Tennessee-Martin’s upset bid fell one yard short and Eastern escaped with a 29-23 win at O’Brien Stadium.

UTM backup quarterback Cade Thompson completed his hail-mary pass to Jamaal Akbar at Eastern’s 1-yard line. But junior free safety Adrian Arrington tackled him at the 1.

Akbar caught the ball with one second remaining after Thompson’s pass from Eastern’s 32.

UTM did not have a timeout left, and attempted to spike the ball but time ran out before Thompson could.

The Panthers, who trailed 20-7 in the third quarter, came back to lead 21-20 after Jordan Campanella’s 11-yard touchdown reception with 11:19 left in the fourth quarter.

UTM (1-7, 1-4) answered back with a 33-yard field goal by Tom Hansen to lead 23-21 with 3:10 left.

But quarterback Bodie Reeder, led by the running back combination of Travorus Bess and Ademola Adeniji, led the Panthers to the game-winning touchdown.

Adeniji scored from three yards out, and a successful two-point conversion gave Eastern a 29-23 lead.

On the drive, Reeder completed a screen pass to Adeniji, who took it 17 yards upfield. With the Panthers on UTM’s 37, Bess ran 25 yards up the middle to move Eastern closer.

Reeder finished 17-of-26 for 189 yards and three touchdowns. He threw his first interception of the year, and first by an Eastern quarterback this year, in the third quarter.

Senior wide receiver Micah Rucker finished with seven catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Adeniji and Bess combined for 157 rushing yards on 35 carries.

Thompson, who came in for starter Dexter Anoka after Anoka left the game in the fourth quarter after a sack by Jeff Sobol, finished 9-of-11 for 113 yards. Anoka went 12-for-16 with 91 yards and running back Donald Chapman finished with 140 yards rushing on 22 carries.

Check out dennews.com on Sunday night for more coverage of Eastern’s 29-23 win against Tennessee-Martin.