EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHER FOOTBALL

Transcription

1 EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHER FOOTBALL Contact: Rich Moser (217) Fax (217) Game 1 A New ERA Of EIU Football Begins Panthers Host Southern Illinois To Kick Off 2012 Eastern Illinois (2-9, 1-7 OVC) at Southern Illinois (4-7, 2-6 MVFC) O Brien Field (10,000) Charleston, Ill. August 30, :30 pm TV: WEIU Quick Facts COACHES: Dino Babers (Hawai i, 1984) EIU Record (1st year) OVC Record (1st year) vs. Southern Illinois...First Meeting Dale Lennon (North Dakota, 1983) SIU Record Overall Record vs. Eastern Illinois SERIES 62nd meeting, SIU leads Last SIU 45, EIU 28 on Nov. 12, 2011 in NCAA FCS playoff 1st round RANKINGS Eastern Illinois... RV / --- Southern Illinois... RV / Sports Network/FCS Coaches RADIO Panther Radio Network Hit Mix 88.9 FM, WRJM 1270 AM, WHOW 1520 AM & WMKR 94.3 FM Play-by-Play... Mike Bradd Analyst... Jack Ashmore TELEVISION None INTERNET Live Stats... Live Video... Facebook... /EIUPanthers Twitter...@EIU_Panthers The Game Eastern Illinois opens the 2012 season with a new head coach as former Panthers assistant Dino Babers was hired on Dec. 9, 2011 to lead a New ERA of EIU football. Babers was an assistant coach on Bob Spoo s first staff at EIU back in 1987 and most recently coached at Baylor University. This will be his first game as a collegiate head coach. The Panthers season opening opponent will look familiar to EIU fans as the Panthers closed the 2011 season facing Southern Illinois. The Salukis won last year s season finale in Carbondale. This marks the second straight season that EIU has opened at home on a Thursday night against an opponent it finished the previous season against. Last year EIU faced Illinois State in the season opener after closing 2010 at ISU. THE SERIES This will be the 62nd meeting between Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois. The two schools first met in 1913 with EIU winning The two schools played routinely until SIU moved up to Division I in the early 1960 s. SIU leads the all-time series including four straight wins in the series, three of those coming in the NCAA FCS playoffs. The last win by EIU was in 2001, a EIU win in Carbondale. SIU won last year as the schools are playing a four-year series, the 2012 game is the second of the four games. Eastern Illinois (2-8, 1-7 OVC) Southern Illinois (2-7, 1-6 MVFC) Date Opponent Score/Time Aug. 30 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 6:30 pm Sept. 8 at Western Michigan 6 pm Sept. 15 at Illinois State 1 pm Sept. 22 * MURRAY STATE 6:30 pm Sept. 29 * AUSTIN PEAY 1:30 pm Oct. 6 * at UT Martin 2 pm Oct. 13 * JACKSONVILLE STATE 1:30 pm Oct. 27 * at Eastern Kentucky 11 am Nov. 3 * at Tennessee Tech 1:30 pm Nov. 10 * SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 11 am Nov. 17 at Central Arkansas 3 pm Date Opponent Score/Time Aug. 30 at Eastern Illinois 6:30 pm Sept. 8 at Miami (Ohio) 12 pm Sept. 15 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6 pm Sept. 22 * at Missouri State 1 pm Sept. 29 * INDIANA STATE 6 pm Oct. 6 * at Illinois State 1 pm Oct. 13 * NORTHERN IOWA 2 pm Oct. 20 * at Youngstown State 3 pm Oct. 27 * at North Dakota State 2:30 pm Nov. 3 * SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 2 pm Nov. 17 * WESTERN ILLINOIS 2 pm * Ohio Valley Conference Game * Missouri Valley Conference Game A NEW ERA OF PANTHER FOOTBALL 13 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances OVC Champs 2009, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001

2 August 30, 2012 Eastern Illinois vs. Southern Illinois Page SPORTS NETWORK TOP 25 (Preseason) Rk. Team 2011 Record 1. Sam Houston State (79) North Dakota State (59) Georgia Southern (6) Montana State (3) James Madison (3) Appalachian State (1) Towson Old Dominion Northern Iowa Wofford Montana Eastern Washington Youngstown State (1) New Hampshire Delaware Lehigh Stony Brook Eastern Kentucky Illinois State Stephen F. Austin Maine Jacksonville State Indiana State Central Arkansas Harvard 9-1 Receiving Votes (OVC & 2012 EIU opponents) Murray State, Tennessee Tech, Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, Eastern Illinois, UT Martin FCS Coaches Poll (Preseason) Rk. Team 2011 Record 1. North Dakota State (19) Sam Houston State (6) Georgia Southern (1) Montana State Appalachian State Old Dominion Northern Iowa James Madison Towson Montana Lehigh New Hampshire Wofford Delaware Eastern Washington Maine Stony Brook Youngstown State Central Arkansas Illinois State Eastern Kentucky Harvard Norfolk State Stehen F. Austin Indiana State 6-5 Receiving Votes (OVC & 2012 EIU opponents) Jacksonville State, Murray State EIU QUICK HITTERS WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN THE GAME Eastern Illinois was picked to finish 8th in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll. Southern Illinois was picked to finish 7th in the Missouri Valley Football Conference poll. EIU will open up the season on a Thursday night for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The Panthers have won three of those previous four Thursday night openers including a win over Illinois State last year. EIU will be playing on a Thursday night to open the season for the 14th time. The Panthers are 9-4 in previous Thursday night openers including a 4-1 record at O Brien Field. EIU is 10-6 all-time in Thursday night contests. The Panthers are 3-2 in the last five season opening games including 3-0 at O Brien Field. EIU has won four straight season openers over FCS level opponents. The last loss to an FCS opponent was in 2004, a overtime loss to Indiana State. Senior Artavious Dowdell was named a preseason All-OVC selection at defensive end. Dowdell led the Panthers in sacks (5) and tackles for loss (7.5). He needs two tackles for loss to join the EIU career top ten. Senior Von Wise was named a preseason All-OVC selection at tight end. Wise had 32 receptions for 348 yards and two touchdowns last year. Wise has moved to the outside receiver position for the 2012 season. Senior Chris Wright has caught at least one touchdown pass in five straight games entering the 2012 season. Wright had 11 touchdown receptions last year and has 21 for his career to rank 6th on the EIU career charts. Head coach Dino Babers will be looking to become only the fourth coach to win their first EIU game since the early 1900 s. Al Molde ( Illinois State) and Darrell Mudra ( Central State) both won their openers. Prior to that Winfield Angus back in 1935 was the last EIU coach to win their first game. Angus beat Oakland City College before finishing the year 1-7. EIU has only one FBS transfer on this year s roster as linebacker LeQuince McCall transferred this summer. McCall played the last two seasons at Baylor for head coach Art Briles. He appeared in 25 games as Baylor made back-to-back bowl appearances. Junior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo needs 210 yards and two touchdowns to move up in both career categories at EIU. With 210 yards he would tie Anthony Buich for 6th on the career passing list. With two touchdowns he would tie Steve Turk for 5th on the career touchdown list with 36. Running back Jake Walker found his stride at the end of last season with a pair of 100-yard performances and five rushing touchdowns. Walker scored three rushing touchdowns at Southern Illinois as he had ten rushing touchdowns for the season. EIU will wear a new helmet design for the 2012 opener as they unveil black helmets. EIU has not had a helmet change since the 2000 season when they beat Indiana State to open the season with a silver helmet and current Panther logo. A NEW ERA OF PANTHER FOOTBALL 13 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances OVC Champs 2009, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001

