Eastern’s defensive adjustments not enough
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The defensive plan that worked so well when Eastern Washington stymied Montana State and UC Davis to close the regular season was a bust in the playoffs.
After the 15th-ranked Eagles found themselves down 24-21 to No. 7 Northern Iowa Saturday night, it was out with the zone and in with more man-to-man.
Unfortunately ,that worked for only 15 minutes as the Panthers rallied to win the first round I-AA playoff game 41-38 Saturday night at the UNI Dome.
NIC sophomore quarterback Eric Sanders hit 15 of 16 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown in the first half, sliding away from the rush until he found receivers open in the holes of the zone. The Panthers scored on all four of their possessions.
“We just switched up and played man-to-man,” EWU defensive coordinator Jody Sears said. “We were there to make plays in the first half, we just weren’t making them. In man coverage, it put us closer to make plays.”
The move worked as the Eagles forced three three-and-outs and forced a fumble after one first down in four third-quarter UNI possessions.
The Panthers also adjusted enough on defense to force the Eagles to punt for the first time with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. By then Eastern had forged ahead 28-24 and they added 10 more points to appear in command.
But in the fourth quarter Sanders figured out the defense and his defense came up with quick stops to give him time to win the game.
Milestones and records
EWU senior wide receiver Eric Kimble broke the Big Sky Conference career reception yards record, surpassing the 4,049 yards Sacramento State’s Fred Amey had from 2001-04. Kimble’s total of 4,140 ranks fourth in I-AA history and his 253 catches is eighth. He also finished with 46 career touchdown catches to finish four behind Jerry Rice’s I-AA record.
Quarterback Erik Meyer, meanwhile, became just the 17th player in I-AA history to pass for more than 10,000 yards in his career. He finished with 10,261 passing yards to rank 17th in I-AA history, 10,942 yards of total offense to rank 14th and 84 touchdown passes to rank 14th.
“He’s such a competitor and so instinctive as a football player,” Eastern head coach Paul Wulff said of the two-time Big Sky Conference Player of the Year. “I think he’s the best player in America and obviously he can play beyond here. You can jump on his back and he’ll do anything he can to help you out. He’s a special person, and boy, are we going to miss him.”
Senior cornerback Jesse Hendrix, who played in all 46 games of his career, had the 41st pass broken of his career to equal the career record he now shares with Jackie Kellogg (1990-93).
Senior wide receiver Raul Vijil passed the 1,000-yard mark for career reception yards.
They’ve met before
Eastern Washington and Northern Iowa have a history dating back 20 years when they met in the first round of the I-AA playoffs. The Eagles lost that game 17-14 and also lost the playoff rematch in 1992 by the same score.
Eastern also lost
Regular-season games to UNI in 1989 (47-21) and 1994 (27-17).
In a pair of non-league games, the Panthers won 47-21 in 1989 and 27-17 in 1994.
Quick kicks
The Eagles lost tight end Tim Calhoun on the opening series of the game when he was drilled in the night right as a pass arrived from Erik Meyer. Running back Ryan Cole hurt his back shortly after that and only carried the ball twice. … As part of the radio broadcast, Paul Seebeck tracked down former Eagles All-American defensive lineman Tommy Williams, who played on the 1992 team that lost a playoff game at UNI. Williams did a telephone interview from Spokane for the pregame show just after 4 p.m. It came from a limo as his family waited to go to a wedding dinner. Williams was married at 2 p.m. … Larry Weir, the voice of the Eagles, missed his first football play-by-play broadcast, ending a streak of 179 games because he was with the basketball team at the Great Alaska Shootout. However, he did a phone interview during the pregame show so he can say he hasn’t missed a broadcast for 180 games.