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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Friday, November 16, 2007 11:16 PM CST
Could Brickey haunt Eastern again?

BY BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editorbnielsen@jg-tc.com

Bob Spoo forgave Steve Brickey enough to hire him.

Or maybe Eastern Illinois’ football coach added him to his staff two years ago out of respect.

Spoo has not forgotten how in the 2004 season opener his Panthers had a 14-point lead over Indiana State in the fourth quarter only for the Sycamores, with their third-string quarterback and Brickey as the offensive coordinator, to rally for a 33-30 overtime win.

When Indiana State cleaned house, firing head coach Tim McGuire and his staff after that 2004 season – a move that has backfired with one win in the next three seasons – Brickey landed at Eastern as the quarterbacks coach who called plays during the Panthers’ 2005 Ohio Valley Conference championship season.

The former Iowa State offensive coordinator then moved to become Missouri State’s offensive coordinator and this year kept the moving van industry happy by joining new coach Pat Sullivan’s staff at Samford to run its offense.

With Samford coming to O’Brien Stadium for today’s 1:30 p.m. regular season finale, Spoo this week brought up how Brickey guided Indiana State to that comeback win three years ago.

“Steve is a very solid offensive mind and that’s what worries me,” the EIU coach said.

So even with a two-touchdown fourth-quarter lead, Spoo is not likely to relax against Brickey’s offense, let alone before this game starts, just because Eastern seemingly hurdled its biggest obstacle with last week’s win at Jacksonville State.

The Panthers, 7-3 overall, 6-1 in second place in the Ohio Valley Conference and 20th and 21st in Football Championship Subdivision national polls, still need to take care of Samford, 4-6 and 2-5, in today’s game just for the chance to be selected Sunday afternoon for the NCAA’s 16-team postseason playoffs.

“We’re still going to have that feeling that our backs are against the wall,” EIU linebacker Donald Thomas said.

The Panthers have been in that position ever since a 28-21 loss at home on Oct. 6 against Eastern Kentucky, which last week clinched the OVC’s automatic national playoff berth standing 7-0 going into today’s regular season finale.

By winning four straight games since that disappointing defeat, Eastern Illinois has stayed in the picture for an at-large playoff berth which still might hinge on Georgia Southern or Hofstra or Norfolk State or Alabama A&M or Appalachian State or two or three of those seven-win teams losing.

Today’s game only decides whether the Panthers line up with their traditional farewell to seniors today after a loss or nervously watch the NCAA selection show on Sunday after a win with the idea that that seniors salute could come after bad news from the playoff committee or after a playoff game to follow.

If Eastern is selected, it has not made the $30,000 bid for a home game.

“I’m going to kiss the field whether it’s our last game or not,” Thomas said. “O’Brien Stadium means a lot to me.”

First, the All-American Thomas and his teammates are geared to defend a Samford team that ranks second in the OVC in passing offense with 244.6 yards per game.

Sullivan, the 1971 Heisman Trophy winner as an Auburn quarterback, has had Samford relying on the passing game most of the season and now has just one more Ohio Valley Conference game before the Bulldogs more to the Southern Conference next year.

With a third-place finish in 2003 as its highest finish in five years in the OVC, Samford’s short stay may not have made a lasting impression on the league but today still holds some significance.

“It’s our seniors’ last time,” Sullivan said. “They need to go out and play the last game of their career because it’s something they’ll always remember.”

Eastern, meanwhile, needs to avoid letting today’s game become a season and career-ending memory.

Plus, it could just help soothe Spoo’s recollections from the last time he coached against a Steve Brickey offense.

Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.

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