Eastern Illinois QB Manley impressive off the bench in defeat

Locked in a two-way battle for the starting job, Eastern Illinois quarterback Andrew Manley made the most of his first significant playing time with the Panthers.

Manley came off the bench to complete 18 of 34 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-20 loss to Minnesota last Thursday.

The 2010 Leilehua alumnus, who also ran for a touchdown, sat for seven of the team’s first 10 drives before leading EIU to 20 fourth-quarter points.

He capped a 16-play, 75-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run and completed seven of his 11 throws on the drive.

Manley threw an 11-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds remaining and 32-yard scoring strike on the final play of the game after EIU recovered an onsides kick.

No announcement has been made on the starter for this week’s game against Southern Illinois.

Against Minnesota, the Panthers were led on defense by linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, a 2012 Kamehameha graduate.

Grugier-Hill had a team-high eight tackles with five solos and recovered a fumble.

Defensive back Pono Choy (Kamehameha ’12) added three tackles for EIU, which is ranked 14th in the FCS Coaches Top 25 poll.