Eagles surprise Weber

Eastern Washington University went out on a high note Saturday as the Eagles played one of their best Big Sky Conference football games in recent memory.

Maybe the best, if 7 minutes of the third quarter can be discounted.

Matt Nichols threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns as Eastern built a 33-7 lead and held off Weber State 33-26 at Ogden, Utah, to hand the Wildcats their first conference loss of the season.

Buck Buchanan Award candidate Greg Peach recovered a fumble on EWU’s 18-yard line with 1:02 left as the Eagles (6-5, 5-3) sealed their 11th winning season in 13 years.

The Wildcats (9-3, 7-1) had already earned the biggest prize, the league’s automatic berth in the FCS playoffs. But the loss allowed Montana to tie Weber State for first place.

Weber State put a scare into Eastern by scoring 19 unanswered points during the final 6:54 of the third quarter. But the Eagles held the Wildcats scoreless in the fourth quarter and secured the upset on the recovery by Peach, who finished the season with 18 sacks.

“We came out today and played the best team in the conference on the road and came right at them,” said Beau Baldwin, who capped his first season as Eagles coach with a three-game winning streak.

EWU’s Aaron Boyce caught two TD passes, including a 33-yarder in the third quarter for a 33-7 advantage.

Trevyn Smith, who finished with three rushing TDs and one TD catch, rallied the Wildcats. His 56-yard run on the final play of the third quarter capped Weber State’s 19-0 run.

Montana 35, Montana St. 3: Sophomore Chase Reynolds and junior Marc Mariani each scored two touchdowns and the Grizzlies took advantage of five turnovers by the Bobcats in cruising to a victory in Missoula.

With the win, coupled with Eastern Washington’s upset of Weber State, the Grizzlies clinched a share of their 11th consecutive Big Sky crown. Reynolds scored on runs of 6 yards in the second quarter and 15 yards in the fourth. He finished with 115 yards on the ground, more than half of them in a 98-yard drive that ate up nearly 10 minutes in the final quarter.

Mariani scored Montana’s first TD on a 75-yard punt return. His 37-yard reception from Cole Bergquist put UM up 21-3 late in the third quarter. He suffered an injured ankle on the play and didn’t return.

Montana State lost three fumbles, negating a career-best 203-yard rushing game by senior Demetrius Crawford.

Portland State 24, Northern Colorado 21: Drew Hubel threw for 343 yards and three TDs to lead the Vikings over the Bears in Portland.

Hubel completed 28 of 36 passes on the way to his fifth 300-yard passing game of the season. Aaron Woods and Daniel Wolverton both had more than 100 yards receiving for the Vikings.

Idaho State 36, Sacramento State 33 (OT): Kenyon Blue’s 8-yard TD run in overtime, his third TD of the game, gave the Bengals a win over the Hornets at Pocatello, ending a 15-game losing streak.

Blue’s final score came after a 22-yard field goal by Sacramento State’s Juan Gamboa in the Hornets’ first possession in overtime. Blue finished with 111 yards on 18 attempts.