CHARLESTON (WCIA) — Eastern Illinois football is off to a great start this season. Starting with a huge shutout win on the road at Indiana State, the Panthers had a huge win over Illinois State at home, then came back from behind to beat McNeese State after being down 28-7. Second year head coach Chris Wilkerson says his team is resilient and these last two wins have continued to build momentum for the Panthers.

“The players believe,” Wilkerson said. “They believe in what we do. They believe in each other. There’s a tremendous amount of respect, work ethic, pride and toughness here and it’s something special. We talk about it brewing every single day, but they’ve done a phenomenal job so far and we’re excited about the next opportunity.”

“We’ve just proven that we’re a very resilient team, EIU quarterback Pierce Holley said. “It doesn’t really matter what the score is or how the game’s been going, I think we always think we have a chance no matter what’s been going on and I think that’s a great attribute for a team to have.”

Eastern Illinois play at Northwestern State on Saturday.