Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU football team closed their season with a home loss to the visiting Eastern Illinois Panthers, 28-14. The Colonials ended the 2023 campaign with a 4-7 overall record and 2-4 mark in conference play. Meanwhile, the Panthers closed out the regular season with an 8-3 record as well as a 4-2 mark in the Big
South-OVC.Â
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
At the midway point of the fourth quarter Eastern Illinois's running back MJ Flowers burst through the middle of the field for 38-yard rushing touchdown to extend the Panthers lead to three touchdowns. At that point the lead was too much for the Colonials to overcome and stalled any hopes of a comeback for the home team.
The Colonials were tied 7-7 with the Panthers midway through the second quarter but two straight touchdown drives from Eastern Illinois put RMU on their heels going into halftime with the score 21-7.
ROBINSON MAKES HISTORY
Colonials wide receiver Noah Robinson had yet another 100-yard receiving game as he posted a line of nine catches for 116 yards with one touchdown. Robinson finished the season as the conference leader in receptions (70) and receiving yards (846) while finishing second in the Big South-OVC with six touchdown catches.
Furthermore, Robinson's 70 catches are the most in RMU history dating back to the Colonials inaugural season in 1994. Also, he has the most receiving yards at RMU since receiver Duane Mitchell had 867 receiving yards in the 2012 season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Zach Tanner finished his second straight start with a line of 16-of-32 for 156 yards with one touchdown. DJ Moyer led the Colonials rushing attack with 12 carries for 57 yards as he finished the season with 319 yards on the ground.
ON THE DEFENSIVE
Dee Pierce led the Colonials on defense as he finished the day with 12 tackles and 10 of those stops being solo. Jamar Shegog and Joe Casale each had seven tackles as they both finished as the top two tacklers on the team this season. Tizlam Muhammad caused pressure in the backfield as he had four quarterback hits on Eastern Illinois.
STACKING WINS
The Colonials posted the most wins since the 2021 campaign when they also had four victories with three of those being in conference. This was the first season that RMU had back to back wins since the 2019 season when they won four in a row against former NEC opponents.
UP NEXT
The Colonials will now look forward to spring ball next semester as RMU will look to build upon the season they had in 2023. Follow RMU Football on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates on the team throughout the off season.
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