eli Mirza 12-yard touchdown run right before halftime cutting the lead in half.  Juwon Farri had the game tying touchdown with a run up the middle for 19 yards to knot the score at 28-28 with 3:15 to play.
 
The Panthers defense had trouble getting to the quaterback most of the day but did get home when it mattered most with Ira Armstead picking up a sack in the final 20-seconds of action on the Cowboys final drive.  Elijawah Tolbert had a team high six tackles for EIU.
 
Micah Davey, the nation's third leading tackler entering the game, added 16 tackles to his season ledger with ten solo stops.
 
EIU improves to 3-1 on the season, the best start since the 2016 season.  McNeese falls to 0-4.