Eastern’s football team had a chance Saturday to drop one of the nation’s top Division I-AA teams and the Current Ohio Valley Conference leader. I guess anytime two teams step on the field there is a chance, but Eastern threatened the upset right ’till the end of the game with No. 14 ranked Jacksonville State.

Down 24-13 in the fourth quarter, the Panthers drove down for a touchdown and a two-point conversion to pull within three points. On Jacksonville’s ensuing drive, Eastern forced the Gamecocks to a three and out and were in a position to start a drive with two minutes left in the game that would give them a chance to tie or take the lead. But that chance never came.

Yet another special team mistake drowned the Panthers before they even got started on their final drive. Jacksonville took over at Eastern’s 12-yard line and didn’t even need to reach the end zone to seal their win.

The end of the game seemed to hold a common theme throughout this year for the Panthers. Eastern couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities it was presented with.

After the Panthers went 0-2 to start the year, things looked bleak for the season. But the next thing you know, two weeks later, Eastern rattled off two wins that seemed to put the team back on course. Over the next six weeks the Panthers were up and down.

Eastern had control of its destiny with three weeks left in the season, but Eastern lost the chance to play the scenario out before it even got started. The Jacksonville game would have been a pivotal contest for Eastern had it won at Tennessee Tech the week before and still been in the OVC race.

The game still held meaning because head coach Bob Spoo and his team had a chance to affect the final standings in the conference, but they simply just didn’t get the opportunities they needed.

The Panthers still have one game left and could end the season on a high note with a win over Samford, but they will still look back at this season wondering about the opportunities that passed them by. Fortunately, much of Eastern’s team will have a chance to erase those memories next season when it returns 10 starters on offense and eight on defense.