NORMAL – Eastern Illinois scored two late touchdowns and a field goal to secure a 25-21 win against Illinois State on Saturday night at Hancock Field.

It was the first time since a Tony Romo-led Eastern Illinois team beat Illinois State in 2002 that the Panthers had beaten the Redbirds.

The Panthers trailed by as many as 11 late in the third quarter but closed the gap to five points on a 44-yard touchdown pass from red-shirt junior quarterback Bodie Reeder to red-shirt senior wide receiver Alicus Nozinor with 9 minutes, 37 seconds remaining in the game.

Nozinor was wide open in the end zone after running a deep post route to the left side of the field. Reeder pump faked once to the right and froze the Redbirds’ defense.

“That was actually a broken coverage,” Reeder said about Illinois State’s defense. “I took a chance over the top. That was a fault on their part, and we just took advantage of it.”

Reeder had another deep completion to red-shirt senior fullback Chip Keys on the Panthers’ next drive, as Eastern Illinois got the ball back right away after Illinois State senior running back Parrish Fisher fumbled on the Redbirds’ first play of their drive.

Reeder’s pass to Keys went for 25 yards to the Illinois State four-yard line.

“With Chip it was just an inside-out read,” Reeder said. “The (ISU defender) flew the flat, so I just hit Chip up the middle.”

Keys then plowed his way for the four-yard score on the Panthers’ next play to give Eastern Illinois a 22-21 lead. The Panthers two-point conversion attempt failed after Keys’ touchdown run.

“I was wondering if we were going to make plays,” Eastern Illinois head coach Bob Spoo said. “We’ve earned tremendous confidence from this game.”

Illinois State had the ball at its own 20-yard line with 1:54 remaining, but Redbirds’ senior quarterback Kevin Brockway was sacked for a seven-yard loss on first down and the Redbirds didn’t gain another yard the rest of the game.

Eastern Illinois red-shirt senior defensive end Pierre Walters had the sack on Brockway and said he got around the right side of the Redbirds’ offensive line on a speed rush.

“I just anticipated the snap count and went,” Walters said. “We knew they were going to come out and pass. They didn’t have any time outs left.”

Brockway struggled late in the game after having a perfect first quarter. He completed all six of his passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter but finished the game 19-of-33 for 240 yards, three interceptions and the two early touchdowns. He was also sacked three times and fumbled on the Redbirds’ final drive.

“Kevin Brockway was the most dejected guy in the locker room,” Illinois State head coach Denver Johnson said. “It was a heartbreaking loss. We certainly helped them out in latter stages of the game.”

Illinois State junior wide receiver Eyad Salem was the main beneficiary of Brockway’s quick start. Salem had seven receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown.

Eastern Illinois was led by Reeder’s 17-of-18 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Panthers’ red-shirt senior running back Travorus Bess had 79 yards rushing and caught four passes for 45 yards and one touchdown out of the backfield.

Eastern Illinois plays Jacksonville State at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at O’Brien Stadium in Charleston to start Ohio Valley Conference play.

Illinois State’s next game will take the Redbirds back on the road as they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for their first Missouri Valley Football Conference game at 11:05 a.m.