Eastern Kentucky relied on the arm and legs of quarterback Allan Holland to beat Eastern Illinois 28-21 Saturday at O’Brien Stadium in front of a Family Weekend crowd of 9,861.

The 6-foot-1, 245-pound Holland threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns, both times scrambling out of the pocket to complete a touchdown pass.

With less than one minute remaining in the first half, Holland completed a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Quinton Williams. Holland was forced out of the pocket, scrambled to his right and fired the ball in to Williams in the back of the end zone. Eastern Illinois safety Adrian Arrington attempted to swat the ball down but missed.

Eastern Kentucky’s two-point conversion was unsuccessful, but Williams’ touchdown reception put the Colonels (4-2, 3-0 in Ohio Valley Conference) up 15-14 going into the half, a lead they would never relinquish.

Holland showed off his scrambling abilities again in the second half on his touchdown pass to wide receiver Kyle Barber. Holland was forced from the pocket again by the Panthers’ charging defense but eluded would-be tacklers and found Barber all alone near the left sideline. Barber easily caught the ball and ran untouched into the end zone to pad the Colonels’ lead 28-14.

Eastern Illinois (3-3, 2-1) was never able to find much offensive momentum.Running back Ademola Adeniji was the Panthers’ offense for much of the game. Adeniji ran for a career-best 186 yards, vaulting him into 15th place all-time on Eastern Illinois’ career rushing list. Adeniji’s one touchdown came off a 73-yard run where he broke several tackles before reaching midfield where he broke free to put the Panther ahead 14-9.

He also caught three passes for 58 yards, including a 28-yard pass that set up Eastern Illinois quarterback Bodie Reeder’s only touchdown pass of the game.

Reeder’s statistics don’t tell the complete story. Reeder finished the game 20-of-33 for 247 yards and the touchdown, but the majority of those completions came later in the game.

Jason Fisher was the leading receiver for the Panthers with three receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown, but wide receiver Micah Rucker was a non-factor in the game.

Rucker, who leads all Eastern Illinois receivers in receiving yards and touchdowns this season, finished the game with just two receptions for 13 yards. Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope said he was able to match a big, physical cornerback on Rucker to better defend Rucker’s own physical play.