Second-half fizzle results in EWU loss
Trevyn Smith ran for 203 yards and participated in a trick play that resulted in a 49-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to lead Weber State to a 19-14 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday in Ogden, Utah.
With 17 seconds remaining in the third, Ian Pizarro handed the ball off to Smith, who pitched it right back, and Pizarro then threw a long completion to a wide-open Terry Larsen.
The play put the Wildcats (2-4, 3-6 Big Sky) up 19-14.
Eastern Washington (2-8, 2-5) was slowed by Weber State’s defense in the second half. The Eagles were held to 2 yards of offense in the third quarter, and 32 yards on the half.
“They played better than us,” said EWU head coach Paul Wulff of the second-half turnaround. “There were no adjustments – they just whipped us. We lost Zach Wasielewski (knee injury) so we had to shuttle some offensive linemen in there. We didn’t block very well and we didn’t execute.
“It’s frustrating when you do bone-headed things and don’t give yourself a chance. It gets a little tiresome when you don’t execute very well.”
Senior running back Ryan Cole and freshman redshirt quarterback Matt Nichols helped lead Eastern to a pair of first-half touchdowns with drives of 59 and 85 yards. Cole finished the game with 65 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Nichols completed 10 of 18 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown to Tony Davis.
But most of that production came in the first half against a Weber State defense that entered the game allowing just 284.3 yards per game to rank 24th in I-AA and second in the Big Sky behind Montana.
Eastern finished with 211 yards of total offense while Weber State had 443.
“We’re going to talk about it and try to get it fixed,” added Wulff. “Our effort is good and we’re playing hard. But we’re just not finishing drives and didn’t tackle well on defense.”
Montana 10, Cal Poly 9: At Missoula, Dan Carpenter kicked a 21-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to lift the Griz (8-1) to a 10-9 victory over the Mustangs (6-3) in a battle of Top 10 NCAA Division I-AA teams.
Sacramento State 22, Idaho State 14: At Pocatello, Idaho, quarterback Marcel Marquez passed for a career-high 396 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Hornets (4-5, 4-3) to a victory over the Bengals (2-7, 1-5).
Montana State 13, Northern Colorado 10: At Bozeman, Mont., the Bobcats (7-3, 6-1) turned two interceptions into scores, including a career-long 47-yard field goal by Jeff Hastings, and held on for the victory over the Bears (1-8, 0-6).
Portland State 34, Northern Arizona 26: At Flagstaff, Ariz., Sawyer Smith threw for 324 yards and four touchdowns, and the No. 25 Vikings (6-2, 5-2) held off a late rally to beat the Lumberjacks (4-5, 3-3).