Defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni and his troops didn’t achieve their mission.

Forget the 27-0 shutout of California (Pa), disregard the 61 yards of total offense for the Vulcans and pay no attention to the five turnovers the Panthers forced.

With a little over five minutes left in the game, California (Pa) moved the chains for the first and only time all night. The goal for the Panther defense – not allow a first down.

“We kept reminding ourselves about it, but coach Roc said we shouldn’t let a first down,” senior linebacker Fred Miller said.

If there was a symbol for the game, it occurred on the opening play. California (Pa) ran a wide receiver reverse but fumbled the second exchange, which was recovered by defensive end Kory Lorick on the Vulcans 32-yard line.

“Coach Roc put us in a great position to make plays tonight,” sophomore cornerback George Love said.

The Panthers failed on the short drive but turned to sophomore kicker Steve Kuehn. Kuehn spilt the uprights from 30-yards on his first attempt of the 2003 season giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead.

On the Vulcans third play from scrimmage, they coughed up the football again, but the Panthers failed to punch it in the end zone and Kuehn missed wide right on a 26-yard field goal.

The Panther defense forced yet another three-and-out and drove the ball inside the red zone once again.

However, the Panthers faced a fourth-and-goal and instead of attempting the field goal, Eastern head coach Bob Spoo elected to go for the touchdown.

Senior tailback Andre Raymond was dropped for a two-yard loss and the Panthers came away with nothing again.

“The offense feels indebted to (the defense),” junior quarterback Andy Vincent said. “We should’ve been up 21-0 at that point.”

The Panthers finally got in the end zone on the first possession of the second quarter when a four-play, 34-yard drive was capped by a nine-yard option pitch from Vincent to Raymond to give Eastern a 10-0 lead.

“I feel we played our hardest out there, but (offensive coordinator John) Carr did a really good job tonight,” Vincent said.

The Panthers made it two consecutive touchdowns when Vincent found All-American tight end Nick Eller over the middle for a 23-yard touchdown.

“That’s the thing about the west coast offense, you can turn a five yard gain into 50 pretty quick,” Vincent said.

The end of the half was marked by Steve Kuehn converting on a 23-yard field goal to make the score 20-0 as both teams entered the locker room.

In thirty minutes of play, California (Pa) had gained a total of 10 yards of total offense on the controlling Eastern defense.

“The defense was outstanding and dominant tonight,” Spoo said.

The second half marked the Eastern debut of sophomore Andrew Harris who was less than impressive.

The junior-college transfer completed only 7-of-16 for 50 yards and had a fumble on a pitch that went array while scrambling away from pressure.

Harris was taken out after that play and wasn’t behind center for any of the 27 Panther points.

“It was John Carr’s decision to take him out,” Spoo said. “I felt we needed him to get back to Andrew but I didn’t feel the need to throw it at that point.”

When Vincent returned to game, he directed an eight play, 68-yard drive for Eastern’s last score of the game. The drive ended with Andre Raymond finding the end zone for the second time on the ground.

The second interception by sophomore safety George Love sealed the win and protected the shutout for the Panthers.

“The first interception happened when the quarterback looked right at the receiver and I jumped on the pass,” Love said. “The second one it got deflected and just fell in my lap.”

Spoo and company now turns to the nationally ranked 1-A Missouri Tigers who the Panthers travel to play in two weeks.

“I don’t know if we’re ready to play them because there’s no comparison between this game and Missouri,” Spoo said. “We have a lot to work to do.”