Eagles get game they wanted
The wait is over for the Eastern Washington football team.
The 16th-ranked Northern Arizona Lumberjacks are at Woodward Field today for a 2 p.m. Big Sky Conference showdown.
“We have an opportunity to face a team that is nationally ranked and whipped us pretty good last year,” Eastern coach Paul Wulff said. “It’s going to be a heckuva challenge. They are a very, very good football team. This will be the best football team we will have faced. I know that without question.”
A week ago the Eagles (3-2, 2-0) were facing the No. 1 defensive team in the league but by the time they were done slicing up Portland State 41-21 and NAU (2-2, 2-0) was shutting out Sacramento State 26-0, the Lumberjacks moved to the top of the league statistically.
On the offensive side, Eastern is looking at its first real balanced opponent. The first two games – both losses – were against option running teams, the third against a Division II opponent. The Eagles opened league play with pass-happy Idaho State followed by PSU, which emphasizes the run.
NAU’s losses were at Arizona and at Stephen F. Austin, now ranked No. 5, in overtime.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity for our defense to match up with these guys,” Wulff said. “Their two biggest threats are (quarterback) Jason Murrietta, the league offensive MVP, and (running back) Roger Robinson, who was first-team. Those two are awfully good football players. That’s where their offense starts.”
As a true freshman, Murrietta completed 59 percent of his passes for 3,472 yards and a I-AA freshman record 29 touchdowns. So far this season he’s 82 of 138 for 772 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions.
Robinson, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound transfer from Utah State, rushed for 1,108 yards despite missing two games with injuries in his first season at NAU. He leads the league this year with 470 yards and leads his team with 21 receptions.
Eastern has allowed 199 yards a game on the ground and 191.2 in the air. In the last three games those numbers have been padded once the Eagles secured the outcome.
The Lumberjacks have been successful despite losing four starters on the offensive line and receivers who accounted for 205 receptions and 3,070 yards last year.
“They’re definitely better on offense than you would think heading into the season,” Wulff said.
That’s true on defense as well. Only six starters returned – and that was before all-league linebacker Bruce Branch was lost with a knee injury in the second game. The Lumberjacks allow 127.8 yards on the ground, 203.2 in the air and just 18 points a game.
The Eagles average 32.2 points a game. They average 175.6 yards rushing behind Darius Washington, who is second in the league at 109.6. The passing game is at 264.2 yards with Erik Meyer throwing 12 touchdowns passes and four interceptions.
The NAU defensive line gives multiple looks, which is a concern for the Eagles with two freshmen guards on the offensive line.
“They’re very good against the run and in the back end don’t gamble too much,” Wulff said. “They make you earn your points, they don’t give you cheap, easy points. It’s going to be a challenge for our offense. The bottom line is we have to execute whatever we do.”
The Lumberjacks were 9-4 last year, sharing the Big Sky championship with the Montana schools. They won 35-3 at top-ranked McNeese State in the playoffs before losing at home to Florida Atlantic.
NAU manhandled the Eagles 54-31 in Flagstaff last year but has not won in Cheney since 1996. Overall, EWU leads the series 12-9 with a 7-3 edge at Woodward, where Eastern is 27-6 in its last 33 games.
“The bottom line is we need to come out and play the brand of football we can play,” Wulff said. “We’re going to have to play a four-quarter football game. We’ve got to go out and execute the same things we’re trying to get done in practice. We have to show up on Saturday, execute our assignments, play with great passion and great energy and play at a high level for four quarters.”