Southeast Missouri senior running back Timmy Holloman doubled the Redhawks’ offensive production in the second half on one play in their 24-21 loss to Eastern on Saturday afternoon at O’Brien Stadium.

Holloman bounced through the line past his right tackle and picked up 15 yards on the ground, which was one more yard of production than SEMO had in the second half up to that point.

The Redhawks had just six yards rushing on seven carries and 10 yards receiving on one completion in the third quarter.

SEMO had 124 total yards of offense in the first half, but finished the game with 197 total yards of offense.

Therefore, Eastern’s defense held the Redhawks to 53 yards of offense in the second half.

“I thought we played really, really well in the second half,” Eastern defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said. “I wish I could tell you we made these great halftime adjustments. There were a couple different calls that I made. I think we just executed better – especially in the third quarter.”

Eastern head coach Bob Spoo said Eastern’s defense forced the Redhawks into several third-and-long situations in the third quarter.

That kept SEMO’s offense from being productive.

“They made adjustments at halftime,” Spoo said about his defense. “That’s what you try to do, and you’ve got to hope that your players can execute.”

Bellantoni said Eastern’s linebackers played better against SEMO than they had been playing so far this season.

He said they played more downhill and made more plays that came to them.

Sophomore linebacker Nick Nasti led the Panthers with nine tackles.

Red-shirt freshman linebacker Cory Leman was second on the team with seven tackles.

Red-shirt senior linebacker James Larson contributed five tackles.

Eastern was able to shut down the Redhawks’ passing attack, which was at the top of the Ohio Valley Conference prior to the game.

SEMO senior quarterback Houston Lillard and freshman quarterback Matt Scheible combined to complete 9-of-21 passes for 64 yards. Lillard also threw two interceptions.

The Panthers’ defense was able to force SEMO’s quarterbacks into tough throws or out of the pocket completely with pressure from the defensive line.

Red-shirt senior defensive end Pierre Walters had two quarterback hurries, red-shirt senior defensive tackle Jeff Sobol had one quarterback hurry and red-shirt senior defensive end Donovan Johnson had one quarterback hurry.

“They started blitzing,” Scheible said. “They do all that stemming and stuff, so it’s hard to see when they’re coming. I felt like I was flushing the pocket a little too much at times – maybe not reading the defense the right way.”

Walters said the Panthers’ defense knew they had to get pressure on Lillard because of his ability to throw in the pocket.

Lillard is now third in the OVC in passing yards with 1,479 yards after leading the league prior to Saturday’s game.

“We couldn’t let him sit back and have time to pick us apart,” Walters said. “He’s not the leading passer in the league for no reason. We just had to force them into turnovers.”

Eastern’s defense did force SEMO into committing turnovers.

Both red-shirt sophomore cornerback Rashad Haynes and senior cornerback Adrian Arrington both had one interception apiece.

“Rashad’s, his was man coverage,” Bellantoni said. “The quarterback scrambled and he stayed with his man and it was a little bit under thrown and he broke on it and made a nice play.”

Bellantoni said Haynes made several nice breaks on the ball and would have had another interception and possibly returned it for a touchdown had it not been for an interference by the SEMO wide receiver.

Bellantoni said Arrington’s interception was a good play because the ball was underthrown again and Arrington had to plant his feet and adjust his body to turn and catch the ball in mid-run.

Arrington said he was playing in the strong safety spot and was covering the third SEMO receiver.

“As I was going to rob him, I saw the ball come out so I just jumped it,” Arrington said. “Our coach was telling us to expect that play all week, so we were looking forward to it. I was happy it came when I was in there.”

Scott Richey can be reached at 581-7944 or at [email protected].