Eastern coach Kim Dameron wanted the Panthers to be more balanced offensively heading into their Saturday game at Tennessee Tech.

The Panthers were as balanced as can be, rushing for 301 yards and throwing for 297 yards in their 41-10 win against the Golden Eagles at Tucker Stadium in Cookeville, Tenn.

Adam Drake had a season-high three touchdown receptions, as he had six catches for 153 yards, including a career-long 90-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. Eastern quarterback Jalen Whitlow had a season-high four touchdown passes, but gave all the credit to his weapons.

“Receivers made awesome plays,” Whitlow said.

Leading 24-3 in the third quarter, Eastern took over at its own 13-yard line for its first possession of the second half. Following a loss of three yards on first down, Whitlow threw a pass to Drake, who had man-coverage on the outside. Drake and the Tennessee Tech defender went up together to reach for the ball, but Drake ripped the ball from mid-air and was able to break away, as the Golden Eagle lost his footing and fell to the ground.

“I was just hoping that the ball landed where I wanted it to land,” Whitlow said of his pass. “Drake did a great job of getting good position. Great play by him.”

Drake had an open field and expanded Eastern’s lead to 31-3, with 12:45 left in the third quarter.

The Charleston native also had a three-yard touchdown catch, with 2:58 left before halftime.

Whitlow parted way with 12:42 left in the fourth quarter, for Andrew Manley, as Eastern had established a 38-10 lead. Whitlow finished 19-of-24, for 297 yards to go along with his four touchdown passes.

Whitlow also scored his eighth rushing touchdown in Ohio Valley Conference play, which is the second most behind Eastern Kentucky running back Dy’Shawn Mobley’s 13.

Shepard Little led the Panthers running game, with 92 yards on 19 carries. Taylor Duncan had 12 attempts for 72 yards, while Whitlow had 45 rushing yards.

Late in the fourth quarter, Eastern kicker and punter Nick Bruno added a 63-yard run off of a fake punt to pad the Panthers’ rushing stats. That run by Bruno set up his 23-yard field goal that gave Eastern a 41-10 lead.

Meanwhile, the Eastern defense, led by Kamu Grugier-Hill’s 19 tackles, slowed down the Golden Eagles, allowing 150 rushing yards and 89 passing yards.

Grugier-Hill said the Panthers did a great job of flying to the ball, as Tennessee Tech averaged three yards per rush attempt. The only time Eastern did not contain the Golden Eagles was when running back Ladarius Vanlier broke loose for a 37-yard touchdown run, with 5:46 left in the third quarter.

Vanlier used three spin moves to bounce his run toward the sideline, scampering in for Tennessee Tech’s lone touchdown.

The Panthers responded immediately, as Whitlow threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Drake less than five minutes later. The junior quarterback beat triple coverage, as Drake caught the ball in the end zone, going low to secure his third touchdown of the game.

“Drake ran a great route and that allowed me to have enough room to fit it in,” Whitlow said. “We were so far down that there wasn’t much room, but it helped out that our other receivers ran good routes to open it up.”

Despite the win, Eastern lost the turnover battle, losing three fumbles and throwing an interception. Dameron said the defense did a great job of not allowing Tennessee Tech to capitalize off of those four turnovers with touchdowns.

The Golden Eagles were only able to score a field goal after Eastern’s first fumble in the first quarter, when Keiondre Gober lost the ball at the Panthers’ 46-yard line.

Following the next three turnovers, Eastern’s defense only allowed Tennessee Tech’s offense to gain one first down.

After Manley fumbled on his second play of the game, the Golden Eagles brought the ball to the Eastern six-yard line. On fourth down and four, Darian Stone threw an interception in the end zone to Grugier-Hill. That was the second time Grugier-Hill was involved in a forced turnover, as he forced Vanlier’s fumble in the third quarter that was recovered by Vince Speller, with 1:03 remaining before the fourth quarter.

The Panthers bring their three-game OVC winning streak back home, as they host Murray State at noon on Saturday at O’Brien Field.

At 4-1 in conference play, Eastern sits in third place behind Eastern Kentucky, which is 5-1 and Jacksonville State, which is 5-0.

FOR DESIGN ONLY

OVC STANDINGS

OVCOverall

Jacksonville State 5-0 7-1

Eastern Kentucky 5-1 8-1

Eastern 4-1 4-5

Tennessee-Martin 4-3 4-5

Southeast Missouri 2-3 4-5

Tennessee Tech 2-4 3-6

Murray State 1-4 3-6

Austin Peay 1-4 1-8

Tennessee State1-54-6

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or asoto2@eiu.edu.