Issue date: 11/11/09 Section: Sports

Eastern quarterback Jake Christensen makes a short run against Tennessee Tech on Oct. 17 at O'Brien Field. The Panthers are 7-2 this season. (Audrey Sawyer/The Daily Eastern News)

While last week's bye should do wonders in helping the Eastern football team stay fresh for the stretch run, bye weeks don't always guarantee success.

Since Eastern became an NCAA Division I team, the Panthers are just 5-9 following bye weeks. However, they are 2-1 since 2005 coming off the bye. In 2006, the Panthers opted not to have a bye and instead played Hawaii for their 12th game.

The Panthers faced Tennessee Martin coming off their bye week last season as well. However, the Skyhawks took down Eastern 29-26 in Martin, Tenn.

In 2007, the Panthers defeated Jacksonville State 37-23 after their bye week.

Burge increases total
Sophomore defensive end Perry Burge recorded his team-leading fifth sack of the season in the team's 16-10 victory against Murray State Oct. 31.

Burge is third in the Ohio Valley Conference in sacks and is one shy of the team lead from last season when Donovan Johnson recorded six.

The last Eastern football player to record double-digit sacks was in 2000 when Mike Carlin did it.

Haynes climbs up list
Junior cornerback Rashad Haynes, the team's leader in interceptions a year ago, recorded his first pick of the season in the team's victory against Murray State Oct. 31 in Murray, Ky.

The interception was Haynes' 10th of his career, moving him into seventh place in the all-time Eastern interception list.

Haynes is also 12th on the NCAA career leaders list in interceptions among active players.

Panther records
Several Panthers have moved up on career and single-season records this season. Senior backup quarterback Bodie Reeder moved into 10th place in career passing yardage with 3,674. Reeder also sits in seventh place in career attempts, ninth in career completions and is tied for 10th in career touchdown passes.

Senior defensive tackle Trevor Frericks is 4.5 tackles for a loss away from moving in the top 10 for his career, while senior kicker Austin Signor is two field goals away from moving into the top 10 in career field goals made.

Signor is also three field goals away from moving into a first-place tie for most field goals in a single season. He has 13 with two regular season games remaining.

Steve Largent (1995) and Dave Strauch (1982) both sit in first place with 16 in their respective seasons.

Around the league
While the Panthers rested at home during the weekend, the rest of the OVC continued to beat up on one another.

Tennessee Martin pulled off the most impressive victory of the weekend, beating Tennessee State 28-7 on its home turf. The Tigers were within reach of an OVC Title just a few weeks ago, but now sit at 2-3 and in fifth place in the conference.

Two teams played NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision teams, with Eastern Kentucky falling 37-12 to Kentucky and Tennessee Tech falling 38-0 to Georgia.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.

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