Eagles look for energy

Eastern Washington coach Beau Baldwin would like to think motivation will take care of itself when his 23rd-ranked Eagles kick off their Big Sky Conference football game against No. 12 Montana this afternoon at 2:05 at Woodward Field.

A sellout crowd of more than 11,000 is expected.

The Eagles (2-3, 1-1 Big Sky) are still stinging from last Saturday’s 45-36 upset loss to Portland State and it is, after all, Montana Week, which offers a chance to avenge last year’s 24-23 loss to the Grizzlies (4-1, 0-1) in Missoula.

“You would hope,” Baldwin said earlier this week, when asked if a full stadium and a rematch with Montana should help buoy his team’s spirit. “It probably will be easy this week, with all the fans and just the fact it’s Montana. But it’s a matter of finding that energy the rest of the year, no matter what your record is, or what the situation is, or how many fans.

“We’ve struggled with that since Colorado. There was more passion and energy (in that game) than there has been, probably, in the last three games – and definitely more than there was against Portland State.”

If the passion and energy levels of the Eagles aren’t up for this one, Baldwin and his staff have some real problems, especially considering the way last year’s game ended.

Despite outgaining the Griz 564-289, Eastern found itself nursing a 23-21 lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter. The Eagles were poised to spring the upset when they forced UM into a fourth-and-10 situation from its 38-yard line.

The Griz, however, took advantage of a breakdown in EWU’s secondary to spring Mike Ferriter loose for a diving sideline catch that covered 27 yards and set up a first down at Eastern’s 35. Another Cole Bergquist-to-Ferriter hookup moved the ball to the 23, and following three straight incompletions, Dan Carpenter kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal with 26 seconds left.

Senior cornerback Ryan Kelley was on the field for the Eagles when Ferriter made his big fourth-down catch. It’s a moment he would like to forget, but can’t.

“It’s always in the back of your head,” Kelley said. “So all you can do is try to feed off the emotion, and remember that was last year and this is a different year – and that it’s always time to beat the Griz, period.”

To do that, Eastern will have to shore up some shoddy play in its secondary, which allowed Portland State to throw for 623 yards and five touchdowns last weekend.

That won’t be an easy thing to do against a Montana team favored to win another conference title and stocked with veteran skill-position players such as Bergquist, a senior and three-year starter, who has thrown for 1,197 yards and 11 touchdowns this fall.

“They’re the most disciplined team we’ll come up against all year,” EWU’s junior free safety Kevin Hatch said of the Grizzlies, who are coming off a 45-28 upset loss at Weber State last weekend. “They run crisp routes, their running backs are really good and their quarterback does a great job of running their offense.”

Eastern has some high-grade offensive weapons in junior quarterback Matt Nichols, who leads all Football Championship Subdivision schools with an average of 347.2 total yards per game, and junior wide receivers Tony Davis and Aaron Boyce, who have combined for 75 catches for 782 yards and seven touchdowns.

“They’re a gifted group,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said of the Eagles. “I’m impressed with their production on offense. They’ve really gone up and down the field.

“To have a chance, we have to do two things: We need to stop the run and eliminate the negative plays on offense.”

Kelley is convinced the Grizzlies will also have to deal with several other factors he sees working against them this afternoon.

“It’s a home game, it’s a conference game and it’s Montana, so that’s three strikes against them right there,” Kelley said.

So much for motivation.

Notes

Eastern is promoting an Eagle “RED-OUT” for today’s game and asking fans to dress in red. The first 3,000 who show up so adorned will receive a free spirit towel. Will-call ticket booths will open at noon, with the main gates scheduled to open at 12:30 p.m. … Additional bleachers have been added to Woodward Field for today’s game, increasing the stadium capacity to 10,840. An overflow crowd is expected, but Baldwin said he expects Montana to bring as many as 5,000 fans. … The Woodward Field attendance record of 11,563 was set two years ago against the Grizzlies. … In discussing the losses suffered by EWU and Montana last week, Hauck said, “I’m a little more surprised that they lost than us. I think Weber State is terrific, but I didn’t know Portland State could do that to Eastern going into that game.”