Jim Allen

Vernon Adams’ fifth touchdown pass with 31 seconds to play lifted Eastern Washington to a wild 42-41 win over Portland State on Saturday night.

They’ve been joined at the hip for almost five years now, the overachieving football coach and his record- breaking group of seniors at Eastern Washington University. They’re Beau Baldwin’s ringleaders, if you will, who’ve won three Big Sky Confer- ence titles in the last four years. Throw in the giant brass ring they seized in 2010, and no other class in the Big Sky has accomplished more in the past four seasons.

They’ve been joined at the hip for almost five years now, the overachieving football coach and his record- breaking group of seniors at Eastern Washington University.

When Andru Pulu talks about his Eastern Washington football teammates, it’s usually in future tense, as if he doesn’t want it to end. “We have something special here, the offense can’t be stopped and the defense is getting better every week,” said Pulu, a senior defensive lineman who three years ago could only think of football in the past tense: the stellar high school career in Federal Way, then playing big-time college football as a true freshman at Washington in the fall of 2009.

When Andru Pulu talks about his Eastern Washington football teammates, it’s usually in future tense, as if he doesn’t want it to end.

As Portland State football coach Nigel Burton sees it, the difference between his 6-5 team and Big Sky Conference champion Eastern Washington is obvious. “We’ve just got to be more consistent,” said Burton, in his fourth year with the Vikings. “We’ve played some unbelievably good football at times, and other games where we haven’t been able to to figure out what’s going on.”

In this case, familiarity breeds respect. The Mead and Central Valley girls’ soccer teams will meet Friday night for the third time this season, with the stakes higher than ever: the winner will play the next day for the State 4A title.

As Portland State football coach Nigel Burton sees it, the difference between his 6-5 team and Big Sky Conference champion Eastern Washington is obvious.

As they buried Walla Walla on Tuesday night, the Eastern Washington basketball team also put to rest the memories of a loss at Washington two nights earlier. “At the end of the day, this is a game we should win, and did win,” coach Jim Hayford said after the Eagles dispatched the NAIA visitors 82-44 in front of 1,119 fans at Reese Court.

As they buried Walla Walla on Tuesday night, the Eastern Washington basketball team also put to rest the memories of a loss at Washington two nights earlier.

Heidi Melville didn’t know what to expect five years ago when she applied for a job at St. George’s School, which needed an assistant soccer coach. A boys soccer coach, as it turned out.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The final score doesn’t show it, but Eastern Washington earned this one the hard way. Overcoming a listless first quarter, poor field position all day, and the loss of quarterback Vernon Adams early in the second half, the Eagles still managed to overhaul Cal Poly 35-22 Saturday afternoon.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Between postgame snapshots with family and friends, Eastern Washington senior quarterback Anthony Vitto tried to look at the big picture. That includes the legacy of this year’s senior class, which clinched yet another Big Sky Confererence football championship with a 35-22 win over Cal Poly on Saturday afternoon.

Overcoming a listless first quarter, poor field position all day, and the loss of quarterback Vernon Adams early in the second half, Eastern Washington defeated Cal Poly 35-22.

It’s been quite a week for the Washington State women's soccer team – including top Pac-12 honors for coach Keidane McAlpine and forward Micaela Castain – and McAlpine doesn’t want it to end on an off note in Saturday’s first-round NCAA Tournament match against Illinois.

Eastern Washington has a 12th man too. The news came out of the blue early this week, much like the recent injuries in the Eastern Washington secondary: Former Eagle safety McKenzie Murphy, whose college football eligibility apparently ended last year, was back in the game.