Prior to Saturday night’s season opening football game against Indiana State, Panther head coach Bob Spoo said it would be ideal for his team to score on its first posession of the game.

“We’ll have those first few plays scripted, and we’d like to get out and score early,” he said. “But, if that doesn’t happen, it’s certainly not the end of the world.”

Not only did it happen, but it happened just 16 seconds into the game when junior tailback J.R. Taylor ran 80 yards untouched on Eastern’s first play from scrimmage, as the No. 12 ranked Panthers (1-0, 0-0) steamrolled Indiana State (0-2, 0-0) 44-14 Saturday night at O’Brien Field.

“We had it scripted out to have two running plays to start the game,” junior quarterback Tony Romo said. “I didn’t think I’d just hand the ball off and get to jog off the field, but that was a great way to start the season, if not every game.”

Taylor finished the game with 154 yards rushing on 13 carries, averaging 11 yards every time he touched the ball.

The story of the game was Romo’s perfect passing as last season’s Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year finished completed all 16 passes he threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns. Romo’s 16-for-16 effort was one shy of the single-game school record set by Eastern great Sean Payton. Romo now owns Eastern’s record for consecutive complete passes, completing his last 20 passes, dating back to his final regular season game last year.

“You can’t get much better than that,” Spoo said of Romo’s night. “He had a really sharp camp and I was pleased he was able to execute as well as he did. His performance was really brilliant.”

After wide receiver Shaun Grace fumbled deep in Indiana State territory on Eastern’s second posession, Andre Raymond capped off a five play 50 yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run. That put the Panthers up 14-0 mid-way through the first quarter.

Taylor put the Panthers up 21-0 with a 15-yard touchdown run that was the final play of a six play, 73 yard drive that took just 1:21.

“Gosh, J.R. Taylor really played just a great game,” Spoo said.

After a five-yard touchdown pass from Sycamore quarterback Julian Reese and a 29-yard field goal from Panther place kicker Bill Besenhofer in the second quarter, it was the Will Bumphus show as the senior wide receiver scored the Panthers’ final three touchdowns of the evening.

“That young man really came to play,” Spoo said of Bumphus. “He had a great fall camp and did an outstanding job of catching the ball in some crowds.”

Romo connected with Bumphus on a slant route for a 43-yard touchdown pass, which capped off a one-play, six second drive that put Eastern up 31-7. Bumphus then caught a pair of 14-yard touchdown passes. The first put the Panthers up 37-7 with three minutes remaining in the second quarter, after Besenhofer failed to convert on the extra point.

Romo’s final touchdown pass to Bumphus was the most impressive. After completeing his first 15 passes, he rolled out and zipped a high pass into the endzone which Bumphus made a remarkable leaping grab between two defenders to come down with Eastern’s sixth and final touchdown of the night late in the third quarter.

“Basically saw it coming in the back of the endzone and I wanted it, so I went up and got it,” Bumphus said. “It was a good throw from Tony Romo, and the route took a lot longer than it normally does, so the offensive line did a good job of holding them off and giving Tony time to throw it.”

When he threw it, Romo thought his final pass of the day was his first incomplete one.

“Will really kept the streak alive on that last one I threw,” Romo said. “I wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to come down with it, but he’s got a great vertical and went up and got it.”

The Sycamores added a touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a three-yard run by Reese. But all in all, Spoo couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season.

“The message before the game was that we have been preparing long enough and it was really time to go out there and execute,” he said. “We sure had a lot of guys that went out and did that.”