3 August 30, 2012 Eastern Illinois vs. Southern Illinois Page 3 EASTERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH DINO BABERS A New ERA of Eastern Illinois football began on December 9, 2011 as Dino Babers was hired as the Panthers head football coach replacing 25-year veteran Bob Spoo. Babers had been an assistant coach at EIU in 1987 as a member of Spoo s first Panthers coaching staff. After one season as an assistant at EIU Babers moved on to coach at nine other programs, most recently as the receivers and special teams coach at Baylor. Last season he was on an offensive staff that helped coach Robert Griffin III to the Heisman Trophy while ranking as one of the nation s most explosive offenses. Baylor beat Washington in the Alamo Bowl as Babers coached in his 12th bowl game as a coach. In addition to his time at Baylor, Babers has coached at UCLA, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, Arizona, San Diego State, Purdue, Northern Arizona, UNLV, Eastern Illinois, Arizona State and Hawai i. He was the assistant head coach at UCLA while serving as the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M and Arizona. Babers has coached 23 players who have played in the NFL. A native of San Diego, Calif., Babers attended Hawai i where he was a four-year starter ( , 82-83) earning his degree in He earned a master s from Arizona State in The opener against Southern Illinois will be Babers first game as a head coach. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH DALE LENNON Southern Illinois head coach Dale Lennon is in his fifth season leading the Salukis program. Lennon took over in 2008 and led the Salukis to a 20-5 record his first two seasons with back-to-back NCAA FCS playoff berths. His record at SIU now stands at while his career record is which includes previous coaching stints at Mary and North Dakota. His 2001 North Dakota squad won the NCAA Division II National Championship. Lennon played running back at North Dakota graduating in SCOUTING southern illinois Southern Illinois ended the 2011 season with wins over Eastern Illinois and Indiana State. The Salukis return the core of their defense led by Kayon Swanson and Kenneth Boatright. Swanson had a team high 52 tackles with 9.5 for loss. Boatright led SIU with 13.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. The offense will fall into the hands of quarterback Kory Faulkner who was solid against EIU last season going 16-of-22 for 234 yards and a touchdown. ON THIS DATE IN EIU HISTORY August 30, Cole Stinson threw for 308 yards while Micah Rucker caught nine passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns as Eastern Illinois opened the season with a nationally televised win over Tennessee Tech. The game was the OVC opener for both squads as EIU would finish 7-1 in the OVC advancing to the NCAA FCS playoffs for the third straight season. TALE OF THE TAPE (2011 final stats) Points Per Game Average Points Allowed First Downs Rushing Yards Per Game Rushing Touchdowns Passing Yards Per Game Passing Touchdowns Average Yards Per Game Interceptions Thrown Fumbles - Lost Turnovers Gained Punting Average Field Goals (ATT/MADE)...7-of of-14 3rd Down Conversions... 56/146 (38%)... 54/154 (35%) 4th Down Conversions... 9/21 (43%)...12/25 (48%) Sacks By (Yards)...14 (106) (173) Penalties (Yards)...53 (439) (533) Time of Possession (Game)...28: :15 Statistical Leaders (Returning) RUSHING YARD EASTERN ILLINOIS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS Jake Walker Steve Strother AJ Woodson Kory Faulkner PASSING YARDS EASTERN ILLINOIS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS Jimmy Garoppolo...2,644 Kory Faulkner...1,477 RECEPTIONS EASTERN ILLINOIS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS Chris Wright...42 MyCole Pruitt...43 Von Wise...32 John Lantz...26 Adam Drake...19 LaSteven McKinney...16 Jeremy Rykard...19 TACKLES EASTERN ILLINOIS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS Antonio Taylor...92 Kayon Swanson...52 Nick Beard...69 Kenneth Boatright...51 DJ Bland...46 Terrell Wilson...50 Artavious Dowdell...45 Joe Okon...48 EASTERN ILLINOIS Artavious Dowdell...5 Clinton Simpkins...3 SACKS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS Kenneth Boatright Kayon Swanson A NEW ERA OF PANTHER FOOTBALL 13 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances OVC Champs 2009, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001

4 August 30, 2012 Eastern Illinois vs. Southern Illinois Page OVC Standings EIU NOTES Team... OVC...Pct...All... Pct. Austin Peay Eastern Illinois Eastern Kentucky Jacksonville State Murray State Southeast Missouri Tennessee State Tennessee Tech UT Martin This Week In OVC Football Thursday - August 30 Southeast Missouri at Central Michigan...6 pm Southern Illinois at Eastern Illinois...6:30 pm Hampton at Tennessee Tech...7 pm Saturday - September 1 Eastern Kentucky at Purdue...2:30 pm Murray State at Florida State...5 pm Florida A&M at Tennessee State...6 pm Austin Peay at Western Kentucky...6 pm UT Martin at Memphis...6 pm Jacksonville State at Arkansas...6 pm The FCS Championship game will return for a third straight year to Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The FCS Championships game will be played in early January in the third year of the new FCS playoff format. Last year North Dakota State defeated Sam Houston State to win the FCS National Championship. In 2010 the FCS playoffs expanded to 20 teams with an opening rounds being played on Thanksgiving weekend. A selected number of teams receive a first round bye and play the first weekend in December. OVC Predicted Order Of Finish 1. Eastern Kentucky (12) Jacksonville State (6) Murray State Tennessee Tech Tennessee State UT Martin Southeast Missouri Eastern Illinois Austin Peay (first place votes in parenthesis) Eastern Illinois Players On All-OVC Preseason Team NEW ERA, NEW COACHING STAFF A New ERA of Eastern Illinois football not only kicks off with a new head coach but also several new assistant coaches on Dino Babers first Panthers coaching staff. Brian Callahan (offensive line) and Mike Lynch (running backs) return from Bob Spoo s staff but the other members are all new. Defensive Coordinator: Kim McCloud (1st year) Offensive Coordinator: Sterlin Gilbert (1st year) Offensive Line: Brian Callahan (3rd year) Running Backs: Mike Lynch (8th year) Inside Receivers: Sean Lewis (1st year) Outside Receivers: Andrew Sowder (1st year) Defensive Ends: George Ricumstrict (1st year) Defensive Tackles: Dino Kaklis (1st year) Linebackers: Tom Kaufman (1st year) Secondary: Nick Caley (1st year) Trainer: Brett Penning (1st year) Strength Coach: Sean Edinger (1st year) DEFENSIVE FRONT RETURNS FOR THIS SEASON Eastern Illinois returns a veteran group up front as the Panthers return all four starters from last year s team. That group will be led by senior All-OVC selection Artavious Dowdell. Dowdell had five sacks and 45 tackles last season. On the other defensive end, senior Pat Wertz has beat out Judes Amilcar for the starting spot. Wertz had four tackles for loss and 21 tackles last year. Amilcar had 28 tackles last year as the starter. Inside Roosevelt Holliday will start for the third straight season with 41 tackles and four tackles for loss. Senior Greg Mahan has beat out Jon Voytilla for the other inside tackle spot. Mahan had seven tackles last season. Voytilla made 13 stops with three tackles as the starter. STARTING LINEBACKER CORPS ALL NEW The Panthers will start three new linebackers when they line-up against Southern Illinois on August 30. Slated to start in the opener are sophomores Adam Gristick, Robert Haynes and junior transfer LeQuince McCall. Gristick made five tackles including two for loss last season in 11 games. Haynes played in 13 games making ten tackles as he was a special teams starter. McCall transferred to EIU from Baylor where he has played in 25 games over the past two seasons. McCall beat out junior Antonio Taylor who as a starter last season ranked second on the team with 92 tackles. SECONDARY IS STABLE FOR THE PANTHERS Eastern Illinois will have four players with starting experience in the defensive backfield as the season opens. After splitting time at one starting corner position last year Pete Houlihan and DJ Bland will be the starters in the opener. Houlihan started nine games with 29 tackles last year. Bland had six starts ranking fifth on the team in tackles with 46 including three pass break-ups. The two safety positions will be occupied by returning junior starters Nick Beard and Alex McNulty. Beard had six pass break-ups to go along with 69 tackles last year. McNulty made 43 stops with four tackles for loss. Offense Von Wise - tight end Defense Artavious Dowdell - defensive end SPECIAL TEAMS SPOTS STILL UP FOR GRABS Returning place kicker Cameron Berra and kick off specialist Tyler Kerr have both split time as the field goal kicker during the Panthers fall camp. Berra is currently listed as first on the depth chart as he made 7-of-9 field goal attempts last year and 28-of-30 PAT s. Kerr will open the year as the kick off specialist averaging just under 57 yards per kickoff last year. Kerr could serve as the Panthers long distance field goal kicker. A NEW ERA OF PANTHER FOOTBALL 13 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances OVC Champs 2009, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001

