EWU notebook: Vitto steps in, up with family in stands

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Between postgame snapshots with family and friends, Eastern Washington senior quarterback Anthony Vitto tried to look at the big picture.

That includes the legacy of this year’s senior class, which clinched yet another Big Sky Confererence football championship with a 35-22 win over Cal Poly on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s just awesome,” said Vitto, who relieved injured starter Vernon Adams early in the second half and promptly delivered a 54-yard touchdown pass to Shaquille Hill that proved to be the winning score.

“Just the other day,” Vitto recalled, “I was talking with (senior offensive lineman) Steven Forgette that our class has won three Big Sky titles in four years.”

“Now we just want to keep climbing,” said Vitto, who along with the Eagles can take another step up with a win next week over Portland State. That would give them an outright title, the program’s first since 1997.

Fittingly, that will come on Senior Day, which for Vitto probably won’t match the poignancy of Saturday’s game. With dozens of family and friends in the stands, the Simi Valley, Calif., native stepped onto the field and completed 8 of 12 passes for 127 yards and a score.

“It’s great to play in front of my family, and I haven’t been able to do that in a long time, so that’s great,” Vitto said.

More records for Kupp

Freshman receiver Cooper Kupp caught eight passes for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Cal Poly as he equaled the FCS record of 11 for most consecutive games with a touchdown catch.

Kupp now shares the record with Randy Moss from Marshall in 1996, Cal Poly’s Ramses Barden in 2008 and EWU’s Brandon Kaufman in 2010.

Another title

With the win, Eastern wrapped up at least a share of its seventh Big Sky Conference title in school history.

The Eagles shared the title with Cal Poly and Montana State last year, and have also won league titles in 1992, 1997, 2004, 2005 and 2010.