After a tough 45-0 loss to UofI, Eastern’s looking to secure their first win of the season at the home opener against Indiana State University this Saturday.
Senior defensive lineman Nicholas Oliveira-Chace noticed on Thursday’s game and spoke on how the team struggled against the Fighting Illini.
“I feel like we could’ve performed better,” Oliveira-Chace said. “On both sides of the ball, we had too many mental mistakes.”
Against the Fighting Illini, the Panthers recorded four turnovers and six total penalties.
Eastern’s head coach Chris Wilkerson reflected on the fact the Panthers were one of the least penalized teams in the conference, so the four penalties from the game along with the negative turnover margin was surprising.
“The turnovers were something that we pride ourselves on. We turned it over four times, and we unfortunately had zero takeaways,” Wilkerson said. “So, minus four in the turnover margins is not going to be very good against anybody. The penalties were a little bit of a point of frustration. Unfortunately, we had a couple personal fouls and roughing the passer; uncharacteristic, so we’ve definitely got to get the turnovers and the penalties cleaned up.”
Redshirt sophomore running back Jay Pearson said he understands what he has to work on for Saturday’s game, but he has also noticed improvements from the offense.
“I see Pierce [Holley] for one, and he’s looking more locked in,” Pearson said. “He’s looking like Batman out there.”
Graduate quarterback Pierce Holley acknowledged the struggles during Thursday’s game but has high hopes for Saturday’s game.
“[It was the] first game of the year, [which was a] learning experience,” Holley said. “It was good to get out there and put stuff on tape that we can work on.”
Junior defensive back NiJhay Burt admitted Thursday’s game wasn’t their best performance and acknowledged a lack of focus from the team.
“I feel like it wasn’t our best,” Burt said. “I feel like we weren’t locked in.”
Since the loss, Burt has seen more focus within the team.
“Guys are more focused, people are taking it more serious, [and] we are locked in,” Burt said.
Oliveira-Chace noticed the energy change from his teammates after the tough loss, and a big coming up this week.
“The intensity has really been up,” Oliveira-Chace said. “I mean, we did go into that [UofI] game planning to win, expecting to win. It didn’t go as planned, but we just got to double down on the intensity and that’s kind of what we’ve been doing.”
Wilkerson emphasized the importance of improvement between your first two games, noting the team’s enthusiasm.
“The guys have been really enthusiastic this week; it’s a chance to grow and improve.” Wilkerson said, “And the theme of the week is to improve, and typically your greatest improvement every year for a team is between game one and game two. And certainly we didn’t put our best foot forward on Thursday night, but we are excited about the next opportunity to finally play at home, one of the five home opportunities against a very talented, well coached football team from not too far away.”
Redshirt senior tight end Anthony Manaves has observed improvements not just from the offensive line and defensive line but specifically from the tight end room.
“[The guys are] playing at a higher level, playing more game-like and treating every day like it’s game day,” Manaves said. “The tight end room [is] just always ready to step up and play. We have a really good room. Guys are ready to, like I said, step up and play and they’re doing their jobs at a high level. Anyone can play in my room, so everyone’s doing a really good job.”
Reflecting on the last time the Panthers and Sycamores played against each other, Eastern shut out Indiana State 27-0 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Although the team won, Manaves still feels that the offense could improve their game for Saturday’s game.
“We won last year 27-0, but offensively, we put up 13 points,” Manaves said. “We were in the red zone numerous amount of times but couldn’t get the job done. We’re hoping to go out this week and stomp them to the ground.”
Eastern is hosting Indiana State for their home opener for the 2024 season. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. at O’Brien Stadium.
Payton Liggins can be reached at 581-2812 or at paliggins@eiu.edu.
