Eastern Illinois’ homecoming theme - “The Good, the Bad, the ‘80s” - fit the UTM’s effort here Saturday afternoon as the host Panthers recorded a 29-12 win over the Skyhawks.

For the Skyhawks most of the “good” came early as they took the opening kickoff and used eight minutes of the clock to build a 3-0 lead.

More “good” came as the Skyhawks sustained a third quarter drive that resulted in a 19-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Brady Wahlberg to freshman Cole Duncan. The drive covered 74 plays in seven plays and only consumed three minutes of the game clock.

Most importantly, the score marked the first time this season the Skyhawks have put points on the board in the third quarter. And finally, the emergence of J.T. Batson as the replacement for Skyhawk kicker Brent Harris put the finishing touches on the short list of good things for UTM in its OVC loss to EIU.

Batson hit his first two field goal attempts of the season, one from 19 yards and the other from 38 yards. He also handled all of the punting chores. He walked away with a 33.7 average on three punts, but two were inside the EIU 20 yard line and one went for 53 yards.

The “bad” fit as well. The Skyhawks gave up 13 unanswered second quarter points. Two big plays proved to be costly. EIU used a 52-yard Vincent Webb carry to set up a 19-yard field goal that tied the game at 3-3 in the first quarter.

The other dagger that hurt came with 12:40 to play in the third quarter as Webb scored on a 67-yard pass from quarterback Andrew Harris. The scoring strike came on third-and-five and gave EIU a 23-3 lead.

Despite trailing by 20 points, the Skyhawks made a valiant effort at a comeback with their no-huddle offense and the strong arm of Wahlberg.

“We just ran out of gas in the tank,” said Matt Griffin, UTM’s first-year head coach.

Wahlberg, from Panama City, Fla., finished the game by completing 20-of-33 passes for 210 yards. He was never intercepted and he completed passes to seven receivers. Freshman Taurean Stephens, from Cincinnati, Ohio, grabbed 11 passes for 64 yards.

The Skyhawk offense piled up 337 yards on 69 plays. They averaged 4.9 yards per play.

On defense, the Skyhawks struggled. Webb rushed 30 times and 206 yards. He led the Panthers rushing game. Harris had nine carries for 74 yards and threw for 173 more yards.

Eastern Illinois sealed the victory when Webb earned a first down with a 6-yard run on fourth-and four from the Skyhawks’ 12 yard line.

Four plays later Webb scored. The snap on the PAT was fumbled, but EIU claimed a 29-12 lead with 1:18 to play in the game.

The Skyhawks fall to 2-7 on the year and 1-4 in the OVC. Eastern Illinois improves to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the OVC. The Skyhawks return to Hardy M. Graham Stadium tomorrow to host Southeast Missouri State in an OVC battle. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.