By Anthony Catezone

Sports Editor

@AnthonyCatz

@DEN_Sports

Defensive back Jourdan Wickliffe ran full speed step-by-step with Northern Illinois wide receiver Tommylee Lewis along the Eastern sideline.

Northern quarterback Jordan Lynch, meanwhile, dropped back to pass, as he threw from his own 46 yard line.

Inside the Eastern 10-yard line, Wickliffe and Lewis both jumped for the ball. Wickliffe leaped above Lewis as he intercepted the pass over his right shoulder.

Lewis then tried to get his hands on the ball already cradled in Wickliffe’s arms. The two simultaneously were brought down, but both of them had their hands on the ball.

“As we came down, we both had possession of it,” Wickliffe said. “So I ripped it away just to make sure the ref knew I had the ball.”

The junior safety emphatically ripped the ball from Lewis, and held it up high above his head at the Eastern six-yard line. The referee signaled interception — Lynch’s first of the season.

“His interception, what kind of play was that? Then, he rips the ball away from the (receiver) and shows it to the ref,” Babers said.

Before the Huskies began that drive, Wickliffe and fellow defensive back Nick Beard said to each other that one of them needed to make a play, if Eastern wanted any chance to keep the momentum.

So Wickliffe became “a difference maker” and took the game into his own hands, halting the Huskies’ momentum as best as he could.

The Panthers led the Huskies 20-13 at that moment with 12:42 in the second quarter.

The Huskies had just scored their second touchdown one minute earlier, and their defense just held Eastern to a three-and-out on the prior possession.

Northern was looking to tie the game with a first and 10 on its own 46, but Wickliffe had other plans, as he intercepted the 50-yard pass.

“The receiver ran an out and up route,” Wickliffe said. “When I looked at the quarterback, I could tell he was up to something. I just felt like he was going to throw it my way.”

Wickliffe said he followed the ball after he saw Lynch targeting Lewis, and by the time the ball got to him, Wickliffe knew he had to get above Lewis if he wanted to come down with the ball.

Despite Eastern’s 43-39 loss to Northern, Wickliffe’s interception came at a time when the Huskies were beginning to make a comeback — scoring 13 unanswered points.

His interception prolonged the comeback, and allowed the Eastern offense to try and extend its lead.

The interception was the second in Wickliffe’s young season, and the fourth in his young defensive back career.

Wickliffe began playing football at Eastern at wide receiver as a sophomore last season, until Andrew Sowder, Eastern’s wide receiver coach, told Babers he was a good receiver but had the potential to be a fantastic defensive back.

At that point, Kim McCloud, Eastern’s defensive coordinator, jumped on the opportunity to mold Wickliffe into the best defensive back he could be.

“He has taken (Wickliffe) underneath his wing like his own son,” Babers said. “All of that attention coach McCloud has given Jourdan Wickliffe has helped him blossom into one of the premiere players on our defense.”

Wickliffe said he spent endless hours in McCloud’s office over the summer watching film from his first season as a defensive back and studying every position on the Panthers’ defense, as well as opposing teams’ offenses.

Wickliffe said the film and position studying gave him a better understanding of his surroundings on the field, and has paved the way for his success this season.

“I’m glad he’s on our defense and not anyone else’s,” defensive tackle Dino Fanti said. “It’s always nice turning around and seeing Jourdan Wickliffe come up with (the ball) or making a tackle.”

The Columbus, Ohio, native leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 41 tackles (10.7 per game). Wickliffe’s three forced fumbles also lead the OVC.

His five pass deflections are second in the OVC only to teammate D.J. Bland. And Wickliffe, along with two other Panthers, is tied for second in the OVC with two interceptions this season.

He had a season-high 16 tackles against Northern to compliment his interception.

“He has just been a difference maker back there,” Babers said. “We’re so lucky to have him.”

Anthony Catzone can be reached at 5981-2812 or [email protected].