Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Sports

Tennessee State red-shirt senior defensive back Ty'Ron Johnson pushes Eastern sophomore wide receiver Lorence Ricks late in the second quarter of Thursday evening's 21-10 loss at O'Brien Field. The Panthers finished the regular season 8-3 and 6-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. (Eric Hiltner/The Daily Eastern News)

Senior quarterback Jake Christensen attempts to run the ball during the game against Tennessee State Thursday at O'Brien Field. (Audrey Sawyer/The Daily Eastern News)

Eastern head coach Bob Spoo knew Tennessee State had a good defense.

Thursday night, he saw it.

The Tigers intercepted Eastern quarterback Jake Christensen three times, forced two fumbles and had two sacks as Tennessee State upset the Panthers 21-10 Thursday at O'Brien Field.

"They handled us," Spoo said. "We got beat by a superior club tonight. I don't think there's any question about that. They beat us good."

It was clear early on that the Panthers would be locked in a defensive battle as the two squads battled to a scoreless first quarter.

The Panthers (13th in the FCS poll) were finally able to get on the board with 2:23 left in the second quarter on a 20-yard field goal by senior kicker Austin Signor, but that was the extent of the first half scoring.

In the second half, it was all Tigers as sophomore quarterback Calvin McNairl ran for a one-yard touchdown with 3:39 left in the third quarter that was set up by a blocked field goal.

The Tigers (4-7, 3-4 Ohio Valley Conference) then held the Panthers (8-3, 6-2) to a three-and-out.

They then scored again on a three-yard touchdown pass from McNairl to freshman Ronald Bright more than a minute into the fourth quarter.

The touchdown came after the Tigers fooled the Panthers on a play-action fake for a 75-yard pass that was their longest play of the season.

The Panthers appeared to get momentum back on their side, scoring in just 2:33 on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Christensen to junior wide receiver Charles Graves to cut the lead to 14-10.

But the Tigers answered yet again.

McNairl scrambled for a first down on third and seven and ran again on a quarterback keeper down to the Eastern 20-yard line, setting up their third and final score of the game, a 10-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Donte Thomas to seal the victory.

"On the defensive side of the ball, when we had a chance to make a stop and get the ball back we didn't do it," said senior free safety Seymour Loftman, who finished with seven tackles. "When we went down and scored, we were coming back and needed that big stop, we didn't get it."

The Panthers finished with 245 yards of total offense but were never able to get any momentum going on their side of the ball. They finished with 96 yards of rushing, but averaged just 3.5 yards per carry.

The loss spoiled a career day by senior defensive tackle Trevor Frericks. Frericks moved into the career top ten for tackles-for-a-loss after compiling an Eastern single-game record seven. He finished with eight tackles overall.

The loss leaves the Panthers' playoff hopes in the hands of Jacksonville State. If the Gamecocks beat Eastern Kentucky Saturday in Jacksonville, Ala., the Panthers will still clinch the outright Ohio Valley Conference Championship and earn the OVC's automatic playoff berth.

But if the Colonels win, the Panthers and Colonels will be co-champions and the Colonels will get the automatic playoff berth by virtue of a head-to-head victory.

If the Colonels win the conference, the Panthers will have to hope for one of the eight at-large berths handed out by the NCAA to schools who do not receive automatic bids. The full playoff field will be announced at 2 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU.

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

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