The 2012 football season got off to a strong start with Eastern recording a 49-28 win over in-state rival Southern Illinois-Carbondale.

The new era of Eastern football started with trickery as the Panthers recorded their first scoring drive of the season on a 40-yard trick play.

Red-shirt sophomore tight end Sam Hendricks connected with senior wide receiver Chavar Watkins for a touchdown. The 40-yard touchdown pass capped off a 99-yard drive that gave the Panthers an early 7-0 lead.

After an exciting offensive start to the Dino Babers era, Eastern’s defense also showed it was ready to play in the opening minutes.

Red-shirt sophomore cornerback D.J. Bland and junior cornerback Pete Houlihan recorded interceptions, picking off Southern red-shirt junior quarterback Kory Faulkner on back-to-back passes.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, they were not able to capitalize off the turnovers, as red-shirt sophomore running back Taylor Duncan fumbled on his first carry of the season.

Duncan would build on his slow start, recording 44 yards on 11 carries, including a 19-yard run. 

Following back-to-back turnovers, the Salukis would answer with a scoring drive of their own, recording a touchdown on a 6-yard run by Iowa transfer Mika’il McCall. It was McCall’s second carry in his Saluki career, capping off a seven play 52-yard drive with a score.

McCall would add to his impressive Saluki debut, capping off a scoring drive with a 74-yard touchdown reception from Faulkner to tie the game at 14.

The up-tempo Panther offense would strike back following the McCall touchdown as junior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would lead back-to-back scoring drives to take a 28-14 lead.

First, Garoppolo would find red-shirt senior Jake Walker for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Walker capped off the seven play 75-yard drive by powering through two Saluki defenders on his way to the end zone.

Eastern would add to its lead on the following drive as Garoppolo hooked up with senior wide receiver Chris Wright for a 50-yard touchdown pass to take a 28-14 lead.

The Panthers appeared that they would take a two-score advantage in to halftime, but a pass interference penalty on third down and a roughing the passer penalty gave Southern a scoring opportunity with just under a minute to play.

Faulkner would capitalize on the scoring opportunity, finding tight end MyCole Pruitt in the back of the end zone to cut the deficit to 28-21.

Following a firework-fueled halftime show, the Panthers and the Salukis returned to the field for the second half.

McCall continued right where he left off in the first half, recording his third touchdown of the game on a 6-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 28.

The scoring drive was fueled by Saluki wide receiver LaSteven McKinney. Faulkner was forced from the pocket by an all-out Eastern blitz, but McKinney bailed out his quarterback with a fully extended diving catch to keep the drive alive.

Garoppolo would continue to build on an impressive game in the second half, finding Erik Lora for a touchdown to give Eastern a 35-28 advantage. It was Garoppolo’s fourth touchdown pass of the game with two of those going to Lora.

The Panthers would turn back to the trick play in the second half, as Lora would connect with Wright for a receiver-to-receiver touchdown. Wright capped off the highlight play with a nice one-handed grab to give Eastern a 42-28 lead.

Following a huge fumble recovery by Eastern’s punt coverage team, Garoppolo connected with Hendricks for a 31-yard touchdown pass. It was Garoppolo’s fifth touchdown pass of the game, setting a career high for touchdown passes in a game.

The five touchdown passes tossed by Garoppolo ranks second all-time in program history. Former Panther greats Jeff Christensen, Steve Turk, Sean Payton and Tony Romo all accomplished the feat. Romo and Christensen hold the team record for touchdown passes in a single game with six.

For the game, Garoppolo threw for a career-best 369 yards and five touchdowns.

The seven touchdown passes thrown by the Panthers sets an all-time program record for touchdown passes in a single game.

The Panthers will return to action on Saturday against Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Mich. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-2812 or jbpottorff@eiu.edu