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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eastern Washington’s frustrating football season ends with loss to Portland State

It wasn’t supposed to end this soon.

Not on Senior Day at Roos Field, and certainly not in November, the month that Eastern Washington has claimed as its own in recent years.

But as the Portland State players broke from victory formation one last time, cold reality sunk in for the the Eastern Washington players and coaches after a 34-31 Big Sky Conference loss Saturday night:

It’s over.

Instead of the usual Thanksgiving break to prepare for a second-round playoff game, the Eagles are done, the victims of a late-season slide that left them out of the playoff party for only the second time in six years.

Not since 2008 had the Eagles lost a regular-season game in November. This year they dropped three in a row in head-scratching fashion.

In game that mirrored the season, Eastern (6-5, 5-3 Big Sky) operated with little margin for error – and made plenty of errors against a team that made them pay for almost every one.

From a fumble on the opening kickoff to a pair of second-half interceptions, the Eagles seemed to move one step back for every step forward. Trailing 34-24, they were seemingly out of it after quarterback Reilly Hennessey was picked off with 5 minutes, 48 seconds to play.

That is, until they got a gift, the kind that have come Eastern’s way so infrequently this season. On the next play, EWU lineman Jay-Tee Tiuli forced a fumble by running back David Jones at the PSU 35-yard-line.

Senior roverback Todd Raynes was nearby.

“I saw J.T. pop the ball out and I just scooped it up and took off … in front of my whole family, on Senior Night, in front the fans who’d been here for me for five years. It was indescribable,” Raynes said.

With one play, the Eagles were at miracle’s door. Five minutes later, the door was slammed in their faces when Portland State ran out the clock and finished the game in victory formation at the EWU 7.

It was the same story for Eastern’s young defense: With the game on the line, they couldn’t get a stop on third down. The Vikings (9-2, 6-2), who are going to the postseason for the first time in 15 years, converted two more third downs on their final drive.

For the game, PSU converted a staggering 13 of 17 third downs, an effort even better than Northern Arizona (13 for 19 two weeks ago) and Montana (8 for 14 last week).

PSU quarterback Alex Kuresa completed just one of his first eight passes but got better as the game wore on. He was 11 for 24 for 142 yards and two scores, and ran for 56 more.

“I felt like we understand what’s going to come, but we can’t execute it,” EWU cornerback D’londo Tucker said. …” Maybe they wanted it more.”

The bottom line: In three November games, Eagles opponents converted 34 of 50 third-down chances, or 68 percent.

“We’ve been in position to make those plays, but we’re not making them,” Eastern safety Zach Bruce said.

The game couldn’t have opened worse. With no defender nearby, Simba Webster fumbled the opening kickoff and PSU recoved at the 11-yard line. Two plays later, David Jones ran untouched for an 11-yard score that put the Vikings ahead 6-0.

The Eagles didn’t trail for long. On second-and-14 from the 37, Hennessey handed off to running back Jabari Wilson, who flipped the ball to Kendrick Bourne on a reverse. Bourne did the rest, cutting sharply upfield, stiff-arming one defender and outrunning the others for a 63-yard score.

After getting the ball back following Raynes’ sack of Kuresa, the Eagles crammed 13 plays in to a 38-yard drive that ended with Brandyn Bangsund’s first collegiate field goal, a 29-yarder that pushed the lead to 10-6.

Jones scored on a 30-yard run, but Eastern answered with Hennessey’s 78-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp to take a 17-13 halftime lead.