5 August 30, 2012 Eastern Illinois vs. Southern Illinois Page 5 EIU NOTES PANTHERS RETURN VETERAN O-LINE Eastern Illinois will open with a veteran group at offensive line as the Panthers have all five starters from last year returning. The group is led by senior Kevin Kapellas at center. He is flanked by junior Alex Pierce at one guard and senior Mike O Neill at the other. Junior Dominic Pagliara will start at one tackle and sophomore Collin Seibert at the other. The top receiver on the Eastern Illinois roster in 2010, Erik Lora missed the 2011 season due to injury. This year Lora is back after hauling in 50 passes for 478 yards as a sophomore. Wide receiver Chris Wright enters the 2012 season with 1,555 career receving yards. He needs 145 yards to become only the 11th player in EIU history with 1,700 yards receiving. For his career Wright has three career games with more than 100 yards receiving including a 217-yard performance against Tennessee State in Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 200 or more yards in nine of the Panthers 11 games last season finishing the year with 2,644 yards. Garoppolo had a pair of 300 yard games as he ranks fifth on the EIU career list for 300-yard games. Sean Payton leads the list with 22. EIU installed new football turf for the 2012 season. The Hellas Matrix Turf is used by the Dallas Cowboys, Baylor and several other schools around the country. Head coach Dino Babers and defensive coordinator Kim McCloud used their island connections as the two Hawai i alums landed a pair of players from the nation s 50th state. Pono Choy and Kamu Grugier-Hill were teammates at Kamehameha HS in Honolulu. The Panthers will start four wide receivers this season as EIU will use the Baylor style up-tempo offense. EIU has eight receivers listed on the two-deep but could see as many as 12 getting action in a game. The starting line-up for the Southern Illinois game includes Erik Lora, Sam Hendricks, Chavar Watkins and Chris Wright. Eastern Illinois was one of the top red zone offensive teams in the nation last season as the Panthers ranked 10th in the nation. EIU scored on 29-of-33 possesions inside the redzone. 22 of those redzone scores resulted in touchdowns with 13 rushing and 9 passing. NCAA PLAYOFF APPEARANCES School... # Appearances (Last) Montana...21 (2011) Eastern Kentucky...20 (2011) Appalachian State (2011) Georgia Southern...18 (2011) Northern Iowa...16 (2011) Delaware...15 (2010) Furman...15 (2006) McNeese State...14 (2009) EASTERN ILLINOIS...13 (2009) Jackson State...12 (1997) Youngstown State...11 (2006) * Idaho...11 (1995) Idaho currently plays at the NCAA I level FCS Division I Playoffs Quarterfinals First Round Quarterfinals Quarterfinals First Round First Round First Round First Round First Round First Round First Round First Round First Round Division II Playoffs 1978 (National Champions) 1980 (National Runners-up) Coaching FCS Playoff Appearances 1...Roy Kidd (Eastern Kentucky) Jerry Moore (Appalachian State) * 3...Tubby Raymond (Delaware) Jim Tressel (Youngstown State) Bob Spoo (Eastern Illinois)... 9 Andy Talley (Villanova)... 9 * W.C. Gorden (Jackson State)... 9 * denotes active coach A NEW ERA OF PANTHER FOOTBALL 13 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances OVC Champs 2009, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001

6 August 30, 2012 Eastern Illinois vs. Southern Illinois Page 6 Eastern Illinois In The OVC/NCAA Stats TEAM NCAA...OVC Rushing Offense (85.55) th...9th Passing Offense (240.36)... 29th...3rd Passing Efficiency (135.18)... 39th...4th Total Offense (325.91)... 87th...9th Scoring Offense (23.18)... 77th...7th Rushing Defense (240.00) th...8th Pass Defense (164.45)... 7th... 1st Pass Efficiency Def. (133.15)...71st...3rd Total Defense (404.45)... 92nd...6th Scoring Defense (31.36)... 90th...6th Net Punting (33.44)... 70th...5th Punt Returns (2.80) th...9th Kickoff Returns (23.06)... 22nd... 1st Turnover Margin (-1.27) th...9th Turnovers Gained (9) th...8th Sacks (1.27) th...6th Tackles For Loss (4.73) th...8th Sacks Allowed (2.55)... 82nd...9th 3rd Down Conversion (38.36)... 56th...7th 4th Down Conversion (42.86)... 70th...9th 3rd Down Defense (42.57)... 92nd...7th Red Zone Offense (29-of-33)... 10th...2nd Red Zone Defense (44-of-50) th...6th Time of Possession (28:57)... 87th...7th INDIVIDUAL (Top 50) Returning Players NCAA...OVC Jimmy Garoppolo (Pass Effic.)... 37th...5th Jimmy Garoppolo (Total Offense)... 32nd...3rd Chris Wright (Rec. Yards)... 50th...3rd Tavares Crawford (Kick Return Yds).. 30th... 1st AVOIDING THE SHUTOUT Eastern Illinois enters the 2012 season with a consecutive game streak of 100 games without being shutout. The last time EIU was held scoreless was Oct. 11, a 41-0 loss versus Eastern Kentucky. EIU has scored a touchdown in 28 straight games since a loss at Penn State in EIU s longest streak of consecutive games without being shutout was 197 from which ranks fourth all-time among FCS schools. Longest OVC Active Streaks Jacksonville State Eastern Illinois 64 - Murray State OVC SUCCESS Eastern Illinois was the OVC s most successful school in terms of wins during the first decade of the 2000 s as the Panthers posted 72 wins during that span. Entering the 2012 season EIU leads the conference with most post-season appearances since EIU joined the league in (FCS Playoff Appearances Since 1996) 6 - Eastern Illinois 4 - Eastern Kentucky 2 - Jacksonville State 2 - Murray State 2 - Tennessee State 1 - UT Martin 1 - Southeast Missouri 1 - Tennessee Tech 1 - Western Kentucky same face, new number Fifteen players have changed numbers for the Panthers during the off season. (note some number changes due to position change). Player...New...Old Erik Lora Jimmy Garoppolo Antonio Taylor Jeremy Rykard Shepard Little Alex McNulty Devin Brinson Tavares Crawford Pete Houlihan Jourdan Wickliffe Eric Luhrsen Jason Schuman Scott Weatherford Jimmy Lera Leo Minne Clinton Simpkins ncaa fbs transfers Like most schools at the NCAA FCS level, Eastern Illinois has its share of NCAA FBS level transfers into the program. This season EIU added one FBS transfer in LeQuince McCall from Baylor EIU FBS Transfers 5 - Jake Walker (Toledo) 12 - LeQuince McCall (Baylor) Other EIU Transfers Eligible in Alex Helms (Concordia - Minn.) 47 - Andre Alvarez (Carthage) 55 - Joe Campagna (Ferris State) panthers nfl connection Eastern Illinois was once again the Cradle of NFL Head Coaches in 2010 as three EIU alums were NFL head coaches during the season. Mike Shanahan with the Washington Redskins, Sean Payton with the New Orleans Saints and Brad Childress with the Minnesota Vikings all have ties to EIU. To open 2012 EIU has two players on active NFL rosters. EIU NFL Connections Tony Romo - Dallas Quarterback Otis Hudson - Cincinnati Offensive Line Chris Campbell - Washington Offensive Line Mike Shanahan - Washington Head Coach Sean Payton - New Orleans Head Coach * Greg McMahon - New Orleans Special Teams * will not coach 2012 season due to NFL rule. FUTURE FBS GAMES Eastern Illinois will play Mid-American Conference member Western Michigan this season on Sept. 8 as the Panthers play an FBS opponent for the 15th straight season. In 2013 and 2014 EIU will play two FBS opponents in each of those seasons as the NCAA allows FCS members to play an additional game in each of those seasons. The Panthers have scheduled all four of those games August 31 at San Diego State September 21 at Northern Illinois 2014 August 28 at Minnesota September 27 at Ohio A NEW ERA OF PANTHER FOOTBALL 13 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances OVC Champs 2009, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001

