The Panthers’ 21-6 loss to Southern Illinois in the first round of the Division I-AA playoffs at O’Brien Stadium Saturday can be attributed to one word – opportunity.

Both teams had chances to score, and only one team could convert.

The No. 8 Salukis got three touchdown runs from junior running back Arkee Whitlock as they advance to play at Appalachian State Saturday. All three scores came from inside the Panthers’ 10-yard line.

The Salukis advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 22 years, while Eastern lost its fifth-straight postseason game. The Panthers last advanced in 1989.

While Southern Illinois capitalized on trips into Eastern territory, the No. 19 Panthers managed only six points on their three trips inside the SIU 20-yard line.

“We kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” sophomore quarterback Mike Donato said.

The Panthers earned the spot in the playoffs by defeating Jacksonville State 10-6 to win the Ohio Valley Conference championship outright.

Eastern (9-3) controlled the ball for much of the first half. The Panthers ran 43 plays over 20 minutes and 12 seconds, while the Salukis managed to only run 19 plays in 9:42.

But having the ball didn’t translate into points, as the Panthers trailed 7-3 at the half.

Eastern got on the board first on freshman kicker Zach Yates’ 32-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive. The Panthers moved the ball down to SIU’s 12-yard line, but couldn’t gain any more yards after a rush for negative yards and two incomplete passes.

The Salukis responded later in the quarter with a 51-yard completion from Sambursky to senior wide receiver Quorey Payne.

The big play set up the first of Whitlock’s scoring runs, this one from six yards out.

Whitlock’s other two scores came in the second half, and all three came with two SIU fullbacks paving the way to the endzone.

“That’s a play we work on all the time,” Whitlock said. “Earlier in the season we didn’t really execute it.

“We were able to make some adjustments to it and it opened up some holes for us today.”

Eastern junior linebacker Clint Sellers said SIU’s blocking was simply too good at times.

“Those two fullbacks they had back there, those are really good athletes,” Sellers said. “Those are two big guys leading up into a hole. Whitlock’s a great back; he proved it today.”

Whitlock’s second-half scoring runs came from 5 and 3 yards, respectively, and he went untouched on each of his three trips into the endzone.

“That was too easy,” Spoo said.

Little came easy for the Panther offense, as it gained just 3.4 yards per play.

Junior running back Vincent Webb led Eastern with 80 yards on 17 carries, and Donato threw for 144 yards on 18-of-36 passing.

Donato’s numbers, and the Panthers’ offensive output, would’ve been more impressive, but Eastern’s receivers struggled to make catches.

Spoo said some of the drops cost Eastern points.

“(Webb) dropped two that really hurt us,” Spoo said. “(Junior wide receiver) Ryan Voss dropped a couple that really hurt us.”

One Voss drop came with Eastern on the SIU 11 late in the second half.

The Panthers got great field position after senior defensive end Kory Lothe chased down Sambursky and knocked the ball into junior lineback Lucius Seymour’s hands. The turnover gave Eastern possession deep in Saluki territory.

Facing second-and-9, Donato found a leaping Voss in the endzone, but the pass fell threw his hands as Saluki defenders converged.

The next play, Donato found freshman running back Norris Smith for a touchdown, but the score was brought back as the Panthers used an illegal formation at the line of scrimmage.

Eastern eventually tried to kick a 33-yard field goal, but the Yates try was blocked.

“We get a touchdown and it’s called back – penalty,” Spoo said. “We get a big play, and it’s called back – penalty. If some of those balls are completed, it’s a momentum thing, and we move on.

“We had opportunities given to us by our defense, and we hurt ourselves.”

SIU junior safety Patrick Jordan said the Salukis were able to execute.

“We just came together as a defense, and we knew he had to stop them,” he said. “We just played well as a team, everyone covered their assignments.”

The Panthers were without junior safety Tristan Burge, who suffered a broken leg on the final play of the Panthers’ playoff-clinching win at Jacksonville State in their regular season finale.

Despite not having the first team All-OVC safety in the secondary, the Panthers held Sambursky to 189 yards on 15-of-21 passing.

“Defensively, I thought we played very well,” Spoo said. “We didn’t make the plays we needed to make at crucial times.”

Donato said the loss does provide a solid foundation for the Panthers’ future, even though the team will lose some key contributors to graduation.

“It’s always tough when you lose, especially when you play like we did today,” he said. “We just got to keep moving forward.

“We lose a great group of seniors, but to say the least, we were able to send them off with a ring.”