After Finally Landing, Eagles Fly Past Isu Injured Bengals Help Ewu Survive 31-17

Give me your tired, your fortunate … but go ahead and keep your injured.

That pretty much summed up Mike Kramer’s feelings late Saturday afternoon in Holt Arena after his dog-tired, but opportunistic, Eastern Washington Eagles shook off the effects of a road trip from hell to outlast banged-up Idaho State 31-17.

“We avoided catastrophe,” Kramer said.

The comment was made in reference to several near-misses the Bengals had on punt-block attempts. But it served also as a blanket endorsement of the proceedings that unfolded before a homecoming crowd of 8,370.

The Eagles, operating on less than 5 hours of sleep after arriving in Pocatello on an emergency backup charter just a little after 4 Saturday morning, seemed to rally around their travel hardships.

Buoyed by their dominance in the offensive and defensive trenches, the running of backup tailback Rex Prescott and a couple of crucial interceptions by Maurice Perigo, the Eagles raised their overall record to 6-2 and their Big Sky Conference mark to 3-2.

In addition, they kept their Division I-AA playoff hopes alive and assured Kramer his first winning season in his three years as a collegiate head coach.

ISU, playing without its top two tailbacks, its No. 1 quarterback and three other injured starters, including cornerback Marcus Jackson - who was paralyzed from the neck down while making a tackle earlier in the season - fell to 3-4 and 1-2.

Still, the Bengals were right there until the final 3 minutes, when Perigo picked off a wobbly, pressured throw by quarterback Shane Griggs, a true freshman, and returned it 47 yards to ISU’s 11-yard line.

Three plays later, Eastern QB Griffin Garske sneaked into the end zone from the 1 to give the Eagles their final margin of victory.

Prescott, who finished with 157 yards rushing and three receptions for 72 more, scored twice on short runs and Steve Correa hauled in a 73-yard scoring bomb from Garske for EWU’s other touchdowns.

The Eagles also got two short field goals from Josh Atwood and a brilliant punting performance from Tom Zurfluh, who averaged 43.6 yards per kick under constant duress.

“Their pressure on our punter was something we never really saw,” Kramer admitted. “When we watch video tomorrow, we’re going to be sick about our punt protection.”

Still, Zurfluh managed to successfully launch all five of his punts - including a 66-yarder that came within a yard of equaling the longest in EWU history between, under and around the outstretched arms of ISU’s straining rushers. And he played an important role in the battle for late-game field position.

The Eagles were also able to overcome another sporadic performance by Garske, a redshirt freshman, who threw for 253 yards but completed only 11 of 29 passes and had two intercepted.

They also managed to dodge a dagger or two from the agile 6-foot5 Griggs, who completed 9 of 29 for 209 yards and one touchdown, but also overthrew several wide-open receivers who had Eastern defenders beaten deep.

“I thought the game mirrored the fact that both teams are still infantile at quarterback,” Kramer said. “Both of these quarterbacks should probably shower right now, get a bite to eat and come back and practice for about 2 hours, no question. But you know both of them are destined for greatness.”

Griggs, who has started the last two games because of junior Gary Anderson’s tender hamstring, impressed defensive end Steve Mattson, who had 2 of Eastern’s seven sacks.

“He was real quick and we knew he was dangerous throwing on the run once he got outside,” Mattson said of Griggs. “But we felt like this might be a big week for the D-line and that if we kept him off-balance he would make some bad throws. And he did.”

It was the Eagles’ relentless pass rush that helped provide Perigo with the decisive interception - his sixth of the season - and a perfect birthday gift for middle linebacker Derek Strey, who calls the defensive signals.

“It started out in the huddle,” Perigo said of his second pick. “(Strey) said, ‘Hey, this is the biggest play of the game, it’s my birthday, I want you guys to do something for me.’

“I was thinking, ‘We still have this last play, so let’s try to make something happen.’ The quarterback was forced to throw the ball away and I just happened to be right there.”

The Eagles travel to Idaho for a 3:05 p.m. non-conference matchup against the Vandals next Saturday.

E. Washington 31, Idaho St. 17

EWU 3 9 13 6 - 31 ISU 3 0 6 8 - 17

ISU-Ferrell 33 FG

EWU-Atwood 27 FG

EWU-Atwood 28 FG

EWU-Prescott 5 run (kick failed)

EWU-Correa 73 pass from Garske (2-point conversion failed)

ISU-Young 40 pass from Griggs (2-point conversion failed)

EWU-Prescott 4 run (Atwood kick)

ISU-Griggs 10 run (Barry pass from Griggs)

EWU-Garske 1 run (kick failed)

A-8,370.

EWU ISU First downs 22 17 Rushes-yards 50-216 38-158 Passing 253 209 Comp-Att-Int 11-29-2 9-30-2 Return Yards 113 158 Punts-Avg. 5-43.6 8-37.8 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1 Penalties-Yards 1-5 5-53 Time of Possession 30:29 29:31

Individual statistics

RUSHING-EWU-Prescott 26-157, Sewell 8-35, Mackenzie 9-21. ISUJoseph 14-115, Bell 5-35, Bradshaw 6-17.

PASSING-EWU-Garske 11-29-2 253. ISUGriggs 9-29-2 209, Bradshaw 0-1-0 1.

RECEIVING-EWU-Correa 3-115, Prescott 3-72, Jackson 3-54. I.S.U.-McBride 2-68, Young 2-57, Giles 2-37.

, DataTimes