Tennessee-Martin was one yard and one second from beating Eastern Saturday at O’Brien Stadium.

After a hail-mary pass from quarterback Cade Thompson was caught at the one-yard line, Thompson tried a spike to attempt to stop the clock – but time ran out.

The Panthers (5-3. 4-1 Ohio Valley Conference) squeaked out a 29-23 victory against the Skyhawks (1-7, 1-4) and also went home with an edge in the position breakdown.

Quarterback

Eastern quarterback Bodie Reeder finished the game 17-of-26 for 189 yards and three touchdowns, including two to wide receiver Micah Rucker. He got Rucker involved in the game from the beginning. However, Reeder was sacked twice and threw the first interception of the season for the Panthers. Dexter Anoka started for the Skyhawks and finished 12-of-16 for 91 yards and one touchdown, but left the game late in the fourth quarter with knee and ankle injuries. Thompson replaced Anoka and completed 9-of-11 passes for 113 yards as he led the Skyhawks on one scoring drive and their final drive of the game.

Edge: Eastern

Running Back

Two different UT-Martin backs found the end zone, but the Skyhawks were led by senior running back Don Chapman’s 140 rushing yards on 22 carries. Chapman scored on a 25-yard run, and full back Marcus Dawson rushed for 20 yards and the other touchdown. Chapman, who is 5-foot-10 and 235 lbs., broke tackles and dragged Eastern defenders down the field. Eastern was not able to get much momentum in its running game, but for the third straight game, Ademola Adeniji led all Eastern backs as he ran for 81 yards on 19 carries, including a three-yard touchdown run.

Edge: UT-Martin

Receivers

Rucker had another good game for the Panthers, catching seven passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns. The Skyhawks had no answer for Rucker – who caught nearly all of his passes over the top of UT-Martin defensive backs. No other Eastern receiver had more than 30 yards receiving, but tight end Jordan Campanella caught his second touchdown pass of the season. Roren Thompson led UT-Martin receivers with four catches for 51 yards and one touchdown, and Jamaal Akbar’s lone catch on Thompson’s last-second hail-mary nearly gave the Skyhawks a victory.

Edge: Eastern

Offensive Line

Eastern played without center Drew Cairo-Gross (shoulder) and tackle Anthony Rubican (knee) on the offensive line but still managed to open up running lanes and pass block efficiently to give Reeder time to throw. UT-Martin’s offensive line did not block well, and Eastern’s defense was able to invade the backfield and get constant pressure on the quarterback in the second half.

Edge: Eastern

Defensive Line

Eastern defensive end Michael Torres had seven tackles, including one sack and two tackles for loss, and defensive tackle Trevor Frericks had five tackles including one sack. Defensive tackle Jeff Sobol had three tackles for a loss out of his four total tackles, and defensive end Pierre Walters had six as well. UT-Martin defensive ends Craig Worthen and Nate Wilson combined for 14 tackles and two sacks for the Skyhawks.

Edge: Eastern

Linebackers

UT-Martin middle linebacker Josh Yarbrough, the Skyhawks’ leading tackler this season, had 15 tackles against Eastern. No other UT-Martin linebacker had more than four tackles. Even without All-American middle linebacker Donald Thomas, the Eastern linebackers corps played well. Thomas’ backup freshman Alain Marcelin led the Panthers with eight tackles, and outside linebacker Matt Westrick had seven tackles. Jack Kosinski was the third linebacker in Eastern’s top five tacklers for the game with six tackles.

Edge: Eastern

Secondary

Each secondary had one interception and one fumble recovery. UT-Martin free safety Dante Harrold picked off the first interception by an Eastern quarterback this season, and Skyhawks cornerback Clarence Pendleton recorded one of UT-Martin’s two fumble recoveries. Eastern freshman corner back CJ James had his first career interception and junior defensive back Shelton Penrow recovered his first fumble of the season. Eastern’s passing offense may have been able to exploit the lack of height in the Skyhawks secondary, but the Panthers nearly lost the game while in a prevent defense for UT-Martin’s last two drives.

Edge: Draw

Special Teams

UT-Martin punt returner Jessie Burton averaged nearly 18 yards per return, partially negating some booming punts by Eastern punter Kevin Cook, who averaged 43.8 yards per punt, but Burton also fumbled one punt. Skyhawks kicker Tom Hansen kicked a 33-yard field goal, but he also kicked two kickoffs out of bounds. Eastern kick returner Quinten Ponius averaged slightly more than 15 yards per punt but gave Eastern good field position anyway because Hansen was kicking into a strong wind. Eastern kicker Tyler Wilke did not attempt a field goal, but he was good on all three extra point attempts.

Edge: Draw

Coaches

During UT-Martin’s final play, Thompson said he could not tell what the Skyhawks coaching staff was signaling to him from the sideline. He tried for the spike, but it ended the game. Eastern made necessary defensive adjustments at halftime and managed to put a stop to the Skyhawks offense by containing Chapman and put more pressure on the quarterback.

Edge: Eastern