For one half, the Eastern football team delivered the kind of shellacking against Tennessee-Martin few offenses are capable of implementing.

Then the backups came in.

The Skyhawks scored 30 points in the fourth quarter against Eastern’s second-team defense to turn a rout into a more respectable 55-43 loss to the Panthers at O’Brien Stadium Saturday. Eastern clinched at least a share of the Ohio Valley Conference title, with only the Panthers’ game at Murray State remaining in the league schedule.

“I guess that’s why they’re backups,” Panther head coach Bob Spoo said. “Our first group defense and offense really did a heck of a job today.”

Spoo earned win No. 100, a mark he said holds little significance.

“I wasn’t even thinking about that at all,” Spoo said. “Records and all that stuff – we don’t think about that. We just try to go out and win each game.”

The Panthers flew to a 55-13 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter on the wings of four touchdowns from junior tailback J.R. Taylor, two from quarterback Tony Romo, another from running back Andre Jones and the first of senior Kyle Kissack’s career – an 8-yard run.

Taylor ran for a career-high 208 yards on 17 carries, including a touchdown run for 54 yards and another for 51.

“I came into the game more focused than usual,” Taylor said. “It was the first time I was actually completely healthy.”

The Panthers led 34-13 at the half, but could’ve easily had the Skyhawks completely grounded. Tennessee-Martin scored its first touchdown after returning an interception to the Panther 2-yard-line. Eastern answered with a 3-play, 66-yard drive capped by Taylor’s 54-yard run.

Tennesee-Martin marched downfield methodically on a 14-play, 80-yard drive. It proved to be the first-team Panther defense’s only major lapse of the game.

“I’d say for our first teams it was a complete game,” Spoo said. “I felt pretty good about that.”

Red-shirt freshman strong safety Chad Cleveland led the defensive corps with 10 total tackles. Junior Fred Miller had nine tackles, including one for a loss in his first game at linebacker.

“I felt like I did OK – it wasn’t the best,” Miller said.

The second half provided only experience and no confidence for the second string defenders.

With the exception of a Perez Boyd 41-yard interception return putting the Skyhawks deep in Panther territory, Tennesee-Martin held the ball most of the fourth quarter pushed downfield at will.

“We just didn’t function well,” Spoo said.

Freshman quarterback Brady Wahlberg scored three of his four rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter, doubling Tennessee-Martin’s rushing touchdown total. The Skyhawks’ point total was their highest this season.

“We got more confident as the game went on,” Tennessee-Martin interim head coach John Jernigan said. “We were able to complete passes in the first half we weren’t able to.”

Romo completed 17 of 21 passes for 211 yards, one interception and two touchdowns. Romo tied Sean Payton’s single-record for touchdowns in a season with 28.