The Eastern football team walked off O’Brien Field with a 48-26 win over Murray State Saturday afternoon, but the Panthers were able to finally look ahead to Jacksonville State.

“Jacksonville State defeated Eastern Kentucky 20-6,” the public address announcer said after the final whistle. That’s when Eastern senior linebacker Adam Gristick first found out that the Colonels were handed their second loss, setting up the Panthers for an Ohio Valley Conference title showdown next Saturday.

But the Panthers had to defeat the Racers before their trip to Alabama meant anything. Eastern was efficient since the start, scoring on four straight drives, which spanned 75, 97, 83 and 64 yards, respectively.

Eastern quarterback Jalen Whitlow threw two touchdown passes in the first half, completing 19-of-27 passes for 230 yards, giving the Panthers a 35-20 lead at halftime.

“We were zeroed in on Murray State and winning the game,” Whitlow said. “But we did hear the score right after.”

Whitlow led a balanced attack, which amassed 654 total yards. The junior quarterback ended the afternoon with 312 yards, completing 27-of-37 attempts. His three touchdown passes, two to Adam Drake and one to Jeff LePak, now make it seven in the last two games for the Kentucky transfer.

Yet, he gave the credit to his offensive line, which started the game without its starting center Nick Borre.

“I shouldn’t be sitting right here,” Whitlow said in his postgame press conference. “Those five o-linemen should be sitting right here. Without them we’re just a regular offense.”

Fortunately for Eastern coach Kim Dameron, his offense is not regular. The Panthers, even without starting running back Shepard Little, who left with a hamstring injury at the end of the first quarter, were still able to rush for 342 yards.

Senior Taylor Duncan took over the majority of the running responsibility, carrying the ball 30 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns.

Murray State’s high-flying offense kept the Races in the game, as quarterback KD Humphries threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Nevar Griffin, which brought Murray State within eight points of Eastern at 28-20, with 3:17 left in the second quarter.

Despite that, the Eastern offense responded quickly, driving down the field, as Duncan capped off the nine-play, 67-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown run, making it 35-20 right before halftime.

“With the way our offense has been playing, we feel every game is on us,” Gristick said. “The defense knows that the offense puts up points.”

After two touchdown passes by Humphries in the first half, he was held scoreless, as the Eastern defense did not surrender a score in the final two quarters until CJ Bennett ran in for a six-yard touchdown with 4:57 left to play.

“I thought our defense didn’t tackle very well in the first half and in the second half we came back and did some good things,” Dameron said. “We got some stops at key times and ended up with three takeaways.”

Gristick had one of two Eastern interceptions, while the Panthers also recovered a fumble inside their own 10-yard line in the Racers’ first drive of the game.

“Coach Dameron told the defense that we had to step up during halftime,” Gristick said. “The offense played lights out in the first half.

The 22-point victory now has the Panthers eyeing their third straight OVC title, as they travel to Jacksonville State with that chance after starting the season 1-5.

“We achieved our goal to be 1-0 this week and be one of two teams to go play for the conference championship next week, or at least a share of it,” Dameron said.

The Panthers are now 5-5 this season, with a 5-1 record in conference play.

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