Eastern Illinois defense and special teams came up with some big plays down the stretch but a big play by Tennessee State's defense lifted the Tigers to a 13-12 win over EIU on Saturday at Nissan Stadium.
EIU led 7-0 at the half with the only points coming on a
Cole LaCrue 40-yard touchdown to
Jeremy Reeves with 11:54 to play in the second quarter.
TSU tied the game at 7-7 with 6:36 to play in the third on a Daylin Lee 3-yard run.
The Panthers appeared to have taken a game winning lead with
Drew Schiller's 37-yard field goal with 7:42 to play after EIU's defense made a stop on a TSU drive on fourth down on the previous drive.
Isaac Engle came up with two sacks in the game with five solo tackles.Â
Ja'Wuan Nickson led EIU's defense with ten tackles.
TSU's defense was led by Brendan Hale with eight tackles. The Tigers came up with two turnovers with a sack fumble leading to the first score and an interception in the fourth quarter ending EIU's final drive.
The Tigers took a 13-10 lead with 2:21 to play as Lee hit Brenton Paul for a 8-yard pass for the go-ahead touchdown. On the extra point
Jerry Addo-Boateng came around the end to block the extra point and after several exchanges of the football, Addo-Boateng scooped it up and raced 63-yards for the two-point conversion. It marked the second straight week EIU has scored on a two-point blocked extra point, both scored by Addo-Boateng.
LaCrue was EIU's leading rusher with 59 yards on a season high 22 carries.Â
EIU is now 3-8 overall, 2-4 in the OVC. The Panthers host Charleston Southern next Saturday for senior day at O'Brien Field at 12 p.m.  TSU improved to 3-8 overall, 1-5 in the OVC.