7 August 30, 2012 Eastern Illinois vs. Southern Illinois Page 7 HOW DO YOU SAY THAT - EIU Pronunciation Guide HC... Dino Babers... Dean-oh * BAY-buhrs 4... Keiondre Gober... go-bur 9... Chavar Watkins...sha-VAR Jimmy Garoppolo... gah-ropp Ben Krol... kah-roll Jeremy Rykard... Rye-curt Elven Walker... L-vin John Wurm...worm Judes Amilcar... jude * ah-mill-car Eric Luhrsen...lure-sin Greg Mahan... may-han Joe Campagna... Coe-pag-nah Kamu Grugier-Hill...Komo * grue-jay Nick Borre... Bore-EE Evan Kanz...Can-sah Collin Seibert...Cy-burt Dominic Pagliara... pah-lee-r-ah Mitch Reab...Ree-bah Leo Minne...men-AY Niko Foltys...knee-coe * fohl-tiss Timotheus Granger...tim-mah-thee-us Dino Fanti...Fon-tee Fedney Delphonse...fed-knee * dell-fon-sah EIU 2012 ROSTER BREAKDOWN BY STATE/YEAR EIU Roster By Home State Illinois...51 Florida...14 Ohio...6 Texas...5 Indiana...4 Missouri...3 California...2 Hawai'i...2 Michigan...2 Wisconsin...2 Kentucky...1 New Jersey...1 Pennsylvania...1 Virginia...1 EIU Roster By Class Senior Junior Sophomore Redshirt Freshman Freshman FOLLOW EIU FOOTBALL ONLINE Facebook.../EIUPanthers YouTube.../pantherathletics Website... POSITION CHANGES Listed below are the players who have moved positions for the 2012 season. Player...New... Old Devin Brinson...Defensive Back... Running Back Josh Griffin...Offensive Line... Defensive Line Jimmy Lera...Wide Receiver... Running Back Eric Luhrsen...Tight End... Offensive Line Jason Schuman...Offensive Line... Tight End Jourdan Wickliffe...Defensive Back... Wide Receiver FROM THE FRONT LINES TO THE STARTING LINE-UP Senior wide receiver Jeremy Rykard is probably one of the happiest players on the Eastern Illinois roster as last season he made the transition from the front lines to the starting line-up. A graduate of O Fallon (Ill.) High School, Rykard joined the United States Marine Corps following graduation and served overseas for his country. Following his military service Rykard played two seasons at Mt. Sac Jacinto JC in California before transferring to EIU in the spring of Rykard was one of the three starting receivers when the Panthers took the field on Sept. 1 against Illinois State finishing with two catches for 27 yards. During the 2011 season Rykard appeared in ten games with 19 catches. PANTHERS PICKED EIGHTH IN OVC Following back-to-back 2-9 seasons, Eastern Illinois was picked to finish eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason coaches poll. The Panthers have won five league titles since joining the OVC with the last coming in Eastern Kentucky was selected as the OVC favorite followed by Jacksonville State in second as the two teams split the first place votes. DOWDELL, WISE NAMED PRESEASON ALL-OVC Eastern Illinois had two players named to the preseason All- OVC team as seniors Artavious Dowdell and Von Wise were both selected. Dowdell led the Panthers in tackles for loss and sacks last season as he was a second team All-OVC pick. Dowdell finished with 45 tackles. Wise was a second team All-OVC selection at tight end as he hauled in 32 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns. preseason watch lists Wide receiver Chris Wright, punter Scott Weatherford and tight ends Von Wise and Sam Hendricks were all named to the preseason College Football Performance Awards watch list for their positions. Wright had 42 catches for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. Weatherford averaged 37.6 yards per punt with 12 pinned inside the 20-yard line. Hendricks had 17 catches for 194 yards and three TD s. Wise had 32 catches for 348 yards and two touchdowns. PANTHERS TO MISS TIGERS THIS YEAR Eastern Illinois will play only seven Ohio Valley Conference games this year as the Panthers will miss Tennessee State on the schedule. The omission is due to a scheduling quirk that allows TSU to play in the Black College Classic events. EIU will play Central Arkansas to end the season in Tennessee State s place. A NEW ERA OF PANTHER FOOTBALL 13 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances OVC Champs 2009, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001

8 August 30, 2012 Eastern Illinois vs. Southern Illinois Page 8 EASTERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL INSIDE THE NUMBERS Eastern Illinois Football The Last Time It Happened... Passed for more than 300 yards... Jimmy Garoppolo, 301, vs. Tennessee Tech (Sept. 17, 2011) Passed for more than 400 yards... Tony Romo, 414 at Toledo (Sept. 16, 2000) Threw four touchdown passes... Jimmy Garoppolo, 4, at Tennessee State (Nov. 6, 2010) Rushed for more than 200 yards... Vincent Webb, 206 at Samford (Sept. 23, 2006) Rushed for three touchdowns... Jake Walker, 3 at Southern Illinois (Nov. 12, 2011) Rushed for four touchdowns... J.R. Taylor, 4 vs. Florida Atlantic (Nov. 16, 2002) Had 10 Receptions... Erik Lora, 11 at UT Martin (Sept. 18, 2010) Had 3 touchdown receptions... Chris Wright, 3, at Tennessee State (Nov. 6, 2010) Had 200 yards receiving... Chris Wright, 217, at Tennessee State (Nov. 6, 2010) Returned a punt for a touchdown... Rashad Haynes, 1 at Tennessee Tech (Oct. 16, 2010) - (46 yards) Returned a kick-off for touchdown... Tavares Crawford, 1 at Southeast Missouri (Oct. 1, 2011) - (83 yards) Returned an interception for touchdown... CJ James, 1, vs. UT Martin (Nov. 14, 2009) - (79 yards) Returned a fumble for touchdown... Irvin Jean-Charles, 1 at Illinois (Sept. 6, 2008) - (4 yards) Recorded a safety... Trevor Frericks, 1 vs. Samford (Nov. 17, 2007) Team vs. Illinois State (Sept. 1, 2011) Blocked a punt... Lorence Ricks, 1, vs. Jacksonville State (Oct. 24, 2009) Returned a blocked punt for touchdown - blocked by... Adrian Arrington, 1 vs. Jacksonville State (Sept. 27, 2008) - Kenny Kinchen EASTERN ILLINOIS QUICK FACTS LOCATION:...Charleston, Illinois FOUNDED: ENROLLMENT:...11,176 COLORS:...Blue & Gray CONFERENCE:... Ohio Valley STADIUM:... O Brien Field (10,000) SURFACE:...Matrix Turf PRESIDENT:...Dr. William L. Perry ATHLETIC DIRECTOR:... Barbara Burke O BRIEN PRESS BOX PHONE:... (217) EIU TICKET OFFICE:... (217) EIU SPORTS INFORMATION:... (217) EIU WEBSITE:... MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE: Head coach Dino Babers and selected EIU players will be available on Tuesday mornings at 11:30 a.m. for the Panthers weekly press conference. Press conference will be held in O Brien Field football building. OVC TELECONFERENCE: Each week during the football season all 9 head coaches in the Ohio Valley Conference will take part in a weekly teleconference on Tuesday mornings. The first teleconference will be Tuesday, August 28. EIU head coach Dino Babers will speak at 10:14 a.m. (Central) each Tuesday. Media members can obtain the phone number and pass code from the EIU Sports Information office. PANTHER SPORTS TALK: Each Wednesday night during the football season fans can watch head coach Dino Babers along with other special guests and players as they talk about the 2012 football season. The show will be broadcast on WEIU TV at 6 p.m. LIVE STATS: Live stats of most EIU games can be found on the EIU athletics webpage at INTERNET RADIO: Live streaming of all EIU football games can be heard at Blocked a field goal... D.J. Bland, 1 at Austin Peay (Oct. 29, 2011) Returned a blocked field goal for touchdown - block by... Rashad Haynes, 1 vs. Samford (Nov. 17, 2007) - Trevor Frericks Won a game on a field goal... Cameron Berra, 37-yards at Tennessee State (Nov. 6, 2010) Had 15 or more tackles on defense... Cory Leman, 15 at Illinois State (Nov. 13, 2010) Had 3 or more sacks on defense... Kory Lothe, 4 vs. Tennessee Tech (Nov. 8, 2003) Recovered an onside kick... Lorence Ricks, 1, vs. Jacksonville State (Sept. 25, 2010) PANTHER RADIO NETWORK: Eastern Illinois football can be heard live on the radio via the Panther Football Radio Network. Games will be broadcast by the Voice of the Panthers Mike Bradd with color commentary by Jack Ashmore. Games will be carried on WRJM 1270 AM and Hit Mix 88.9 FM WEIU in the Charleston/ Coles County Market. Network stations include WHOW 1510 AM (Clinton) and WMKR 94.3 FM (Taylorville). OVCDIGITALNETWORK.COM: The Ohio Valley Conference has launched a new digital platform which will allow Eastern Illinois fans to watch all five home home games and all OVC road games for free on their computer. The OVCDigitalNetwork.com link is available online with the first EIU broadcast for the 2012 season set for Thursday, August 30 against Southern Illinois. A NEW ERA OF PANTHER FOOTBALL 13 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances OVC Champs 2009, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001

