- Box Score
28
WinnerEastern Ill.EIU8-3 , 4-2
14
Robert MorrisRMU4-7 , 2-4
Winner
Eastern Ill.EIU
8-3 , 4-2
28
Final
14
Robert MorrisRMU
4-7 , 2-4
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EIU Eastern Ill. | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| RMU Robert Morris | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Game Recap: Football |
Panthers win at Robert Morris, 28-14
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Eastern Illinois football won its eighth game in a season for the first time since the 2013 season as the Panthers closed out the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 28-14 win at Robert Morris.
EIU improved to 8-3 on the season, 4-2 in the Big South-OVC. Robert Morris finished the season at 4-7 overall, 2-4 in the Big South-OVC.
Eastern Illinois was able to move the ball on offense in the opening half with Pierce Holley passing for 153 yards going 16-of-21 with three touchdown passes. He would finish 23-of-33 for 226 yards.
Holley hit Eli Mirza on a 26-yard pass in the first quarter giving EIU a 7-0 lead with 4:12 remaining.
Holley would connect for second quarter touchdowns to DeAirious Smith of 18 yards and Justin Thomas of 14 yards.
Robert Morris first half highlights came on special teams as they blocked a punt in the second quarter and scored their first half touchdown on a 3-yard run by Chaese Jackson after the Colonials blocked punt gave them the ball at the EIU 29-yard line.
Both teams failed to score in the third quarter with EIU's best chance resulting in a missed field goal that hit off the right upright.
In the fourth the Panthers extended their lead to 28-14 as MJ Flowers broke loose for a 38-yard touchdown. The redshirt freshman finished with 179 yards on the ground as EIU had 416 yards of total offense.
The Colonials added some offensive yards to their game total in the fourth quarter with one long drive that ended with a Noah Robinson 14-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Zach Tanner. Robinson had nine catches for 116 yards. RMU finished with 230 total yards of offense.
Drake Van Hyfte led the EIU defense with five tackles including three sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Elijawah Tolbert tacked on five tackles.
Dee Pierce led the Colonials with 12 tackles.
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Team Statistics
| Game Stats | EIU | RMU |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 416 | 230 |
| Pass Yards | 226 | 173 |
| Rushing Yards | 190 | 57 |
| Penalty Yards | 4-20 | 10-72 |
| 1st Downs | 26 | 11 |
| 3rd Downs | 8-14 | 4-14 |
| 4th Downs | 0-1 | 2-4 |
| TOP | 35:03 | 24:57 |
| Scoring Play | Visiting Team Score | Home Team Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | |||
|
04:12 - EIU - Mirza,Eli 26 yd pass from Holley,Pierce (Patino,Julian kick) 3 plays, 58 yards, TOP 01:11 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2nd Quarter | |||
|
11:02 - RMU - Jackson,Chaese 3 yd run (Jenkins,Jayson kick), 4 plays, 29 yards, TOP 01:08 | 7 | 7 | |
|
06:18 - EIU - Smith,DeAirious 18 yd pass from Holley,Pierce (Patino,Julian kick) 8 plays, 62 yards, TOP 04:38 | 14 | 7 | |
|
00:11 - EIU - Thomas,Justin 14 yd pass from Holley,Pierce (Patino,Julian kick) 11 plays, 64 yards, TOP 05:00 | 21 | 7 | |
| 4th Quarter | |||
|
07:27 - EIU - Flowers,MJ 38 yd run (Patino,Julian kick), 4 plays, 88 yards, TOP 02:14 | 28 | 7 | |
|
05:18 - RMU - Robinson,Noah 14 yd pass from Tanner,Zach (Jenkins,Jayson kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:09 | 28 | 14 | |
Total Yards
EIU
416
RMU
230
Turnovers
EIU
RMU
First Downs
EIU
26
RMU
11
Total Possession
EIU
35:03
RMU
24:57
Game Leaders
#3 Holley,Pierce
-
- CMP
- 23
-
- TD
- 3
-
- YDS
- 226
-
- INT
- 0
#20 Flowers,MJ
-
- Avg
- 5.8
-
- TD
- 1
-
- YDS
- 179
-
- GAIN
- 180
#7 Mirza,Eli
-
- Avg
- 11.0
-
- TD
- 0
-
- YDS
- 11
-
- GAIN
- 11
#29 Young,Kendi
-
- Avg
- 4.0
-
- TD
- 0
-
- YDS
- 4
-
- GAIN
- 4
#7 Mirza,Eli
-
- No
- 6
-
- TD
- 1
-
- YDS
- 83
-
- Long
- 30
#1 Bowick,Justin
-
- No
- 3
-
- TD
- 0
-
- YDS
- 49
-
- Long
- 40
#4 Thomas,Justin
-
- No
- 5
-
- TD
- 1
-
- YDS
- 43
-
- Long
- 14
#1 Tolbert,Elijawah
-
- Tackles
- 5
-
- TFL
- 0.0
-
- Sacks
- 0.0
-
- YDS
- 0
#95 Van Hyfte,Drake
-
- Tackles
- 5
-
- TFL
- 3.5
-
- Sacks
- 3.0
-
- YDS
- 18
#4 Ruffin,Blake
-
- Tackles
- 4
-
- TFL
- 0.0
-
- Sacks
- 0.0
-
- YDS
- 0
Receiving Yards
#7
Mirza,Eli
Mirza,Eli
83
Bowick,Justin
49
Thomas,Justin
43
Smith,DeAirious
36
Passing Yards
#3
Holley,Pierce
Holley,Pierce
226
Rushing Yards
#20
Flowers,MJ
Flowers,MJ
179
Mirza,Eli
11
Young,Kendi
4
TEAM
Tackles
#1
Tolbert,Elijawah
Tolbert,Elijawah
5
Van Hyfte,Drake
5
Ruffin,Blake
4
Shockey,Anthony
4
Players Mentioned
-
#20 MJ Flowers
- RB
- 6' 1"
- Redshirt Freshman
-
#88 DeAirious Smith
- WR
- 5' 11"
- Junior
-
#4 Justin Thomas
- WR
- 6' 1"
- Graduate Student
-
#1 Elijawah Tolbert
- LB
- 6' 1"
- Junior
-
#95 Drake Van Hyfte
- DL
- 6' 4"
- Redshirt Sophom*ore
-
#7 Eli Mirza
- WR
- 5' 11"
- Junior
-
#3 Pierce Holley
- QB
- 6' 2"
- Redshirt Junior
Players Mentioned
-
#20 MJ Flowers
- 6' 1"
- Redshirt Freshman
- RB
-
#88 DeAirious Smith
- 5' 11"
- Junior
- WR
-
#4 Justin Thomas
- 6' 1"
- Graduate Student
- WR
-
#1 Elijawah Tolbert
- 6' 1"
- Junior
- LB
-
#95 Drake Van Hyfte
- 6' 4"
- Redshirt Sophom*ore
- DL
-
#7 Eli Mirza
- 5' 11"
- Junior
- WR
-
#3 Pierce Holley
- 6' 2"
- Redshirt Junior
- QB
