Scores

Final

Tennessee St 21

(4-7, 3-4 OVC)

E Illinois 10

(8-3, 6-2 OVC)

6:30 PM ET, November 19, 2009

O'Brien Stadium, CHARLESTON, IL

1 2 3 4 T
TNST 0 0 7 1421
EIU 0 3 0 710

Top Performers

Passing: C. McNairl (TNST) - 135 YDS, 1 TD

Rushing: D. Thomas (TNST) - 20 CAR, 70 YDS, 1 TD

Receiving: J. Hills (TNST) - 2 REC, 77 YDS

Tennessee St. 21, E. Illinois 10

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Calvin McNairl threw for one touchdown and passed for another as Tennessee State stumped Eastern Illinois 21-10 Thursday night.

McNairl put the Tigers (4-7, 3-4 Ohio Valley) ahead 7-3 in the third quarter when he scored from a yard out. His 3-yard pass to Ronald Bright extended the edge to 14-3.

After Charles Graves hauled in a 22-yard TD pass from Jake Christensen with 10:11 left to help Eastern Illinois (8-3, 6-2) trim the gap to 14-10, Donte Thomas scored on a 10-yard run to put Tennessee State in command.

McNairl finished 9 of 16 for 135 yards. Thomas carried 20 times for 70 yards.

Christensen was 13 of 33 for 151 yards and was pressured into three interceptions.

Eastern Illinois will still get the OVC's automatic bid if Jacksonville State beats Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. But if Eastern Kentucky wins, the Colonels will earn the bid.

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Team Stat Comparison

 
TNST
EIU
1st Downs1614
Total Yards311245
Passing135149
Rushing17696
Penalties4-423-35
3rd Down Conversions3-143-12
4th Down Conversions1-20-1
Turnovers04
Possession34:4725:13

Passing Leaders

Tennessee StateC/ATTYDSAVGTDINT
McNairl9/161358.410
Eastern IllinoisC/ATTYDSAVGTDINT
Christensen12/321494.713

Rushing Leaders

Tennessee StateCARYDSAVGTDLG
Thomas20703.5124
McNairl15573.8135
Eastern IllinoisCARYDSAVGTDLG
Williams12393.3013
Christensen8283.5017

Receiving Leaders

Tennessee StateRECYDSAVGTDLG
Hills27738.5074
Wilkens13232.0032
Eastern IllinoisRECYDSAVGTDLG
Lora34013.3026
Graves23718.5122

Scoring Summary

SECOND QUARTERTNSTEIU
FG02:23Austin Signor 20 Yd 03
THIRD QUARTERTNSTEIU
TD03:39Calvin McNairl 1 Yd Run (Vejin Tahir Kick) 73
FOURTH QUARTERTNSTEIU
TD13:44Ronald Bright 3 Yd Pass From Calvin McNairl (Vejin Tahir Kick) 143
TD10:11Charles Graves 22 Yd Pass From Jake Christensen (Austin Signor Kick) 1410
TD06:57Donte' Thomas 10 Yd Run (Vejin Tahir Kick) 2110