Five turnovers doom Eastern in 55-20 loss to Arkansas

Eastern+receiver+Aaron+Gooch+%287%29+returns+a+punt+against+the+Arkansas+Razorbacks+during+the+Panthers+55-20+loss+Saturday.+Gooch+had+43-yards+receiving+on+six+receptions.

Photo Courtesy of Kevin Snyder | The Traveler

Eastern receiver Aaron Gooch (7) returns a punt against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the Panthers’ 55-20 loss Saturday. Gooch had 43-yards receiving on six receptions.

JJ Bullock, Sports Editor

 The Eastern football team made more first downs, had more rushing yards, and had more time of possession than Arkansas when the two teams met on Saturday in Fayetteville, yet even given all those numbers, Arkansas pummeled Eastern 55-20. 

Despite those stats, the explanation for why Eastern lost by 35 points is simple, the Panthers turned the ball over five times, all on fumbles, a sin no team can commit and still expect to stay in a football game, especially in the case of Eastern against an FBS opponent. 

The first fumble by Eastern happened just 36 seconds into the Panthers’ first possession. Quarterback Johnathan Brantley was running to his left when he was hit in the legs by an Arkansas defender and flipped in the air. Brantley lost control of the football before hitting the ground and Arkansas recovered at Eastern’s 35-yard line. 

It only took the Razorbacks just under two minutes to turn the fumble into a field goal, taking a 3-0 lead. 

Eastern lost a fumble again just two possessions later when senior receiver Aaron Gooch was hit and lost the ball. This time however, the Eastern defense was able to hold the Arkansas offense and forced them to punt. 

The fumble plague struck again on Eastern’s next possession at the close of the first quarter. Quarterback Harry Woodbery was drilled by an Arkansas defender and lost the ball in the endzone. The Razorbacks jumped on the loose ball for a touchdown and took a 10-0 lead.

On the Panthers’ second possession of the second quarter, believe it or not, Eastern fumbled and gave Arkansas possession of the football. It only took the Razorbacks three plays from the 27-yard line to score another touchdown and put themselves up 17-0. 

It is important to keep in mind that both of Arkansas’ touchdowns to this point in the game came without the Razorbacks having to travel more than 27-yards. 

Arkansas opened up its passing game after that touchdown and ended up taking a 38-6 lead into halftime.

Eastern’s first possession of the second half resulted in a fumble too. This time it was picked up by Arkansas’ Bumper Pool and returned all the way down to the five-yard line. It only took Arkansas two plays this time to turn the turnover into a touchdown.

Eastern reigned it in somewhat after the fifth fumble. Scoring one touchdown in the each of the third and fourth quarters. All three of Eastern’s touchdowns in the came on behalf of wide receiver Alexander Hollins. 

Other notes;

-Eastern all-conference receiver Alexander Hollins was named the OVC offensive player of the week thanks to the 127 yards and three touchdowns he put up on the Razorbacks. Two of his touchdown catches came from quarterback Harry Woodbery and one came from Johnathan Brantley.

-Eastern began the game with Brantley at quarterback, he finished 18-25 passing with 134 yards and one touchdown. Woodbery took over in the first quarter and finished the day 9-15 passing with 96 yards and two touchdowns.

 -Arkansas began the game with 6 foot 7 inch, 258 lbs Cole Kelley at quarterback. Kelley was not bad in the game, he was 9-12 passing with 96 yards and one touchdown. The offense however struggled to move the ball efficiently with him under center. He was replaced by Ty Storey and after that the Arkansas offense exploded. Storey threw for 261 yards on 12-17 passing and tallied three touchdowns before the game ended. 

-Eastern’s star linebacker Dytarious Johnson appeared to get injured during the game and left for a couple of plays. He returned however and showed everyone he was just fine by laying a huge hit on Kelley.

-The kicking game was abysmal for Eastern. Kicker Matt Severino missed both of his field goal attempts in the first half on two very bad kicks. His first miss came from 47-yards out and his second miss was on a 29-yard chip shot. He also missed an extra point. 

-Eastern’s offensive line got banged up during the game, forcing some personnel changes up front. Starting center Cole Hoover exited the game with an injury, so the Panthers moved left guard Johari Branch to his spot. This move forced starting left tackle Josh Doyle to move to left guard and backup tackle Grant Branch into the game at left tackle. 

-Running Back Jamal Williams took the most carries (12) in the game for Eastern. The Independence Community College transfer finished with 82 yards and averaged 6.8 yards per carry. All-conference running back Isaiah Johnson had seven carries for 30 yards and one fumble in the game. 

JJ Bullock can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]