Chip Keys isn’t known for his speed.

The 6-foot-2, 255-pound junior fullback for Eastern likes to run between the tackles, grinding out tough yards for the Panther offense.

But on one play in the second quarter, the Paris, Ill. native broke through the hole with plenty of open field ahead of him.

Keys took a handoff from starting quarterback Cole Stinson at Eastern’s own 13 and burst through the right side of the line for 32 yards. Illinois State defensive back Jesse Caesar tackled Keys from behind, preventing a potential 87-yard touchdown run by Keys.

“That was my jets,” Keys said about his speed. “I’m 255. That’s about all I got.”

Eastern’s offensive line and running backs paved the way for 212 yards in Eastern’s 24-21 loss to ISU.

The 212 yards was one of the bright spots for the Panthers’ offensive line that night. The unit committed five false-start penalties and two fumbles were lost on the snap to the quarterback.

The 212 yards eclipsed the combined season total of 192 yards that the Panthers had in their first two games.

“That’s what we set out to do,” Eastern head coach Bob Spoo said. “We thought we could run on them and I guess we did somewhat.”

Junior running back Travorus Bess had 99 yards on 21 carries, while Keys added 58 yards on seven carries and a touchdown. Senior running back Ademola Adeniji finished with 49 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown.

The rushing game helped Eastern even the game after ISU scored a touchdown on its first possession.

The last eight plays of Eastern’s second offensive series consisted of runs. Adeniji finished off the drive with an eight-yard run off of a right tackle.

The early success Eastern had running the ball worried ISU head coach Denver Johnson.

“It’s not any surprise to me that it was difficult for us to shut them down,” he said. “We missed a couple of tackles and gave up a couple big plays. As the game went on, I thought we got better and better against the run.”

The Panthers rushed for 137 yards in the first half, but only 65 after halftime.

The run was featured on Eastern’s drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown run by Keys to give the Panthers a 21-17 lead.

On the drive, Eastern converted three 3rd down plays with a run; two by Keys and one by Bess.

The longest run on that drive came from wide receiver Quinten Ponius. Ponius took a handoff from backup quarterback Bodie Reeder while in motion, and ran for 18 yards around the right side to ISU’s 20.

From there, Reeder completed a six-yard pass to wide receiver Micah Rucker before handing the ball off on the next four plays.

Bess converted a 3rd-and-3 from ISU’s 13 by taking a toss sweep on the right side and sidestepping an ISU defender. The juke by Bess allowed him to gain seven yards down to ISU’s 6.

Bess then ran off right tackle on a stretch play down to the 1.

Eastern’s heavy, or jumbo package, then came into the game for the fifth time. The package consisted of Keys as the featured deep back, 6-2, 230-pound junior tight end Trent Steckel as the lead blocking back and 6-2, 267-pound defensive lineman Ryan Bennett in motion to the right as another blocker. No wide receivers were split out wide and seven blockers were on the line of scrimmage.

“No one’s stopped it this year and I don’t think ISU was going to stop it,” Keys said. “Everyone who’s in on that play are definitely good blockers. They make me look good.”

Travorus Bess, junior running back, attempts to pass an Illinois State defender. The Panthers would lose to the Redbirds for the sixth consecutive time. Amir Prellberg/The Daily Eastern News

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