The Eastern football team saw four players named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference Second Team: junior defensive lineman Artavious Dowdell, red-shirt senior Cory Leman, red-shirt junior tight end Von Wise and senior offensive lineman Eric Zink.

Dowdell finished the season as the second most sacks in the OVC, while also leading the Panther defense with five sacks. He had 45 total tackles, 7.5 of which were for a loss. Dowdell was a preseason All-OVC selection and named to the Phil Steele FCS Preview preseason All-OVC Second Team.

Leman, the Panthers’ team captain, finished with the third most tackles in the OVC, with 106. He is currently No. 8 on the all-time Eastern tackles list. At the beginning of the season, Leman was named to the Phil Steele FCS Preview preseason All-OVC First Team. Leman was also a finalist for the Awards and Recognition Association Sportsmanship Award.

Wise was the OVC’s top receiving tight end, raking in 32 catches for 348 yards and two touchdowns.

Zink, also a team captain, was a four year starter at guard, being the only senior to start on this season’s offensive line. He was also named to the preseason All-OVC first team.

OVC players honored with end of year awards

Head coach Watson Brown of Tennessee Tech was named OVC Coach of the Year, with wide receiver Tim Benford, also of Tennessee Tech, named OVC Offensive Player of the Year.

Michael German of Tennessee State was named the OVC Freshman of the Year, while teammate Rico Council was named OVC Defensive Player of the Year.

OVC teams knocked out of FCS playoffs

Eastern Kentucky fell to No. 17 James Madison by a score of 20-17.

Despite a 17-7 lead in the third quarter, Eastern Kentucky was unable to hold off James Madison, as the Dukes bounced back to notch a game-winning field goal with under two minutes to play.

No. 20 Tennessee Tech fell to No. 15 Central Arkansas by a score of 34-14. The Golden Eagles were coming off of their first OVC title since 1975, and making their first ever playoff appearance.

Central Arkansas shut down a Tennessee Tech offense which had set a new school single season record for points, as the Golden Eagles made an early exit from the playoffs.

The last OVC team to win in the first round of the playoffs was Murray State in the 1996 season.

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