Eastern may have won the turnover battle but its overall errors were far more critical and led to its first Ohio Valley Conference loss since November 2004.

The Panthers were unable to capitalize early on a jittery Tennessee-Martin team and the Skyhawks first half mistakes were not turned into Eastern points.

Once the two squads went into the locker room, the roles were reversed with difference being UTM’s ability to turn them into touchdowns.

“We overcame our turnovers and capitalized on theirs,” said Tennessee-Martin head coach Jason Simpson. “That was a major difference in the game.”

In the first half, UTM had a Zach Yates punt deflect off return gunner Anthony Ivy that was immediately recovered by Panther linebacker Donald Thomas.

The Skyhawks looked like they would come out of it unscathed after Yates 48-yard field goal attempt came up short.

But a running into the kicker penalty gave Yates a second try, which he split the uprights on from 35 yards out.

At the end of the half, UTM tried to make a desperate attempt to get on the scoreboard.

Wide receiver Jamaal Akbar fumbled a completed pass, which was recovered by Eastern linebacker Lucius Seymour.

A personal foul penalty on Panthers safety Tristan Burge ended Eastern’s chance of scoring and that mistake was a sign of things to come.

“They had some turnovers but they didn’t make the crucial mistakes in a close ball game that (Saturday) was,” said Eastern acting head coach Mark Hutson

Panther quarterback Cole Stinson opened the second half with a interception that was picked off by freshman cornerback Dontell Miller.

It looked like the turnover would result in only three points after UTM kicker Taylor Long converted a 27-yard field goal.

But the Panthers had 12 men on the field, which resulted in a UTM first down and another chance for Martin to earn points from a touchdown and not a field goal.

On the next play, UTM tailback Don Chapman ran it in from five yards out to give UTM its first lead at 7-3.

The 2004 OVC Freshman of the Year had 94 yards on 26 carries with the one score.

“(It’s) really frustrating,” said Eastern defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni. “Having 12 guys on the field for the field goal was really bad.”

On the next drive the Panthers drove the ball to the UTM 18-yard-line but two holding penalties by Eastern offensive lineman and a Cole Stinson sack pushed them out of scoring range and forced another Yates punt.

“That’s something that hadn’t been a big problem up until this point but those came at crucial times,” Hutson said. “In big ball games, that always seems to flare up.”

At end of three quarters, the Eastern offense held a seven-minute time of possession advantage but trailed 7-3.

“It’s very devastating,” said Eastern tailback Vincent Webb Jr. “It’s nothing that they do; we’re hurting ourselves with that.”

Eastern’s offense finally found the end zone as Stinson sneaked in a 2-yard run but couldn’t avoid another mishap.

Yates’ point after attempt was blocked by senior nose tackle Joel Kilpatrick and after two laterals was almost returned back for a two-point conversion.

“It really changes the complexion because now I might be able to do some conservative play calling because a field goal makes it 10-9,” Simpson said.

With the Panthers up 9-7, Eastern was about to force a third down situation after UTM quarterback Greg Preston’s pass was incomplete.

But the red-shirt freshman was the subject of a helmet-to-helmet hit by Thomas. Eastern’s middle linebacker was flagged for a personal foul. The drive eventually ended with Preston scoring on a one-yard quarterback sneak for the game-winning touchdown.

“We can make all the kinds of excuses and blame it on a whole lot of people but it’s just an unfortunate thing that happened,” Bellantoni said. “(The) refs call them like they see them and what are you going to do.”