NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Travorus Bess won’t vie to become Eastern’s quarterback anytime soon.

Bess will continue to churn out yards on the ground like he’s proven he can do, even with Bodie Reeder’s sub-par performance Saturday at Tennessee State.

Bess’ eight-yard touchdown pass to Micah Rucker midway through the fourth quarter gave Eastern a 35-28 lead against the Tigers. The Panthers (6-3, 5-1 Ohio Valley Conference) eventually won 38-35 on Tyler Wilke’s last-second 30-yard field goal to stay in second place in the league and have a shot at a Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth.

But it was the play of Bess and his counterpart in the backfield, Ademola Adeniji, that kept the Panthers in the game, done mostly via the ground – except for Bess’ touchdown pass.

Eastern had put Bess’ play into the playbook last week during practice, offensive coordinator Jorge Munoz said.

The 5-foot-9, 176-pound Bess was chosen as the thrower because Munoz said he had the best arm.

“We teased him all week about it,” Munoz said. “We actually told him, ‘It’s got to be wide open or don’t throw it.’ When you throw it up to Rucker, good things will happen.”

But Bess won’t win any style points for his awkward-looking throw on 3rd-and-goal from TSU’s 8-yard line.

On the play, Reeder tossed the ball to Bess on the right side, behind the line of scrimmage. Rucker ran toward the end zone and tried to get open. A Tennessee State defensive back had Rucker adequately covered and, for a moment, it appeared Bess would tuck the ball down and run.

Bess said the defender covering Rucker had his back turned, and he felt pressure coming from TSU’s defensive line. So Bess decided to throw it – or, more accurately, shot put – the ball to Rucker.

Bess leaned forward with his left leg in front and released the ball with his right hand close to his helmet. He never followed through on the throw, and the ball wobbled toward Rucker.

“It was a special play we’d been practicing all week, so I was pretty confident,” Bess said. “That was an ugly pass, man. I just tried to get it out in the air and let Rucker make a play on it.”

Bess and Adeniji made plenty of plays using their feet throughout the game. The Panthers rushed for 351 yards on 58 carries, with those two accounting for 282 of those yards on 45 carries.

Tennessee State head coach James Webster said he was surprised Eastern was able to run the ball efficiently against his team.

“If you had told me before the game that they’d rush for 300 some yards on our side, I’d (have) told you (that you) were not telling the truth,” Webster said. “There were some plays where we were supposed to (be) inside, and we were outside. And then there were a couple times I saw where we didn’t tackle well. We’d hit them and fall off.”

Adeniji led the way with 155 yards on 30 carries and a touchdown. It was the third time Adeniji rushed for more than 100 yards in the Panthers last four games. Bess had his first-ever 100-yard game, picking up 127 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown.

The running game made up for a lack of a passing game by Reeder. The sophomore endured his worst game at Eastern, completing 8-of-15 passes for 63 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Eastern rushed the ball on its final 17 plays of the first half after Reeder’s second interception was returned 78 yards for a touchdown to give TSU a 21-7 lead with 14:41 left in the second quarter.

“We felt we could run on them,” Eastern head coach Bob Spoo said. “Thankfully, we were able to move it. We got conservative, if you want to say that, but were able to move the ball, and that’s really how we were able to win it in the end.”

Senior runningback Ademola Adeniji tries to break free of a tackle vs. Tennessee State Saturday evening at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn. The Panthers ended with 351 yards total ruhsing agains the Tigers. Amir Prellberg/The Daily Eastern News

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