Nichols sets mark in victory

A career-long 52-yard touchdown run was just part of a sensational day for Eastern Washington University senior quarterback Matt Nichols as he broke the Big Sky Conference career record for total offense in the 18th-ranked Eagles’ 41-28 non-conference victory over Southern Utah on Saturday at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah.

Nichols passed for 380 yards and four touchdowns to finish with 455 yards of total offense and account for five TDs on the day. He has 12,440 yards in his 45-game career, breaking the 17-year-old record of 12,287 held by Weber State’s Jamie Martin (1989-92).

Eastern plays its final Big Sky Conference game at Northern Arizona on Saturday. First-round pairings for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs are announced the next day.

Eastern opened a 21-0 lead on Nichols’ three TD passes to tight end Nathan Overbay. His scoring rush late in the third quarter gave EWU a 28-7 cushion.

“It felt like it was a 105-yard run to me,” Nichols said. “I was pretty tired and had a side ache at the end of it.”

Nichols ranks seventh in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) history in career total yards, and moved into eighth with 11,747 passing yards. Nichols needs 460 yards to break the career passing mark in the 46-year-old Big Sky Conference of 12,207 held by Martin.

“It’s pretty awesome,” said Nichols, who had 75 total rushing yards to also break EWU’s career record for rushing yards by a quarterback with a current total of 693. “The Big Sky record is one of those things where it’s exciting to hear and something I’ll cherish, but right now we are just focused on winning one more game and hopefully getting our shot in the playoffs.”

“It just shows his toughness and longevity,” EWU coach Beau Baldwin said. “A record like that shows a lot of things.”

Montana 38, Northern Colorado 10: Chase Reynolds ran for 151 yards and three TDs to lead the Grizzlies over the Bears at Missoula. With the win, Montana clinched its 12th straight conference championship.

Weber State 27, Northern Arizona 9: Tim Toone returned a punt 90 yards for a TD to lead the Wildcats past the Lumberjacks at Ogden, Utah.

Montana State 27, Sacramento State 17: Everett Gilbert finished with 205 all-purpose yards as the Bobcats defeated the Hornets at Bozeman.

Idaho State 41, Portland State 34: At Pocatello, Idaho, Clint Knickrehm ran for 100 yards and two TDs, including the winner with 32 seconds left as the Bengals beat the Vikings to end their 10-game skid.