Ewu Hopes To Put Mathis Against The Wall
Students are streaming back into town for the start of classes next week. The crowd should be large and loud.
The natural grass at 7,000-seat Woodward Stadium is fresh, thick, green and forgiving. As part of the Family Fun Day festivities, a food court has been erected outside the stadium. Fireworks will be launched after the game.
And to top it off, Mike Kramer’s Eastern Washington Eagles are playing pretty good football. As home openers go, Kramer admits it doesn’t get much better than this - if only he didn’t have to worry about this Claude Mathis thing.
Mathis, as it turns out, is the starting running back for unbeaten Southwest Texas, which will provide the opposition for EWU (1-1) in tonight’s 6:35 non-conference game.
And he’s capable of raining some major disappointment on an otherwise promising EWU parade.
“He’s just a great football player,” Kramer said of SWT’s 5-foot-9, 195-pound junior, who has rushed for 197 yards and three touchdowns in wins over Grand Valley State (19-14) and Hofstra (28-13), which was ranked No. 8 among Division I-AA schools at the time.
“He has those never-say-die feet. He’s always squirming, reaching and straining for extra yards, which eventually equates to big plays.”
The Eagles beat the Bobcats 34-16 in their first meeting last fall in San Marcos, Texas. But it wasn’t because of the defensive game plan EWU devised to stop Mathis.
Mathis took a handoff on the first play of the game and raced around right end for a 79-yard touchdown. He finished the game, which was delayed for more than an hour by lightning and high winds, with a career-high 228 yards on 26 carries.
EWU survived that early hit, however, by shaking tailback Joe Sewell loose for second-half scoring runs of 67, 68 and 7 yards. Sewell, like Mathis, is hoping for another big game.
Working in Kramer’s favor this year is a vastly improved defense that is looking more like the real deal with each weekend.
The Eagles, the worst defensive team in the Big Sky last fall, have allowed opponents an average of 353 yards a game this season. That’s down almost 120 yards from last year, but Kramer remains hesitant to declare that his defense has arrived.
“We’re gaining more confidence in our own players and how they’re able to line up,” he admitted, “but we’re still not completely over the hill. We can still do things better in terms of recognition, alignment and pad level.
“We’re not satisfied, but I’ll tell you what, we’re jubilant that we’re finally playing with a measure of competency. We’re getting better every day, and that’s a real tribute to our system.
“We just haven’t abandoned it and gone to a whole new scheme.”
The Eagles’ defense, which returned two interceptions for touchdowns and also recovered a fumble in last Saturday’s 27-21 non-conference win at Boise State, is led by junior linebacker Derek Strey. He has 29 tackles despite a padded cast on his hand to protect a broken thumb.
Notes
Senior Jerrold Jackson has recovered two weeks earlier than expected from a broken hand suffered during preseason drills and could see action in tonight’s game… . Offensive guard T.J. Ackerman is out for the year with a torn ACL suffered at Boise State. In addition, backup tight end Adam Kellar (dislocated kneecap) and backup offensive guard Brendan Biele (knee), who will undergo arthroscopic surgery next week, are unable to play… . The Eagles unveil their new home uniforms tonight.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Eagles vs. SW Texas State