EWU-ISU notebook: Eagles lucky once again

Dylan Zylstra shares your concerns.

So does the entire Eastern Washington defense, which for the third time in four games gave up 50-plus points and 500-plus yards Saturday in the Eagles’ 56-53 win over Idaho State.

In six games, the Eagles are giving up an average of 487 yards and 49 points.

Coming off a 37-14 win last week at UC Davis when they gave up just 260 yards, the Eagles struggled Saturday against a resilient Idaho State offense, which twice trailed by 18 points but each time came back to make the game a nailbiter.

Part of the credit goes to ISU quarterback Justin Arias, who threw for 421 yards and a career-high six touchdowns. Said Zylstra, “We’d get them in third-and-long, but if we brought pressure, they’d make us pay for it, but if we sat back and only rushed three, he (Arias) would make a great decision.”

It didn’t help that the Bengals running game picked up 193 yards, keeping the Eagles honest against an offense that prefers to throw the ball.

“They did a lot of things that would counter our formations,” safety Jordan Tonani said. “They were able to read our safeties really well, and that’s on me.

“I have to do a better job of disguising, and going to the spot that is weak for us,” said Tonani, who nevertheless came away with the Eagles’ lone takeway with his diving interception in the third quarter.

For cornerback Jake Hoffman, the frustration stemmed from “doing the right things more of the time, but not always stepping up and making plays.”

Part of the reason is youth. Hoffman is a redshirt freshman, but he has a leg up on the defensive line, which due to injury is playing up to six true freshmen in some games.

The biggest problem is mental, Zylstra believes.

“The biggest thing we could improve on is playing without fear of making a mistake,” Zylstra said.

New faces in backfield

Next man up, as the Eastern coaches like to say. On Saturday, running backs Jalen Moore and Cody Hecker stepped up with some big plays while taking some pressure of starter Mario Brown.

Hecker, a senior from Sandpoint, got four carries for 15 yards, none bigger than his 2-yard dive into the end zone that gave the Eagles a 42-31 lead early in the third period.

“That’s the highlight of my season so far,” said Hecker, who expected to see some action because of a shoulder injury to Quincy Forte that may sideline Forte for two more weeks.

Like Hecker, Moore was getting his first carries since the Montana Western game on Aug. 30; he ran four times for 17 yards.

Meanwhile, Brown had another big day, gaining 131 yards on 18 carries. That included a career-long 73-yarder in the third quarter that ended two yards short of the end zone.

“I should have just kept looking forward,” said Brown, who has 355 yards on the year. “I just followed my line – that’s where it starts.”

The favor returned

Two years after blocking a punt and setting up an Eastern touchdown, Zylstra was on the receiving end Saturday.

With the Eagles leading Idaho 28-17 late in the second quarter, defensive end Samson Ebukam blocked C.J. Reyes’ punt at the 19. The ball rolled into the end zone, closely pursued by Zylstra.

“I hadn’t scored a touchdown since my senior year of high school, so it felt pretty good,” Zylstra said.

In 2012 at Montana State, Zylstra’s fourth-quarter block of an MSU kick was recovered by Evan Day, a turning point in a game that Eastern won 27-24.