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Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns to lead Eastern Illinois to victory over Southern Illinois in the two teams' season opener Thursday night, 49-28.
Garoppolo completed 32 of 49 passes despite being sacked four times. Panthers wideout Erik Lora was the recipient of 13 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
The Eastern Illinois offense recorded 522 yards of total offense over the visiting Salukis.
Southern Illinois' Kory Faulkner completed 31 of 58 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns.
The state rivals were tied 7-7 after the first quarter and Eastern Illinois took a 28-21 at the half.
Mika'Il McCall scored on a 6-yard touchdown run with 11:39 to go in the third quarter for the Salukis, making it a 28-28 game. Eastern Illinois scored three unanswered touchdowns from that point to roll to victory.
