The longest football in-state rivalry in Illinois history will continue when Eastern and Illinois take the field Saturday night.

This is a pivotal game for both teams to decide whether or not they can make runs at conference championships.

“I’m not ready to say that we are a good football team yet, but maybe after Saturday I can feel better about it,” Illinois State head coach Denver Johnson said.

In a game that will be the 93rd meeting between the two schools, both teams are extremely familiar with each other’s style of play.

“I don’t think we have to game plan much for them because it seems like we are so similar,” Eastern offensive coordinator Mark Hutson said. “The key will be execution of what we do well.”

One of those things that will need solid execution is winning the turnover battle after struggling to hang on to the ball at Brigham Young last weekend.

“Turnovers and penalties that kept scoring drives alive hurt us at Brigham Young,” Eastern head coach Bob Spoo said.

Eastern’s coaches take the 45-10 loss to the I-A Cougars as a learning experience that the Panthers can take with them throughout the remaining nine games.

“If it wasn’t for some big plays, I don’t know whether or not they score the final 14 points of the game,” Eastern defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said.

The key for the Panthers has been at the line of scrimmage where they have failed in their first two games to establish a running game while being unable to stop the opponent.

However, Illinois State head coach Denver Johnson said one of his concerns this week is with his team winning the point of attack.

Both teams entered the 2005 season with a question mark at quarterback, but the Redbirds have had that problem somewhat solved after the emergence of Luke Drone.

Drone, a Mt. Carmel native, has been efficient in his first two career collegiate starts. The former Redbirds baseball player threw for 342 yards and five touchdowns in ISU’s 56-19 rout of Drake.

“What’s impressed me is the amount of poise that he has played with in the first two games,” Johnson said.

Eastern will hope that quarterback Mike Donato will carry his second half performance in Provo to the home opener. After struggling to a 7 for 17 start in the first 30 minutes, the sophomore went 7 of 12 for 70 yards in the second half.

“Mike is a kid that will learn from BYU,” Hutson said. “He kept gaining confidence as the game went on and we were happy with that.”

One of the biggest concerns for the Panthers defense will be shutting down ISU’s marquee receiver Laurent Robinson. Of the 34 Redbird completions this season, Robinson has 15 of them. The Rockledge, Fla. native is approaching nearly every ISU receiving record.

“Let there be no mistake, (Robinson) is their star receiver,” Bellantoni said. “He may be the best receiver in I-AA bar none.”

To counter Robinson’s talent, Eastern could use its best cover corner in junior Ben Brown. However, the Panthers did not shadow BYU star receiver Todd Watkins and only had Brown on him when he was on the left side of the field.

An impossible concept may be the idea that Illinois State’s defense may be better in 2005 after the graduation of Gateway Conference Defensive Player of the Year Boomer Grigsby.

“I’ve said all along that we were going to be better on defense across the board,” Johnson said.

While the fifth-round pick in 2005 has been demonstrating his talents for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Redbirds have efficiently dealt with the blow in at middle linebacker.

“It’s amazing to see it on film, but they are better than they have been in the last two years,” Hutson said.

Denver Johnson comes to Charleston with a 6-1 record on Spoo after coaching at ISU and Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State. He dismisses the idea that he has dominated the Panthers in recent history.

“I think that this game has always been close and down to the wire,” Johnson said. “Every time we line up on those guys, we expect a dog fight.”

Johnson and Spoo both agree that this game has major implications when it comes to the kids from both teams that know and have competed against each other before.

“We try not to negatively recruit but I can say the kids we already have take this game seriously,” Johnson said. “Especially for the Illinois kids, they want to win this one every time.”