Momentum swings when Panthers' punt hits Calvin

~ Southeast had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns.

Southeast Missouri State made Eastern Illinois earn much of what it got Saturday.

But the one gift touchdown Southeast allowed the Panthers foiled the Redhawks' strong upset bid.

And it opened the breathing room two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference champion EIU needed to walk out of Houck Stadium with a 31-16 victory in front of a near capacity 9,925 fans.

"They played us right off the field," said EIU coach Bob Spoo, whose squad scored the game's final 17 points after trailing 16-14 after the halfway point of the third quarter. "I give them a lot of credit."

Southeast's Joseph Tuineau jumped for the ball in the end zone, but was unable to come up with it during Saturday's game.

The Panthers (3-2, 2-0 OVC), ranked 19th and 21st in the two major Division I-AA polls, took a 21-16 lead late in the third quarter.

With under a minute to go in the period, Southeast (2-3, 0-2) forced a punt.

The punt hit Southeast's Eddie Calvin, who was not going for a return as the Redhawks were planning to let the ball bounce. Calvin and teammate Walter Peoples realized they had to try and recover the football.

But as it rolled inside Southeast's 5-yard line, the Redhawks failed to come up with it as the ball squirted away from a diving Peoples, with EIU recovering at the 2-yard line.

Two plays later, the Panthers were in the end zone, putting them up 28-16 with 18 seconds left in the third quarter.

"I was the gunner. We were in safe punt, but it hit me in the back," said Calvin, a sophomore cornerback who otherwise had a strong game shadowing EIU All-American receiver Micah Rucker. "So I knew I had to try and get it back."

Said Southeast coach Tony Samuel: "I could see that the punt hit him [Calvin]. He [Peoples] tried to jump on it, but we couldn't get it back."

That one play aside, Southeast put up an inspired and impressive performance against the heavily favored Panthers.

But the Redhawks said they are not into moral victories, even though Samuel appreciated the effort his players put forth.

"That was our brand of football out there," Samuel said. "I'm very proud of them."

Said Southeast senior linebacker Adam Casper, who finished with 20 tackles: "I'm definitely proud of the effort. Not a whole lot of people, outside of us, gave us a shot.

"It's a shame we couldn't win, but it shows what kind of potential we have."

Even down 28-16, the Redhawks still had a shot to make things interesting as walk-on redshirt freshman quarterback Steve Callanan drove Southeast inside the EIU 15-yard line early in the fourth quarter.

But a Callanan pass went off one of his receiver's hands and was intercepted by Rashad Haynes, who returned it 86 yards to the Southeast 12.

Southeast's defense held EIU to a field goal that completed the night's scoring, and the Panthers never let the Redhawks smell the goal line again.

"We fought and tried our best," Calvin said.

Southeast junior tailback Timmy Holloman, who rushed for 133 yards on 28 carries in his fourth straight 100-yard performance, broke off a 52-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to put Southeast ahead 7-0.

Sophomore Doug Spada later kicked three field goals inside of 40 yards as Southeast had to settle for those instead of touchdowns.

Trailing 14-13 at halftime, Spada's 38-yard field goal with 5:19 left in the third quarter put Southeast ahead 16-14.

The 6-foot-6 Rucker then struck for his lone big play as he caught a 45-yard touchdown bomb from Bodie Reeder with 4:09 remaining in the third period.

Calvin was off the field at the time because of cramps.

Even though EIU threw to Rucker at least 10 times, he had just two more receptions for 15 yards, with Calvin primarily covering him. Sophomore cornerback Salim Powell also spent some time covering Rucker.

In a 21-0 EIU win over Southeast last year, Rucker caught 10 passes for 180 yards and scored all three touchdowns.

"Eddie had a great game," Samuel said.

Said Calvin: "He's a great player and it was a big challenge, but I was looking forward to it."

Three of EIU's four touchdowns came after drives of at least 56 yards, the lone exception being the mishap on the punt.

"We played so hard, it's just too bad we couldn't come out with a win," Holloman said.