9 EIU OFFENSE August 30, 2012 Eastern Illinois vs. Southern Illinois Page 9 QUARTERBACK 10...Jimmy Garoppolo Jr 11...Ben Krol R-Fr RUNNING BACK 5...Jake Walker R-Sr 14...Taylor Duncan R-So OUTSIDE RECEIVER 81...Chris Wright Sr 13...Von Wise R-Sr INSIDE RECEIVER 8...Erik Lora R-Jr 16...Jeremy Rykard Sr LEFT TACKLE 77...Dominic Pagliara R-Jr 69...Eric Varela Sr LEFT GUARD 67...Mike O Neill R-Sr 78...Mitch Reab Sr CENTER 71...Kevin Kapellas R-Sr 62...Shane Kelly R-Sr RIGHT GUARD 72...Alex Pierce R-Jr 68...Nick Borre R-Fr RIGHT TACKLE 74...Collin Seibert R-So 64...Jason Schuman R-Fr INSIDE RECEIVER 84...Sam Hendricks R-So 87...Leo Minne R-Fr OUTSIDE RECEIVER 9...Chavar Watkins R-Sr 88...Adam Drake R-Sr EIU DEFENSE LEFT END 32...Artavious Dowdell Sr 98...Fedney Delphonse R-Fr 94...Timotheus Granger So DEFENSIVE TACKLE 53...Greg Mahan R-Sr 79...Jon Voytilla Jr DEFENSIVE TACKLE 90...Roosevelt Holliday Sr 97...Dino Fanti R-Fr RIGHT END 93...Pat Wertz R-Sr 44...Judes Amilcar R-Jr WILL LINEBACKER 50...Adam Gristick R-So 55...Joe Campagna R-So MIDDLE LINEBACKER 49...Robert Haynes So 42...Alex Helms R-Jr SAM LINEBACKER 12...LeQuince McCall R-Jr 15...Antonio Taylor R-So LEFT CORNERBACK 38...DJ Bland R-So 30...Tavares Crawford Jr ROVER 24...Alex McNulty R-Jr 46...Anthony Goodman Fr FREE SAFETY 28...Nick Beard R-Jr 48...Ryan Meyer Fr RIGHT CORNERBACK 31...Pete Houlihan Jr 27...Devin Brinson R-Fr EIU COACHING STAFF Head Coach: Dino Babers (Hawai i, st year) (Career Record 0-0; OVC Record 0-0) Defensive Coordinator: Kim McCloud (1st year) Offensive Coordinator: Sterlin Gilbert (1st year) Offensive Line: Brian Callahan (3rd year) Running Backs: Mike Lynch (8th year) Inside Receivers: Sean Lewis (1st year) Outside Receivers: Andrew Sowder (1st year) Defensive Ends: George Ricumstrict (1st year) Defensive Tackles: Dino Kaklis (1st year) Linebackers: Tom Kaufman (1st year) Secondary: Nick Caley (1st year) Trainer: Brett Penning (1st year) Strength Coach: Sean Edinger (1st year) EIU SPECIALISTS KICKER 36...Taylor Kerr So 58...Cameron Berra Jr PUNTER 83...Scott Weatherford R-Jr HOLDER 83...Scott Weatherford R-Jr LONG SNAPPER 51...Adam Baker Sr PUNT RETURNS 21...Pete Houlihan Jr 16...Jeremy Rykard Sr KICK RETURNS 21...Pete Houlihan Jr 30...Tavares Crawford Jr A NEW ERA OF PANTHER FOOTBALL 13 NCAA FCS Playoff Appearances OVC Champs 2009, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2001

10 2012 EIU PANTHER ROSTER # NAME POS HT WT YR EXP HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL/JC/LAST) 2 Ryan Jones RB FR HS Canton, Mich. (Canton) 3 Anthony Taylor WR FR HS Wheaton, Ill. (Lombard Montini) 4 Keiondre Gober WR FR HS Lubbock, Texas (Frenship) 5 Jake Walker + RB R-SR 2V Delray Beach, Fla. (American Heritage/Univ. of Toledo) 6 Kyle Millner QB FR HS New Lenox, Ill. (Lincoln-Way West) 8 Erik Lora + WR R-JR 2V Miami, Fla. (Columbus) 9 Chavar Watkins + WR R-SR 3V Sunrise, Fla. (Piper) 10 Jimmy Garoppolo QB JR 2V Arlington Heights, Ill. (Rolling Meadows) 11 Ben Krol + QB R-FR RS Woodstock, Ill. (Marian Central Catholic) 12 LeQuince McCall + LB R-JR TR San Antonio, Texas (Reagan/Baylor University) 13 Von Wise + TE R-SR 2V Cincinnati, Ohio (Finneytown) 14 Taylor Duncan + QB R-SO 1V Marshall, Ill. (Marshall) 15 Antonio Taylor + LB R-JR 2V Maywood, Ill. (Immaculate Conception) 16 Jeremy Rykard WR SR 1V O Fallon, Ill. (O Fallon/Mt. San Jacinto JC) 19 Dajon Sherman + WR R-SO RS Matteson, Ill. (Rich Central) 20 AJ Woodson + DB R-SO 1V Pompano Beach, Fla. (Northeast) 21 Shepard Little + RB R-FR RS Schaumburg, Ill. (Schaumburg) 22 Kendal Butler DB FR HS Toledo, Ill. (Cumberland) 23 Bobby Huey RB FR HS Lubbock, Texas (Frenship) 24 Alex McNulty + DB R-JR 2V Bolingbrook, Ill. (Bolingbrook) 25 Reggie Box + RB R-FR RS Glen Carbon, Ill. (Edwardsville) 26 Trey Pendergrass + ATH R-FR RS Royal Palm Beach, Fla. (Jupiter Christian) 27 Devin Brinson + DB R-FR RS Carmel, Ind. (Carmel) 28 Nick Beard + DB R-JR 2V Delray Beach, Fla. (Atlantic) 29 Elven Walker CB FR HS Wheaton, Ill. (Glenbard South) 30 Tavares Crawford CB JR 2V Belle Glade, Fla. (Glades Central) 31 Pete Houlihan DB JR 2V New Lenox, Ill. (Providence Catholic) 32 Artavious Dowdell DL SR 3V Belle Glade, Fla. (Glades Central) 33 Malcolm Allen + RB SR TR Joliet, Ill. (Joliet/College of DuPage) 34 Brandon Ross + DB R-FR RS St. Louis, Mo. (Lutheran North) 35 John Wurm + DB R-SO 1V Dublin, Ohio (Coffman) 36 Taylor Kerr K/P SO 1V Indianapolis, Ind. (Pike) 37 Andre Hodge + LB R-FR RS Keyport, N.J. (Matawan Regional) 38 D.J. Bland + DB R-SO 1V Chicago, Ill. (De La Salle Institute) 39 Mike Gunter + SAF R-FR RS Springfield, Ill. (Rochester) 40 Jourdan Wickliffe DB SO HS Columbus, Ohio (St. Charles College Prep) 40a Bobby Pettis & RB SR TR Hickory Hills, Ill. (Argo/Missouri U of Science & Technology) 42 Alex Helms + LB R-JR RS Naperville, Ill. (North/Concordia (Minn.) Univ.) 43 Pono Choy DB FR HS Honolulu, Haw. (Kamehameha) 44 Judes Amilcar + DE R-JR 2V Pompano, Fla. (Olympic Heights) 45 Eric Luhrsen TE R-FR RS Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton-Warrenville South) 46 Anthony Goodman DB FR HS Lansing, Mich. (J.W. Sexton) 47 Andre Alvarez + LB R-JR TR Chicago, Ill. (Lane Tech/Carthage College) 48 Ryan Meyer SAF FR HS Evergreen Park, Ill. (Marist) 49 Robert Haynes LB SO 1V Punta Gorda, Fla. (Charlotte) 50 Adam Gristick + LB R-SO 1V Allentown, Pa. (Parkland) 51 Adam Baker LS SR 3V Champaign, Ill. (Central) 52 Jake McNair LB FR HS Louisville, Ky. (dupont Manual) 53 Greg Mahan + DL R-SR 2V Carol Stream, Ill. (Glenbard North) 54 Perry Maynard + LB R-SR 3V Southlake, Texas (Carroll) 55 Joe Campagna + LB R-SO RS Chicago, Ill. (St. Rita/Ferris State Univ.) 56 Jerone Williams DL SR 1V St. Louis, Mo. (Oakville/Ellsworth CC) 57 Jameel High +& DB R-JR TR Kankakee, Ill. (Bishop McNamara/Ball State) 58 Cameron Berra K JR 2V St. Louis, Mo. (Parkway Catholic) 59 Kamu Grugier-Hill SAF FR HS Honolulu, Haw. (Kamehameha) 60 Charlie Athans OL FR HS Manhattan, Ill. (Lincoln-Way Central) + indicates redshirt season used... & not eligible in 2012 due to NCAA transfer rules EASTERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL

