Jake Schakel’s sterling debut ends in heartbreak as EWU falls to No. 2 Montana: ‘We were 15 feet away’

MISSOULA – The moment didn’t seem just, watching Jake Schakel hold his hands to his helmet at the Montana 13-yard line.

Making his first collegiate start, the redshirt freshman had absorbed eight sacks and countless more hits. He had thrown enough passing yards to already write his name next to Eric Barriere and Matt Nichols for a 19th-place tie on the program’s single-game record list. Just five Eastern Washington quarterbacks had ever attempted more passes in a game.

But with 7 seconds left on the running clock, his team down five and one final play to make from the Montana 5-yard line to give his team a victory, Schakel lost his grip on the football when trying to spike the ball, and a Washington-Grizzly Stadium crowd of 25,861 watched the final seconds tick away.

Montana, the second-ranked team in the country, held on, and it defeated Eastern Washington 29-24 to remain unbeaten while sending the Eagles back home from the state of Montana winless for the sixth straight time.

“We just couldn’t collect ourselves enough to be able to execute in that moment, and that’s unfortunate,” EWU head coach Aaron Best said. “We’re not going to reflect on that one play and wonder ‘what if,’ because there are 59 minutes and 56 seconds we played outstanding football.”

Schakel, who eventually made his way across the field to the team’s locker room, reflected on the moment soon after.

“I’m proud of the team, in all three phases,” Schakel said. “No moral victories. We were 15 feet away.”

Playing in relief of injured starter Nate Bell, Schakel completed 43 of 63 passes for 451 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Only eight EWU quarterbacks have ever thrown for more yards in a game, but four of them actually did so against Montana: Gage Gubrud for 549 in 2017, Barriere for 530 in 2021, Todd Bernett for 486 in 1994 and Vernon Adams Jr. for 457 in 2013. Nichols, too, had his game with 451 against Montana in 2007.

It is lofty company for the redshirt freshman from Puyallup, who in three previous games this season completed 31 of 48 passes for 247 yards and no touchdowns.

“I think that the offensive line had their best game of the entire season,” Schakel said. “A lot of sacks were on me just not picking up the extra blitzer. Credit (goes) to everyone else. The receivers, the coaches, the offensive linemen, just getting me prepared for the game. We came in really prepared and didn’t come in nervous because we were really prepared.”

The game, though, didn’t start off well for the Eagles. After failing to get a first down on their opening drive, the Eagles punted to Drew Deck, who took that punt 60 yards, all the way to the EWU 24-yard line. Five plays later, Keali’i Ah Yat threw over the Eastern defense for a 12-yard touchdown to Michael Wortham, who played the last two years for the Eagles (4-6, 3-3 Big Sky).

Wortham, the Big Sky leader in all-purpose yards, finished the game with 162 more, including a team-high 81 receiving yards.

Montana (10-0, 6-0) added touchdowns on its next two drives, and after Brooks Davis’ two-point conversion, it looked as if this game might go the way that this matchup did three years ago, when the Grizzlies beat the Eagles in Missoula, 63-7.

But on Eastern’s next drive, Schakel completed 4 of 5 throws to four different receivers, finding running back Kevin Allen III in the flat for a 10-yard touchdown on a third-and-goal play to make it 22-7.

And after the Eagles defense forced the first of seven punts – no Big Sky team has punted more against the Eagles this season – Allen scored again to end Eastern’s next drive, making it 22-14.

Montana scored a touchdown on its second drive after halftime to make it 29-14. But on their final five drives, the Grizzlies had one first down and gained just 46 yards.

Had it not been for two second-half interceptions – one on a 50-50 throw and another on a tipped pass – Eastern may well have been in the end zone twice more. But those miscues were costly, especially the second one, which came inside the Montana red zone.

“It was kind of an odd game in terms of how it played out,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said. “We need to be better on both sides of the ball on third down. That was probably the main reason why we couldn’t get away from them in the second half.”

Indeed: Faced with 10 third downs, Montana moved the chains just once. Eastern, meanwhile, was 11-of-21 on third downs, an about-face for an offense that came in with the worst third-down percentage (28%) in the Big Sky.

After Soren McKee’s 24-yard field goal cut Montana’s lead to 29-17 with 2:21 left in the third quarter, Eastern finally got back into the end zone with 1:01 left in the fourth quarter, when Schakel found Cole Pruett for an 8-yard score, the first in the redshirt junior receiver’s career.

With no timeouts left, Eastern lined up for an onside kick, and, on the second try (after Montana called timeout before the first), McKee dribbled the ball forward the required 10 yards before falling on it himself. Hauck said the Montana player assigned to watch for that very play failed to do his job.

Given one last life, Schakel led the Eagles into the red zone in just three plays. Then, a 5-yard pass to Miles Williams got the Eagles to the Montana 9, and a catch by Allen got to the 4. But he was tackled in-bounds, and then came Schakel’s fumble.

“I know everybody on defense is really proud of Jake and the way he played,” EWU linebacker Read Sunn said. “You can’t hang your hat on one play. There is never a football game that comes down to one play.”