That Run-Down Feeling Ewu’s Ed Harris Does His Best Leon Lett Imitation

Eastern Washington’s Ed Harris might have overestimated the humor factor of the Leon Lett impersonation he performed during the third quarter of last Saturday’s 51-7 Big Sky Conference football rout of Idaho State.

With the Eagles comfortably ahead 27-0, Harris stumbled across a loose ball courtesy of the big hit teammate Chris Scott had put on ISU running back Kevin McCarthy near his own 48-yard line. The 255-pound defensive end scooped up the ball and appeared to be on his way to the first touchdown of his collegiate career when a teammate blocked the last remaining Bengal out of his way.

But just inside ISU’s 15-yard line, Harris slowed considerably, raised his right hand and starting punching his index finger at the sky, just as Lett did as a member of the Dallas Cowboys in their 1994 Super Bowl win over Buffalo.

And just like Lett, Harris was caught from behind and denied the touchdown when ISU’s Anthony Elgaaen tackled him on the 8 following a 44-yard return. Unlike Lett, however, Harris managed to hang on to the football and the Eagles scored three plays later - which probably explains why Harris took his gaffe so lightly.

“That’s one for the highlights,” Harris said after the game. “They’ll be laughing at me about that one for a long time.”

They, in this case, does not include EWU coach Mike Kramer.

“There’s more to it that just losing the touchdown,” Kramer sternly explained, “because in reality, we should have been penalized for showboating and taunting, which means we should have kicked off from the 20. And since our kickoff coverage is so bad, they’d have probably had the ball on our 30.

“He should have been called for a taunting, and I will not stand for that on our football team, period. And Ed, believe me, has not heard the last of it.”

Defense rests, but barely

For the first time in five games, Portland State failed to register 10 or more tackles for losses last Saturday, but Vikings coach Tim Walsh isn’t complaining.

His rapidly improving defense held favored Montana State to 125 net yards - including minus-11 rushing - and forced seven turnovers in a 44-0 win that ranks among the biggest upsets of the season.

What a return

Aaron Flowers, showing only a slight limp following his four-week layoff with a fractured right fibula, made a dramatic return last Saturday by completing 43 of 69 passes for 469 yards and three touchdowns in Cal State Northridge’s 45-38 overtime win over Cal State Sacramento.

Flowers, a 6-foot, 185-pound senior, threw TD passes of 30, 10 and 4 yards and led four scoring drives of 65 yards or longer in the second half.

Just like in the movies

Eastern Washington running back Rex Prescott had this to say about his 85-yard touchdown run on the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage in last Saturday’s 51-7 rout of Idaho State: “I just read the zone (blocking), stretched it like coach told me to, followed the cutback (lane) the linemen created for me and just ran like Forrest Gump to get through there.”

Quick kicks

When EWU entertains Idaho in Saturday’s 14th annual Windermere Governor’s Cup, it will mark the first time the Eagles have played in Spokane’s Joe Albi Stadium since Oct. 20, 1990, when they lost to the Vandals 51-28… . NAU’s 27-24 win over Montana last Saturday snapped the Lumberjacks’ 10-game losing streak in the series and saddled the Grizzlies with back-to- back losses for the first time since 1994.

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