After five games in the 2024 season, the Panthers are currently 1-4 overall. Nobody expected the Panthers to start the season like this, especially after the 28-25 loss the team suffered against Lindenwood Saturday afternoon.

If this game was in Eastern’s hands for the entirety of the first half, what went so wrong?

This game should’ve had a different outcome. It was a home game, and the team had a home field advantage.

You would think the Panthers would take that into consideration.

Lindenwood upset Eastern pretty badly, scoring 28 unanswered points against the Panthers. The last play of the game should not have come down to Eastern’s freshman kicker Drew Schiller attempting to kick a field goal from the 30 yard line.

There were plenty of plays where Eastern should’ve scored and been on the board, but with some back to back incomplete passes, that screwed the team over.

Now, I get that the Panthers’ rushing game can be slightly better than our passing game, but that was a stretch with this game specifically.

I will say attempting to rush up the middle for back to back plays, not getting the yardage and having to punt on 4th and 6 should say something.

The Panthers were stuck a few times in the game with the same run, incomplete pass, punt drive.

On repeat.

Something I noticed throughout the game is Eastern’s graduate quarterback Pierce Holley continued to make plays where his targets weren’t open and heavily defended by Lindenwood.

One play I vividly remember was in the second quarter on a first and 10. The Panthers were on Lindenwood’s 45 yard-line.

Holley threw an incomplete pass intended for redshirt senior tight end Anthony Manaves, and he was very much blocked by two defenders.

Manaves was covered, hands were nowhere to be found.

But who still decided to throw the ball?

Pierce Holley.

There were a few more obviously incomplete passes, specifically to senior wide receivers Eli Mirza and Terrance Gibson where defenders didn’t let up on the two.

When you sit back and think on the game, was it really the strength of Lindenwood’s defenders that got the best of the team, or was it the offense not blocking and finishing plays?

I think the team just gave up.

“[In the second half], we were able to move the ball, but the bottom line is you have to score,” Eastern’s head football coach Chris Wilkerson said. “We didn’t finish some drives and that’s something that we have to continue to do. We have to continue to emphasize that. We didn’t finish enough, we didn’t sustain enough and we have to finish drives.”

Lindenwood’s defense didn’t come to play around.

Yes, in the first half the Panthers were the first to score and put something on the board.

However, in the second half once Lindenwood’s defense saw the repetitive rush, pass and punt scheme from Eastern, the Lions could read what would come next from the Panthers throughout the second half.

“In the second half, we completely flip flopped,” Wilkerson said. “We were unable to get anything sustained in the third quarter and we allowed them to get back into the football game and take the lead and ultimately didn’t do enough to stay in the game.”

Even though the second half of the game didn’t go well for the Panthers, in the first half, Eastern were on Lindenwood like white on rice.

Eastern had great momentum throughout the first half, as the offense put points on the board with a drive that consisted of 13 plays.

With the 13 plays, one was an incomplete pass and another had a false start penalty on redshirt senior offensive lineman Sebastian Pares.

Nobody likes false starts.

The Panthers were pushed back five yards, but they set up the play again, and two plays later, Holley found senior Cooper Willman in the endzone for the touchdown.

Defensively, Eastern put the pressure on Lindenwood. Lindenwood’s offense was on the field for three plays, and Eastern’s defense stopped their run game every time.

In this game specifically, I feel like tackle wise, we did better than the last game against Illinois State. There were still many wide open tackles that players missed, but overall the team improved.

Redshirt junior safety Kaelin Drakeford led the Panthers with 11 tackles and redshirt senior linebacker Anthony Shockey added 10 tackles.

Tackles were good, but penalties. What happened?

“Penalties were huge, obviously there were chances we could’ve got off the field, and instead we got thrown for a flag or thrown for a penalty,” Shockey said. “It kept us on the field which resulted in some touchdowns.”

One penalty that I personally hate is unsportsmanlike conduct. You practically awarded the team with 15 yards and now they’re closer to scoring, and in this case we gave them their first down and an additional eight yards off of a third and seven field position.

The unsportsmanlike conduct call was to redshirt junior linebacker Phoenix Porter.

This call specifically can make or break how the rest of the drive is played out. This penalty can impact the field position and the team’s ability to defend or advance the ball.

Fortunately, our defense made some blocks and tackles so Lindenwood couldn’t score on this drive, but it’s crucial that players maintain discipline and sportsmanship to avoid hefty penalties like so.

All in all, hats off to Lindenwood because they held their own especially when they were down 17-0 at halftime.

With this loss, the Panthers need to realize they need to stop dropping their momentum and giving up after big plays are made from the opposing team.

I digress.

Payton Liggins can be reached at 581-2812 or at paliggins@eiu.edu.