Quarterback change sparked Eastern Kentucky

Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope toyed with the idea of not even starting quarterback Josh Greco against Southeast Missouri State Saturday -- even though Greco is the reigning Ohio Valley Conference offensive player of the year.

But when Greco, who is bothered by an injured finger on his throwing hand, struggled in the first half, Hope pulled him out of the game.

And that move ended up paying major dividends as backup quarterback Allan Holland helped lead the Colonels from a 7-0 halftime deficit to a 27-21 victory.

"He did a great job," Hope said.

Greco completed two of 12 first-half passes for 19 yards and was intercepted once, which led to the only touchdown by either team over the opening two periods.

Hope said after the game that Greco has been playing with a finger problem the last several weeks, which has affected his accuracy.

"He didn't practice much this week and he didn't look so good in pre-game warmups, but he's our guy and we went with him anyway," Hope said.

But with Greco way off target on most of his passes, Hope turned to Holland in the closing seconds of the first half.

"It was obvious we were going to protect and get people open, so we made the move to Holland," Hope said.

Holland, a sophomore, played last year at Division I-A Wake Forest, attempting just one pass. He transferred to EKU, which is near his hometown and had recruited him out of high school.

Before Saturday, Holland had attempted just seven passes for the Colonels, completing two.

But he sparkled against Southeast, particularly in the third quarter, when he completed 10 of 14 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns as EKU scored 27 unanswered points to take control.

Holland also completed two key passes on third down late in the game during a long, time-consuming drive that basically eliminated any chance of a Southeast comeback. He finished 16-of-22 for 197 yards.

"He really threw the ball well," Hope said.

Southeast defenders grudgingly gave Holland credit for helping turn the game around, but they said it was more what they didn't do than what the backup signal caller did.

"I guess he did a good job, but if we would have played our technique and assignments, it wouldn't have mattered," Southeast cornerback Romae Rucker said.

Said linebacker Adam Casper: "I don't know ... we just had mental breakdowns. In the first half we were just flying around and making plays. It was a tale of two halves."

Holloman returns

Southeast sophomore tailback Tim Holloman, who missed most of the last three games with an ankle injury, had a solid performance in his return to the lineup.

Holloman rushed for 99 yards on 25 carries and was also Southeast's leading receiver, catching six passes for 41 yards.

In the first half, Holloman rushed for 96 yards on 22 carries. But the Redhawks were forced to throw most of the second half after they fell behind by a substantial margin.

"It felt pretty good," Holloman said of the ankle. "Probably 99 percent."

Southeast coach Tony Samuel said the Redhawks were helped not only by Holloman's return but also the return of offensive linemen Austin Russell and Francisco Perez, who had been out with injuries.

"It was really nice to have those linemen back," Samuel said.

Southeast had 264 yards of offense to 346 for EKU.

Defensively for Southeast, linebackers Monroe Hicks and Adam Casper led with nine tackles apiece. Hicks also had two tackles for loss.

End Edgar Jones had eight tackles and a quarterback sack. He now has 10 sacks on the season, and he entered play Saturday as the national Division I-AA leader.

Cornerback Romae Rucker intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.

David Simonhoff averaged 50.7 yards on six punts.

Noteworthy

• True freshman cornerback Todshon Jones, who is tied for the team lead with two interceptions, will miss the rest of the season after injuring a shoulder last week at Arkansas. He will have surgery soon. Another true freshman, Salim Powell, started in Jones' place Saturday.

* True freshman Doug Spada, who kicks off for the Redhawks, had another touchback Saturday. He leads the OVC with nine touchbacks.