11 2012 EIU PANTHERS ROSTER # NAME POS HT WT YR EXP HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL/JC) 61 Aaron Carr + LB R-JR TR Country Club Hills, Ill. (Hillcrest/Carthage College) 62 Shane Kelly + OL R-SR 2V Rhinelander, Wis. (Rhinelander) 63 Leon Riley + DL R-FR RS Rantoul, Ill. (Rantoul) 64 Jason Schuman + OL R-FR RS Warrenville, Ill. (Wheaton-Warrenville South) 65 Josh Griffin + DL R-FR RS Paris, Ill. (Paris) 66 Matt Parks + OL R-SO SQ Machesney Park, Ill. (Harlem) 67 Mike O Neill + OL R-SR 3V Chicago, Ill. (St. Patrick) 68 Nick Borre + OL R-FR RS Bloomingdale, Ill. (Lake Park) 69 Eric Varela OL SR SQ Temecula, Calif. (Great Oak/Mt. San Jacinto JC) 70 Joe Hall + C R-FR RS Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton-Warrenville South) 71 Kevin Kapellas + OL R-SR 3V Cincinnati, Ohio (Moeller) 72 Alex Pierce + OL R-JR 2V Carmel, Ind. (Carmel) 73 Evan Kanz OL FR HS Luxemburg, Wis. (Luxemburg-Casco) 74 Collin Seibert + OL R-SO 1V Oswego, Ill. (Oswego) 75 Jimmy Lowery OL FR HS Burr Ridge, Ill. (Lombard Montini) 76 Quinton Quarles DE FR HS Ingleside, Ill. (Grant) 77 Dominic Pagliara + OL R-JR 2V Quincy, Ill. (Quincy Notre Dame) 78 Mitch Reab OL SR SQ Forestville, Calif. (El Molino/Santa Rosa JC) 79 Jon Voytilla DL JR 2V St. Charles, Ill. (St. Charles East) Chris Wright WR SR 3V Skokie, Ill. (Niles West) 82 Quintez Thompson WR FR HS Louisville, Ky. (dupont Manual) 83 Scott Weatherford + P R-JR 1V Terre Haute, Ind. (North) 84 Sam Hendricks + TE R-SO 1V Cincinnati, Ohio (Indian Hill) 85 Jimmy Lera + WR R-SO 1V Lake Park, Fla. (Palm Beach Gardens) 86 Rex Bonham + TE R-SO 1V New Carlisle, Ohio (Tecumseh) 87 Leo Minne + WR R-FR RS Round Lake, Ill. (Grant) 88 Adam Drake + WR R-SO 1V Charleston, Ill. (Charleston) 89 Tyrus Moss WR FR HS Mattoon, Ill. (Mattoon) 90 Roosevelt Holliday DL SR 3V Bolingbrook, Ill. (Bolingbrook) 91 Niko Foltys + DL R-SO RS Lockport, Ill. (Lockport Township) 92 Tyler Paulsen DE FR HS Austin, Texas (Lake Travis) 93 Pat Wertz + DL R-SR 1V Orland Hills, Ill. (Andrew/Illinois State) 94 Timotheus Granger DE SO 1V West Palm Beach, Fla. (Suncoast) 95 Clinton Scott + DE R-FR RS Casey, Ill. (Casey-Westfield) 96 Clinton Simpkins + DL R-JR 1V Fredricksburg, Va. (Chancellor/Dodge City CC) 97 Dino Fanti + DT R-FR RS Venice, Fla. (Venice) 98 Fedney Delphonse + DE R-FR RS Naples, Fla. (Golden Gate) Antwione Smith & LB 6-3 (EIU 206 Pronunciation SO TR Guide) Hazel Crest, Ill. (Hillcrest/University of Saint Francis) + - indicates redshirt year used & - indicates will not play 2012 season due to NCAA transfer rules HC...Dino Babers... Dean-oh * BAY-buhrs 4...Keiondre Gober...go-bur 9...Chavar Watkins... sha-var 10...Jimmy Garoppolo...gah-ropp Ben Krol...kah-roll 16...Jeremy Rykard...Rye-curt 29...Elven Walker...L-vin 35...John Wurm...worm 44...Judes Amilcar... jude * ah-mill-car 45...Eric Luhrsen...lure-sin 53...Greg Mahan... may-han 55...Joe Campagna... Coe-pag-nah 59...Kamu Grugier-Hill...Komo * grue-jay 68...Nick Borre...Bore-EE 73...Evan Kanz...Can-sah 74...Collin Seibert...Cy-burt 77...Dominic Pagliara... pah-lee-r-ah 78...Mitch Reab...Ree-bah 87...Leo Minne...men-AY 91...Niko Foltys...knee-coe * fohl-tiss 94...Timotheus Granger... tim-mah-thee-us 97...Dino Fanti...Fon-tee 98...Fedney Delphonse... fed-knee * dell-fon-sah EASTERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL TIME NCAA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFF PARTICIPANT

