Eastern football remains winless in Ohio Valley Conference play and dropped its fifth straight game in front of this season’s largest crowed of 9,063 at O’Brien Field.

The Panthers lost by a score of 48-16 to Eastern Kentucky. The largest point differential of the season for the team.

Eastern Kentucky rushed for a team total of 358 yards with running backs Matt Denham and Jeremiah Williams rushing for 216 yards and 73 yards, respectively. Fullback H.B.

Banjoman had two touchdowns and 41 yards against the Panthers. Denham also had two touchdowns, while Williams had one.

The Panther running backs were unable to match the Colonels’ numbers. They only had 24 rushing yards. Sophomore quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo rushed for a net total of -21 yards, while red-shirt freshman quarterback Taylor Duncan had just four.

With all the success on the ground, the Colonels did not have to throw much.

Quarterback T.J. Prior threw 14 passes, completing 11 of them for a total of 133 yards. Garoppolo had a total of 251 yards. He completed 21 of 32 passes, while also throwing one touchdown and one interception.

“The only thing I know to do is continue to work, continue to practice and hope plays go our way,” head coach Bob Spoo said.

With red-shirt junior Lorence Ricks inactive for the third straight game, junior wide receiver Kenny Whittaker led the team in receptions with seven.

He had 51 yards to show for the day, while junior wide receiver Chris Wright led the team with 84 yards on four catches.

“You put a lot of time and effort into this and you really want it to show on Saturday,” Whittaker said.

Whittaker recorded his 100th career reception in the game, but said the team’s performance is more important than individual accolades.

The team’s performance has the Panthers with an overall record of 1-5 and still struggling to find their first OVC win.

“We’re all trying to figure out what’s going on,” Whittaker said.

Spoo said the team’s two biggest factors to improve on are defending the run and running the ball efficiently.

Walker averaged just 2.3 yards per carry, while Woodson averaged 2.7 yards.

On the opposition, Denham was averaging 9.8 yards per carry and Banjoman was averaging 10.2 yards per carry.

“We’re handing out career days to anybody who plays us,” Whittaker said.

Next week the Panthers will hit the road for another OVC match-up against Murray State, who is coming off a 48-24 win on the road against Georgia State.

The game is at 3 p.m. Saturday in Murray, Ky.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7942 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu.