CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Eastern offense tried its best to give away the Panthers’ Ohio Valley Conference opener against Southeast Missouri, fumbling four times total, including twice at the Redhawks’ one-yard line.

But a 65-yard touchdown run by junior running back Mon Williams in the third quarter provided the spark, and the defense held SEMO scoreless in the second half, leading to a 23-14 victory Saturday night at Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

“When you turn the ball over four times and overcome all of that, it shows a lot,” Eastern head coach Bob Spoo said. “It’s a big-time win for our guys. They showed a lot of heart. They could have thrown in the towel after a couple of those fumbles … but they didn’t. They came back and fought. It was a great win for Eastern Illinois football.”

Williams – who was mostly unheard from in the first half, carrying the ball four times for only five yards as the Panthers fell behind 14-7 – was the workhorse in the second half. He finished with his second-consecutive 100-yard game, going for 119 yards on 16 carries and the one score.

Williams said he knew the team needed to make something happen to get back in the game after the sluggish first half. He credited the comeback to the team and said he wasn’t frustrated by the lack of first-half carries.

“Even though we had a couple of turnovers, that just shows that we have a lot of character,” Williams said. “We have a lot of heart, and we’re not going to give up that easy.”

The two goal line fumbles were at the hands of sophomore running back Jimmy Potempa. Eastern offensive coordinator Roy Wittke said the mistakes were a combination of lack of execution and good plays by the Redhawks defense, but Potempa shouldered the blame for his miscues.

“I just ran the play wrong,” said the sophomore Michigan transfer who finished with 81 all-purpose yards.

Wittke said he was more pleased with the comeback than upset about the turnovers. He said the win goes a long way toward building success for coming weeks.

“Good football teams win games they’re not supposed to win,” Wittke said. “Hopefully that’s a sign that we have a chance to be pretty good.”

Despite the turnovers, the Eastern offense was able to move the ball at will against the Redhawks defense. The Panthers rolled up 523 total yards of offense, 292 of which came by the arm of quarterback Jake Christensen.

Christensen finished 19-for-26 and had two touchdown passes. One to sophomore wide receiver Lorence Ricks in the first quarter that put the Panthers up 7-0, and another to freshman wide receiver Erik Lora that ended up being the final score of the game.

Ricks finished with three catches for 101 yards and the one score. He caught a 52-yard pass from Christensen in the second quarter, one series after having a 47-yard reception negated by a personal foul on the Panthers.

The Eastern defense, without junior linebacker Nick Nasti, who was out with a sprained knee, held the Redhawks to 103 yards in the second half.

Sophomore linebacker Cory Leman, who finished with a team-high 16 tackles, said the team didn’t change anything execution-wise in the second half, but just had to buckle down and play its style of defense.

“We just didn’t come out very well in the first half,” Leman said. “At halftime we decided ‘Forget it. We’re just going to buck up and play our defense.’ And I think we came out with a different attitude in the second half and played a lot better.”

The win gives the Panthers a 3-0 record for the first time since 2001. They conclude a three-game road trip next Saturday when they travel to Clarksville, Tenn. to face Austin Peay at 6 p.m.

Their next home game is Oct. 3, when they host preseason conference favorite Eastern Kentucky for Family Weekend. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at O’Brien Field.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.