12 2011 FINAL STATISTICS EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHERS RECORD: OVERALL HOME AWAY ALL GAMES... (2-9-0) (1-4-0) (1-5-0) CONFERENCE... (1-7-0) (0-4-0) (1-3-0) NON-CONFERENCE... (1-2-0) (1-0-0) (0-2-0) DATE OPPONENT W/L SCORE ATTEND Sep 01, 2011 ILLINOIS STATE w SEP 10, 2011 AT NORTHWESTERN l *sep 17, 2011 tennessee tech l *Sep 24, 2011 at #15 JACKSONVILLE STATE L *Oct 01, 2011 AT southeast missouri L *Oct 08, 2011 EASTERN KENTUCKY L *Oct 15, 2011 at murray state L *Oct 22, 2011 ut martin L *Oct 29, 2011 at austin peay W *Nov 05, 2011 tennessee state l Nov 12, 2011 at SOUTHERN ILLINOIS L * Ohio Valley Conference Games SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total Eastern Illinois Opponents ATTENDANCE Games/Avg Per Game... 5/7587 6/11865 Neutral Site Games... 0/ STARTING LINEUPS PANTHER OFFENSE (returners in bold) OPPONENT...SLOT... LT... LG...C...RG... RT... TE... SPLIT... FLANK...QB...RB Illinois State... Ricks...Pagliara... Zink...Kapellas... Pierce...Seibert...Wise... Rykard... Wright...Garoppolo... Walker Northwestern... Ricks...Pagliara... Zink...Kapellas... Pierce...Seibert...Wise...Whittaker... Wright...Garoppolo...Woodson Tenn. Tech... Ricks...Pagliara... Zink...Kapellas... Pierce...Seibert...Wise...Whittaker... Wright...Garoppolo...Woodson Jacksonville St... Drake...Pagilara... Zink...Kapellas... Pierce...Seibert...Wise...Whittaker... Wright...Garoppolo... Walker SE Missouri... Robinson...Pagliara... Zink...Kapellas... Pierce...Seibert...Wise...Whittaker... Wright...Garoppolo... Walker Eastern Ky... Drake...Pagliara... Zink...Kapellas... Pierce...Seibert...Wise...Whittaker... Wright...Garoppolo... Walker Murray State... Drake...Pagilara... Zink...Kapellas... Pierce...Seibert...Wise...Whittaker... Wright...Garoppolo... Walker UT Martin... Robinson...Pagliara... Zink...Kapellas... Pierce...Seibert...Wise...Whittaker... Wright...Garoppolo... Walker Austin Peay... Drake...Pagliara... Zink...Kapellas...Garrity...Seibert...Lera...Woodson... Wright...Garoppolo... Walker Tenn. State... Drake...Pagliara... Zink...Kapellas... Pierce... Kelly...Wise... Rykard... Wright...Garoppolo... Walker Southern Ill... Drake...Pagliara... Zink...Kapellas... Pierce... Kelly...Wise... Rykard... Wright...Garoppolo... Walker PANTHER DEFENSE (returners in bold) TEAM STATISTICS EIU OPP SCORING Points Per Game FIRST DOWNS Rushing Passing Penalty RUSHING YARDAGE Yards gained rushing Yards lost rushing Rushing Attempts Average Per Rush Average Per Game TDs Rushing PASSING YARDAGE Comp-Att-Int Average Per Pass Average Per Catch Average Per Game TDs Passing TOTAL OFFENSE Total Plays Average Per Play Average Per Game KICK RETURNS: #-AVERAGE PUNT RETURNS: #-AVERAGE INT RETURNS: #-AVERAGE FUMBLES-LOST PENALTIES-Yards Average Per Game PUNTS-Average Per Punt TIME OF POSSESSION/Game... 28:57 30:52 3RD-DOWN Conversions... 56/146 63/148 3rd-Down Pct... 38% 43% 4TH-DOWN Conversions... 9/21 11/16 4th-Down Pct... 43% 69% SACKS BY-Yards MISC YARDS TOUCHDOWNS SCORED FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS ON-SIDE KICKS RED-ZONE SCORES... (29-33) 88% (44-50) 88% RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS... (22-33) 67% (38-50) 76% PAT-ATTEMPTS... (28-30) 93% (41-43) 95% OPPONENT... DE...DT... DT...DE... SAM...MLB...WILL... CB...ROVER...FS... CB Illinois State... Amilcar...Voytilla...Holliday... Dowdell... Taylor... Kickels...Leman... Houlihan...Martinez...Beard... Crawford Northwetern... Amilcar...Voytilla...Holliday... Dowdell... Taylor... Kickels...Leman... Houlihan...Maritnez...Beard... Crawford Tenn. Tech... Amilcar...Voytilla...Holliday... Dowdell... Taylor... Kickels...Leman... Houlihan...Martinez...Beard... Crawford Jacksonville St... Amilcar...Voytilla...Holliday... Dowdell... Taylor... Kickels...Leman... Houlihan...Martinez...Beard... Crawford SE Missouri... Amilcar...Voytilla...Holliday... Dowdell... Taylor... Kickels...Leman...Bland...McNulty...Beard... Crawford Eastern Ky... Amilcar...Voytilla...Holliday... Dowdell... Taylor... Kickels...Leman...Bland...McNulty...Beard... Crawford Murray State... Amilcar...Voytilla...Holliday... Dowdell... Taylor... Kickels...Leman...Bland...McNulty...Beard...Houlihan UT Martin... Amilcar...Voytilla...Holliday... Dowdell... Taylor... Kickels...Leman...Bland...McNulty...Beard...Houlihan Austin Peay... Amilcar...Voytilla...Holliday... Dowdell... Taylor... Kickels...Leman...Mitchell... Cooper...Beard...Houlihan Tenn. State... Amilcar...Voytilla...Holliday... Dowdell... Taylor... Kickels...Leman...Bland... Cooper...Beard...Houlihan Southern Ill... Amilcar...Voytilla...Holliday... Dowdell... Taylor... Kickels...Leman...Bland... Cooper...Beard...Houlihan EASTERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL

13 2011 SEASON STATISTICS RUSHING GP Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G WALKER, Jake WOODSON, AJ LERA, Jimmy WHITTAKER, Kenny RICKS, Lorence WEATHERFORD, Scott DUNCAN, Taylor TEAM GAROPPOLO, Jimmy Total Opponents PASSING GP Effic Cmp-Att-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G GAROPPOLO, Jimmy TEAM DUNCAN, Taylor Total Opponents RECEIVING GP No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G WRIGHT, Chris WHITTAKER, Kenny WISE, Von DRAKE, Adam RYKARD, Jeremy HENDRICKS, Sam RICKS, Lorence WATKINS, Chavar WALKER, Jake WOODSON, AJ LERA, Jimmy MARTINEZ, Nick Total Opponents TOTAL OFFENSE G Plays Rush Pass Total Avg/G GAROPPOLO, Jimmy WALKER, Jake WOODSON, AJ LERA, Jimmy WHITTAKER, Kenny RICKS, Lorence WEATHERFORD, Scott DUNCAN, Taylor TEAM Total Opponents FIELD GOALS FGM-FGA Pct Lg Blk BERRA, Cameron PUNTING No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd WEATHERFORD, Scott TEAM Total Opponents KICKOFFS No. Yds Avg TB OB Retn Net YdLn KERR, Taylor BERRA, Cameron WEATHERFORD, Scott Total Opponents PATs SCORING TD FGs Kick Rush Rcv Pass DXP Saf Points WRIGHT, Chris WALKER, Jake BERRA, Cameron HENDRICKS, Sam WISE, Von GAROPPOLO, Jimmy DRAKE, Adam DUNCAN, Taylor WHITTAKER, Kenny WOODSON, AJ RICKS, Lorence RYKARD, Jeremy CRAWFORD, Tavares TEAM WEATHERFORD, Scott Total Opponents ALL PURPOSE G Rush Rec PR KOR IR Tot Avg/G WRIGHT, Chris CRAWFORD, Tavares WALKER, Jake RICKS, Lorence WHITTAKER, Kenny WOODSON, AJ WISE, Von DRAKE, Adam LERA, Jimmy HENDRICKS, Sam WATKINS, Chavar RYKARD, Jeremy HOULIHAN, Pete TAYLOR, Antonio WERTZ, Pat WEATHERFORD, Scott BONHAM, Rex DUNCAN, Taylor MARTINEZ, Nick GRISTICK, Adam TEAM GAROPPOLO, Jimmy Total Opponents PUNT RETURNS No. Yds Avg TD Long HOULIHAN, Pete WHITTAKER, Kenny Total Opponents KICK RETURNS No. Yds Avg TD Long CRAWFORD, Tavares RICKS, Lorence WOODSON, AJ HENDRICKS, Sam BONHAM, Rex GRISTICK, Adam LERA, Jimmy TAYLOR, Antonio WRIGHT, Chris HOULIHAN, Pete Total Opponents EASTERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL TIME NCAA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFF PARTICIPANT

14 2011 SEASON STATISTICS FUMBLE RETURNS No. Yds Avg TD Long KICKELS, Gordy Total Opponents INTERCEPTIONS No. Yds Avg TD Long MARTINEZ, Nick WERTZ, Pat TAYLOR, Antonio Total Opponents Tackles Sacks- ---Pass Def--- -Fumbles- Blkd DEFENSIVE LEADERS GP Solo Ast Total TFL/Yds No-Yds Int-Yds BrUp QBH Rcv-Yds FF Kick Saf LEMAN, Cory TAYLOR, Antonio KICKELS, Gordy BEARD, Nick BLAND, DJ DOWDELL, Artavious McNULTY, Alex COOPER, James HOLLIDAY, Roosevelt HOULIHAN, Pete AMILCAR, Jude CRAWFORD, Tavares SIMPKINS, Clinton WERTZ, Pat MARTINEZ, Nick WILLIAMS, Jerone HAYNES, Robert VOYTILLA, Jon TRIBBLE, Randolph LETTON, Mike WURM, John RIDGNER, Jonathan MITCHELL, Jake MAHAN, Greg GRISTICK, Adam KERR, Taylor HENDRICKS, Sam MAYNARD, Perry TM TEAM BERRA, Cameron GRANGER, Timotheus HEDRICK, Keithan LEE, Marcus JACKSON, Deonte ROBINSON, Keagan BAKER, Adam PIERCE, Alex PAGLIARA, Dominic DRAKE, Adam WISE, Von WALKER, Jake WRIGHT, Chris Total Opponents EASTERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL

