The Eastern football team was hoping that No. 3 would be the magic number against Jacksonville State, but it was the No. 2 that made the allusion of a third straight Ohio Valley Conference title disappear.

Fighting back from a 20-7 halftime deficit, Eastern started the fourth quarter down by only three. The Panthers began their first drive of the fourth quarter at their own 26-yard line and on the second play Jalen Whitlow threw his second interception. Darius Jackson stepped in front of Whitlow’s pass near the sideline and tiptoed the boundary, running in for a 27-yard touchdown return, giving the Gamecocks a 27-17 lead.

Eastern coach Kim Dameron said if the Panthers were going to beat the No. 3 ranked Gamecocks, they could not give the ball away.

Whitlow entered Saturday’s game at Jacksonville State with only one interception in conference play. As a team, Eastern had a plus nine turnover margin, leading the OVC.

“We can’t turn the ball over, we can’t do it,” Dameron said.

The streak ended for Eastern, as Jacksonville State clinched the conference championship with a 27-20 win. Two titles in a row, with two wins over the Gamecocks in a row – both streaks snapped.

Eastern had its chances to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but after Whitlow went out with about 10 minutes left to play because of an injury following a big hit on a 28-yard run, Dameron had to go to his second quarterback in red-shirt senior Andrew Manley.

But, Manley, who had not played substantial minutes since Eastern’s road game at Illinois State on Sept. 13, was only able to complete two passes, going 2-of-7 for 17 yards.

The Jacksonville State defense contained Eastern’s offense in the first half and even with the Panthers’ comeback in the third quarter, they scored two touchdowns, the fewest Dameron’s team has scored in conference play this season.

Adam Drake, who entered the matchup as the FCS’ leading receiver, with 1.153 yards, was limited to four catches for 17 yards in the first half, when the Panthers were 0-of-8 on third down conversions.

Two Jacksonville Sate receivers in Josh Barge and Ruben Gonzalez each had two more catches than Drake in the first half, combining for 12 receptions, 244 yards and a touchdown.

On the second play of Jacksonville State’s first possession of the game, Eli Jenkins completed a 59-yard touchdown pass to Barge, who beat safety Jourdan Wickliffe on the play. Wickliffe sports the No. 2 on his jersey.

With the loss, Eastern dropped to 5-6 overall and received its second conference loss. At 5-2 in OVC, the Panthers are in third place in the rankings. A win would have propelled them to the top, giving the Gamecocks their second loss of the season, but the No. 3 team in the nation was able to defeat the two-time reigning champion.

Eastern plays its season finale against Tennessee-Martin, starting at noon Saturday at O’Brien Field.

Around the OVC

Eastern Kentucky running back Dy’Shawn Mobley tied an OVC single-game record against Murray State on Saturday scoring six total touchdowns, leading the Colonels to a 43-36 win.

Mobley, had five rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown, as the transfer from Kentucky finished the game with 324 all-purpose yards, which are the fourth most by an FCS player this season. Mobley had 224 rushing yards on 40 carries, while his five rushing touchdowns also tied a conference single-game record.

Mobley helped Eastern Kentucky comeback from a 20-point deficit and scored two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter. His 72-yard receiving touchdown on a screen-pass in the third quarter was the longest play from scrimmage from any Colonel this season, as Eastern Kentucky improved to 9-2 overall.
Mobley finished with four catches and 100 receiving yards. The junior was named OVC Offensive and Newcomer Player of the Week.

In the loss to Eastern Kentucky, running back Pokey Harris returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The Murray State junior also scored on a 100-yard kickoff return in the Racers’ loss against Eastern at O’Brien Field on Nov. 8.

Harris has three kick-return touchdowns this season, which is the most by any player in the FCS. He was named OVC Specialist of the Week for the second straight time this season.

Rankings

Despite its win and OVC title, Jacksonville State remained dropped to No. 3 in the FCS Coaches Poll, while the Gamecocks dropped to No. 4 in the Sports Network Poll.

Jacksonville State has earned its automatic berth into the FCS playoffs, winning the OVC, but Eastern Kentucky also made a jump in the rankings following its ninth win of the year.

The Colonels leaped four spots in both polls, and are now ranked No. 16 and No. 14 in the Coaches and Sports Network polls, respectively.

No other team in the OVC is nationally ranked. Last season three teams from the OVC reached the playoffs, as Eastern was joined by at-large bids Jacksonville State and Tennessee State.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].