COOKEVILLE, TENN. – Running backs and offensive linemen usually dominate in poor weather games with bad field conditions but on a rainy, cold day, the Panthers passed often and effectively.

The Panthers went to the air early in their 38-14 victory against Tennessee Tech with 181 passing yards in the first half.

Junior quarterback Cole Stinson completed 12 of 21 passes and two touchdowns to junior wide receiver Micah Rucker in the first half. The Panthers ran the ball 12 times in the first half, nine less times than they threw the football.

“We worked real hard all week stopping the zone, stopping their run game,” said acting head coach Doug Malone. “But they create match-up problems (with) a 6-foot-6 and a 6-foot-5 receiver out there.”

Stinson finished the game 19 of 38 for 275 yards and three touchdowns while Rucker led all receivers with 99 yards and the two first half touchdowns.

Stinson threw three touchdowns for the first time since Oct. 7 against Southeast Missouri, his first start of the season.

“When (the offense) puts up points like that, I don’t think we’re going to get beat,” said senior safety Terrance Sanders.

Even when the offensive line broke down and Stinson was forced from the pocket, the Ball State transfer still found his receivers.

Senior Jermaine Mobley benefited the most with seven catches and 70 yards.

“(Mobley) made a few catches today when I was scrambling, getting open, finding space,” Stinson said. “(One pass) probably should have been an interception. I didn’t get enough on it

and Mobley came back and made a play on the ball.”

After a strong showing by the Panthers’ offense in the first half that put Eastern up by seven points going into the break, the defense made sure the lead did not disappear.

The defense forced five turnovers, four in the second half and the Panthers scored 10 fourth quarter points off the Golden Eagles’ multiple miscues.

After allowing 231 yards in the first half, including a 64-yard run by Tech senior running back Anthony Ash on the first play of the game, the Panthers made sure the Golden Eagles didn’t get much more.

“We came into halftime with a sour taste in our mouths,” said junior defensive tackle Tim Kelly. “We felt like we gave them everything they had.”

The Eastern defense shocked the Homecoming crowd by giving up 11 yards of total offense in the third quarter and only 28 yards in the second half until Tech’s final, meaningless drive of the game netted 60 yards on nine plays.

“They came out fired up, they came out ready,” said Sanders. “They took it to us in those first two plays but we shut them down after that.”

Sanders jarring tackle on Tech wide out Brent McNeal forced a fumble which fellow cornerback BJ Brown quickly recovered. Four plays later, sophomore kicker Zach Yates’ 37-yard field goal converted the turnover into three points.

The next Tech drive ended with senior safety Tristan Burge’s interception of a deep fade pass and Norris Smith turned the pick into six points with a 15-yard touchdown run less than three minutes later.

“(Burge) is a warrior,” said defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni. “He battles, when you think he’s done, he’s ready to go back in. You can tell the guy wants to win another championship, wants to get another shot at the playoffs.”

Burge and the defense knew the game meant even more after hearing at halftime that Eastern Kentucky defeated Tennessee-Martin, launching Eastern back into a three-way tie for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference.

“I don’t know if they needed to know it or not but we felt that we should tell them,” Bellantoni said. “I think it definitely raised their spirits, it felt pretty good.”