The 2012 season for Eastern’s football team was special.

The Panthers claimed an outright Ohio Valley Conference championship, advanced to the FCS Playoffs for the 14th time in program history, garnered OVC Offensive Player of the Year honors as well as OVC Coach of the Year honors, and was the only program in the nation to have two players nominated for the Walter Payton Award for the nation’s top player.

Eastern’s success under first-year head coach Dino Babers came as a surprise, as it was picked to finish second to last in the OVC preseason polls. Despite low expectations throughout the conference, the Panthers became just the fourth team in OVC history to record a worst-to-first turnaround.

Eastern was in danger of dropping its third consecutive game and falling to 1-3 on the season, but a back-and-forth affair had the Panthers coming away with a thrilling 50-49 overtime win that was capped off with a reversal play that had wide receiver Erik Lora throwing the game-winning pass on a two-point conversion to fellow receiver Von Wise.

Eastern’s success was largely because of its up-tempo offense that ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring, total offense, first downs and passing offense, but strong defense down the stretch run had the Panthers claiming a conference title.

The success seen in 2012 came as a surprise, but with Walter Payton Award watch list nominees Jimmy Garoppolo and Erik Lora set to return for their senior seasons, the Panthers will return their top two offensive playmakers.

The Panthers also have a core of defensive players in defensive lineman Pat Wertz, defensive back Nick Beard, and linebackers LeQuince McCall and Robert Haynes returning that will have the Panthers entering the 2013 season as frontrunners in the Ohio Valley Conference.

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