15 TEAM RECORDS QB Sean Payton ( ) holds virtually every EIU passing record as he directed the 1986 Panthers to the NCAA I-AA quarterfinals. All-American tailback Nate Anderson ( ). The most sure-handed receiver in EIU history, Roy Banks ( ), later went on to play with the Indianapolis Colts. All-American quarterback Tony Romo ( ) was selected as the 2002 'Walter Payton Trophy' winner as the best player in NCAA I-AA football. TEAM GAME BESTS TOTAL OFFENSE: vs. Winona State RUSHING YARDAGE: vs. St. Joseph vs. Florida Atlantic RUSHING ATTEMPTS: 72...vs. Western Illinois PASSING YARDAGE: vs. Saginaw Valley vs. Southwest Missouri vs. Western Kentucky vs. Southern Illinois vs. Winona State PASSING ATTEMPTS: vs. Saginaw Valley vs. Northern Iowa vs. Illinois State vs. Central Michigan PASSES COMPLETED: vs. Saginaw Valley TOUCHDOWNS: vs. Mecom Academy vs. Kentucky State TOUCHDOWN PASSES: 6... vs. Murray State vs. Kentucky State vs. Southeast Missouri vs. Southwest Missouri vs. Western Kentucky vs. Central State (OH) vs. Augustana (SD) vs. Northern Iowa QUATERBACK SACKS: vs. Southwest Missouri vs. Kentucky State TURNOVERS: 8... vs. Youngstown State TURNOVERS CAUSED: vs. Northern Illinois vs. Northeast Missouri vs. Western Illinois MISC. GAME BESTS MOST EIU POINTS IN A QUARTER: vs. Kentucky State vs. Central State TEAM SEASON BESTS TOTAL OFFENSE: 5, , , , , RUSHING YARDAGE: 2, , , RUSHING ATTEMPTS: PASSING YARDAGE: 4, , , , , PASSING ATTEMPTS: PASSES COMPLETED: TOUCHDOWNS: TOUCHDOWN PASSES: QUARTERBACK SACKS: TURNOVERS: TURNOVERS CAUSED: CONSECUTIVE PASSES WITHOUT AN INTERCEPTION: MOST POINTS SCORED BY BOTH TEAMS: vs. Tennessee State (EIU 54; TSU 48) LOWEST TOTAL OFFENSE BY AN OPPONENT: vs. Kentucky State Poke Cobb ( ), the greatest running back in Eastern Illinois Panther history, with 5,042 yards. EASTERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL TIME NCAA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFF PARTICIPANT

16 INDIVIDUAL GAME RECORDS INDIVIDUAL BESTS TOTAL OFFENSE: Sean Payton vs. Saginaw Valley Sean Payton vs. SW Missouri Sean Payton vs. W. Kentucky Anthony Buich vs. SE Missouri Jeff Christensen vs. SW Missouri RUSHING YARDAGE: J.R. Taylor vs. Florida Atlantic Kevin Staple vs. Grand Valley Nate Anderson vs. St. Joseph Nate Anderson vs. SW Missouri Willie High vs. NW Louisiana J.R. Taylor vs. SE Missouri RUSHING ATTEMPTS: Willie High vs. Northern Iowa PASSING YARDAGE: Sean Payton vs. Saginaw Valley Sean Payton vs. SW Missouri Sean Payton vs. W. Kentucky Anthony Buich vs. SE Missouri Tony Romo vs. Toledo PASSING ATTEMPTS: Tony Romo vs. Hawai'i Sean Payton vs. Saginaw Valley Sean Payton vs. Northern Iowa PASSES COMPLETED: Sean Payton vs. Saginaw Valley Sean Payton vs. Northern Iowa Sean Payton vs. SW Missouri Anthony Buich vs. SE Missouri Anthony Buich vs. Eastern Kentucky RECEIVING (CATCHES): Willie White vs. Illinois State Andre Raymond vs. Hawai'i Rob Mehalic vs. Delaware State Jerry Wright vs. Indiana State Mark O Donnell vs. Central Michigan Calvin Pierce vs. NE Missouri Calvin Pierce vs. Saginaw Valley Roy Banks vs. Saginaw Valley INDIVIDUAL BESTS TOUCHDOWN RECEPTIONS: Scott McGhee... 4 vs. Northern Iowa James Warring... 4 vs. Northern Michigan SOLO TACKLES: Thomas Williams vs. St. Joseph Nick Ricks vs. E. Kentucky Chris Nicholson vs. SW Missouri Tim Lance vs. Northern Iowa John Noll vs. Northern Iowa Tim Lance vs. W. Kentucky Jeff Mills vs. Western Illinois Jeff Mills vs. SW Missouri TOTAL TACKLES: Tim Carver vs. Texas-El Paso Jeff Mills vs. SW Missouri Thomas Williams vs. St. Joseph Nick Ricks vs. E. Kentucky Tyrone Covington vs. Illinois State John Noll vs. Northern Iowa Ray Jeske vs. Delaware TACKLES FOR LOSS: Trevor Frericks vs. Tennessee State QUARTERBACK SACKS: John Jurkovic... 6 vs. SW Missouri Pete Catan... 6 vs. Southern Illinois PASSES INTERCEPTED: Bill Glenn... 5 vs. Northern Illinois MOST PASS RECEPTIONS BY A RUNNING BACK: DuWayne Pitts... 9 vs. SW Missouri MISC. INDIVIDUAL BESTS LONGEST TOUCHDOWN PASS: Tony Romo to vs. E. Kentucky Will Bumphus LONGEST TOUCHDOWN RUN: Poke Cobb vs. Tennessee Tech LONGEST INTERCEPTION RETURN FOR TD: Roosevelt Williams. 98 vs. Tennessee St LONGEST FIELD GOAL: Rich Ehmke vs. Northern Iowa Steve Largent vs. SW Missouri LONGEST KICKOFF RETURN: Chris Watson vs. Northern Iowa Marcus Potts vs. Youngstown St LONGEST PUNT: Bob Babb vs. Illinois State Kevin Cook vs. Southeast Missouri (EIU Division I record) LONGEST PUNT RETURN: Bob Babb vs. Millikin MOST BLOCKED KICKS: Kourtney Young... 3 vs. Illinois State Scott Johnson... 3 vs. Western Illinois Scott Johnson... 3 vs. Western Kentucky MOST CONSECUTIVE PASSES COMPLETED: Sean Payton vs. Western Kentucky Tony Romo vs. Indiana State MOST FIELD GOALS: Rich Ehmke... 5 vs. Winona State MOST FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Tied by many... 2 MOST INTERCEPTIONS THROWN: Jeff Thorne... 7 vs. McNeese State RECEIVING (YARDS): Frank Cutolo vs. Tennessee St Calvin Pierce vs. SW Missouri Chris Wright at Tennessee State Ralph Stewart vs. S. Illinois Calvin Pierce vs. S. Illinois Willie White vs. SW Missouri ALL-PURPOSE RUSHING: Poke Cobb vs. Butler Andre Raymond vs. Hawai'i TOUCHDOWNS: Steve Turner... 6 vs. Mecom Academy Kevin Staple... 5 vs. Kentucky State J.R. Taylor... 4 vs. Florida Atlantic J.R. Taylor... 4 vs. Tennessee-Martin Kevin Staple... 4 vs. Grand Valley James Warring... 4 vs. Northern Michigan Scott McGhee... 4 vs. Northern Iowa TOUCHDOWN PASSES: Tony Romo... 6 vs. Murray State Jeff Christensen... 6 vs. Kentucky State Tony Romo... 5 vs. SE Missouri Sean Payton... 5 vs. SW Missouri Sean Payton... 5 vs. Western Kentucky Steve Turk... 5 vs. Northern Michigan All eyes are on Rich Ehmke's (#6) record-setting 58 yard field goal that gave the No. 8 ranked Panthers a victory over No. 11 Northern Iowa on the last play of the game in Often described as the "most exciting game in EIU history," the Homecoming win in front of 11,000 plus fans propelled the Panthers on to the conference championship that season. EASTERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL