Field sloppy; EWU isn’t
The road ahead doesn’t get any easier for the Eastern Washington football team, but at least the Eagles are still on the road.
Using a balanced offense highlighted by Ryan Cole’s five touchdowns and a sturdy defense that kept Joe Rubin under control, Eastern defeated Portland State 42-24 in a critical Big Sky Conference game before 5,902 chilled fans at sloppy Woodward Field on Saturday afternoon.
“It was a no-choice type of thing,” Eastern cornerback Jesse Hendrix said. “It was all on the line. … It was either all or nothing.”
Record-breaking quarterback Erik Meyer added: “We have to win now. That loss last week (at Idaho State) lit a fire a little bit. Today we won, and we’ve got to win every week now to go to the playoffs.”
Except for breakdowns on special teams that allowed the Vikings (3-2 overall, 1-1 in conference) to get back in the game, the Eagles (2-2, 1-1) were in control.
“I was worried,” senior wide receiver Craig McIntyre said. “It was great to see us come out like this and not dominate the whole game, but most of it.”
The Eagles opened the game with a pair of 80-yard drives built on Meyer’s throwing and scrambling. Cole, who finished with 154 yards on 25 carries, scored on a 3-yard run, and wide receiver Eric Kimble laid out for a 23-yard touchdown.
Then a couple of mistakes by special teams – a 91-yard punt return and a fumble on the ensuing kickoff – contributed to Portland State’s taking a 17-14 lead late in the second quarter.
But the Eagles held up.
“I’m very proud of these guys,” head coach Paul Wulff said. “We did so many good things today, I didn’t want a few bad plays to disrupt the whole game. … They did a great job on both sides of the ball.”
Meyer, who set the school record for career passing yards (7,626), hooked up with McIntyre for a 35-yard gain just after PSU took the lead. Two plays later Cole busted a play over the left side for a 36-yard touchdown. That capped a quick five-play, 79-yard drive that turned the momentum back.
“Just a lot of disappointing things culminate in a loss,” Portland State coach Tim Walsh said. “The frustrating part is I can deal with losing if we play well, and we didn’t play well.”
Portland State put together a 56-yard drive early in the third quarter to regain the lead, but after a shanked Vikings punt the Eagles put together a 49-yard drive that ended on Cole’s 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Then the defense forced a three-and-out, and Meyer engineered a decisive, 82-yard drive. McIntyre caught four passes before Cole broke a 52-yarder for the touchdown.
The icing was provided by Hendrix, who made his second interception and returned it 44 yards, setting up Cole’s final score on an 8-yard run.
“It was hard to run, hard to cut. It may give some advantage to the offense because the defense has to (react),” Cole said. “Honestly, it was the offensive line. The offensive line dictates how a game is going to be won.”
Meyer was just as impressive with his feet, scrambling for a career-best 68 yards despite losing 11 on four sacks. That contributed to the Eagles’ 222 on the ground to go with the 266 through the air as Meyer hit 19 of 30 passes. McIntyre finished with a career-high seven catches and 101 yards.
Just as impressive was the defense. Rubin, a week after going for 364 yards, had 182 yards, but it took 40 carries, and his longest was 11 yards.
“It was tough, but it was tough for both teams, so (the conditions were) not much of an excuse,” Rubin said.
Eastern defensive tackle Harrison Nikolao said: “The main key was getting off the ball and staying low. We did a great job.”
When forced to pass, the Vikings struggled. Sawyer Smith hit just 10 of 28 passes for 114 yards. Leading receiver Shawn Bodiford was held to three catches for 29 yards.
“On that muddy field, it was a matter of keeping your feet underneath you and not fall down at all costs,” said Hendrix, who also broke up three passes. “We knew we were going to have to stop the run and make them pass.”