SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 27, 2014
Ohio 34, Eastern Illinois 19: JD Sprague threw for 143 yards while running for another 69 and a pair of touchdowns in his first collegiate start as the Bobcats defeated the visiting Panthers.
Sprague, replacing injured starter Derrius Vick (knee), completed 15-of-28 passes and Landon Smith caught five of them for 53 yards. Freshman A.J. Ouellette recorded 87 yards on 11 carries and scored two touchdowns for Ohio (3-2), which has produced 70 points combined while winning two straight victories.
Jalen Whitlow went 30-of-46 through the air for 289 yards and a TD while running for another 112 and a score for Eastern Illinois (1-4), an FCS member. Adam Drake pulled in six passes for 90 yards and Anthony Taylor caught a touchdown for the Panthers, who intercepted two passes.
Eastern Illinois grabbed its only lead on Nick Bruno’s 18-yard field 2:21 into the game before the Bobcats scored the next 21 points, starting with a 1-yard run by Ouellette. Sprague ran 6 yards for a score before Ouellette broke free for a 65-yard touchdown on the third play of the second quarter.
Whitlow’s 1-yard TD run helped the Panthers pull within 24-10 at halftime, but Josiah Yazdani’s 46-yard field goal and Sprague ran into the end zone from the 8 to push the lead to 24 points in the third quarter. Whitlow connected with Taylor for a 6-yard score early in the fourth, but the Bobcats held on to improve to 7-0 against Ohio Valley Conference teams.