While students panicked, crammed, studied and cheat sheeted their way through midterms last week, the Panther football team got ready for an exam of its own.

With five of 11 games played, Eastern was in good shape at 3-2-including 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

But, then the equivalent of a rocket-engineering test came to town: Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels had outscored each of their three OVC opponents 121-23, winning all three. And in EKU’s last two games with Eastern, the Colonels dominated, outscoring the Panthers 90-6.

Eastern had it’s OVC wins over Samford and SEMO-teams with just two conference wins combined. But, after a week of preparation, the Panthers were ready for the exam and they aced it, beating EKU 53-22.

Now past the season’s mid-point, Eastern finds itself alone atop the OVC standings. With that in mind, it’s time to handout mid-season grades.

Quarterbacks

Sophomore Mike Donato was probably the biggest question mark heading into the Panthers’ season-for good reason. Prior to this season, his game experience consisted of just three snaps and no passing attempts. And in the preseason, it showed. Donato struggled to find a rhythm and made bad decisions in Eastern’s two losses.

But in the OVC, Donato has looked more like a three-year starter than a three-snap taker. When he’s had to throw the ball, which has been rarely, he’s been pretty accurate, throwing three touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Better touch on deep passes is one area where head coach Bob Spoo thinks Donato can improve.

Grade: B

Running Backs

Junior Vincent Webb has established himself as one of the premiere running backs in the OVC by scoring seven of his conference-leading eight touchdowns in OVC games. He’s also averaging 117 yards a game in the OVC, taking pressure off of Donato. Sophomore Travorus Bess and freshman Norris Smith have shown big-play ability in backup roles.

Grade: A minus

Wide Receivers

Statistically, nothing jumps out with the receivers. But Spoo said one aspect of their production doesn’t get recognition-run blocking. Junior Ryan Voss leads the team with 15 catches and 240 yards. In the OVC, the receiving corps seems to have adjusted to the Panthers’ tendency to run.

Grade: B minus

Offensive Line

The unit is coming into its own as one of the OVC’s finest. The proof is simple-five sacks allowed, and nearly four-yards rushing per carry.

They dominate the line of scrimmage.

Grade: A

Defensive Line

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, the Panther front four have been equally impressive, sacking opposing quarterbacks eight times. When sacks aren’t being recorded, the unit has consistently put pressure on quarterbacks. And, making things more convincing, they stop the run (opponents’ 110.5 yards per game is the lowest output in the league). Defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said he thinks they can still play better. Scary.

Grade: A minus

Linebackers

Junior linebackers Clint Sellers and Lucius Seymour are first and third in tackles in the OVC. Sophomore middle linebacker Donald Thomas has battled injuries, and now healthy, he’s also starting to make big plays. Bellantoni said Sellers is probably the surprise of the OVC.

Grade: A

Secondary

Entering the season, the secondary was supposed to be good. Juniors Ben Brown, B.J. Brown and Tristan Burge and seniors Chad Cleveland and Terrance Sanders have all delivered beyond the hype. All can make big plays (i.e. Sanders’ 30-yard fumble recovery returned for a score against Samford), and all can hit. Hard.

An injury Ben Brown suffered against Samford hasn’t hurt the secondary too badly. Things will only get better when he returns, maybe on Oct. 29 against Tennessee-Martin.

Grade: B plus

Special Teams

This is one area where the results are mixed. Senior punter Tom Schofield and the punt-coverage unit lead the OVC in net-punting yards (36.0). However, freshman kicker Zach Yates has missed four extra point tries, and is three-of-five in his field goal attempts. Both kickoff and punt return units have been good, minus a few stupid penalties that negated big returns.

But, after last season’s special teams debacle, this year’s unit is much improved.

Grade: B minus