EWU notebook: Veterans step up for Eagles’ defense
Eastern Washington played well enough in clutch moments Saturday to win for the second time in as many home games this season, holding off the Portland State Vikings for a 35-27 victory at Roos Field in Cheney.
The Eagles (2-4, 1-1 Big Sky) have yet to win a game on the road, though this season they will have just three more such contests, and one this month, at Weber State on Oct. 25.
In their victory over Portland State (0-6, 0-2), the Eagles reversed one particular trend that had been a key factor in their defeats, and one that wasn’t even particularly good in their other victory, 52-31 against Western Illinois: third-down offense, which through five games was the worst in the Big Sky (27.4%).
Against the Vikings, the Eagles converted on a season-high 8 of 12 third downs, including all four in the first half when they jumped out to a 21-17 lead. That included conversions on third-and-6 and on a couple of third-and-9s.
Perhaps none of the eight conversions, though, were more important than a 43-yard catch by running back Marceese Yetts on a third-and-9 play on Eastern’s second drive of the third quarter, when the Eagles’ lead was just a point, 21-20.
Three plays after that big gain, quarterback Nate Bell connected with tight end Landon Cooper for a 9-yard touchdown that pushed Eastern’s lead to eight. It was never again smaller.
Still, a lack of execution offensively in the fourth quarter put the Eagles in some precarious spots, and they converted on just 2 of 5 third downs over the final 15 minutes.
“Eight of 12 looks good,” EWU head coach Aaron Best said, “but there could have been a couple in the fourth quarter that put us in a better situation.”
Handful of vets lead defense
Depleted by injuries, Eastern’s defense has relied on more than a handful of underclassmen, many of whom made important plays against the Eagles.
But the veterans led the charge on Saturday: Redshirt junior safety Drew Carter had 12 tackles, grad senior linebacker Read Sunn had 11 and redshirt junior linebacker Myles Mayovsky had 11 himself. For each the total was a career-high.
Mayovsky credited that at least in part to the team’s joy-forward mentality this week during practice.
“Coach Best hit on it this week: joy. Just have fun,” he said. “We made a bunch of mistakes on defense, but everyone was having fun and flying around.”
Sunn finished with two tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Carter, playing with a broken hand in a heavy cast, also had a tacklefor loss.
True freshman nickel back Bryce Smith added seven tackles, and as a team the Eagles recorded five quarterback hurries and broke up six passes.
The Eagles are playing without a trio of starters, all of them upperclassmen, in Dishawn Misa (defensive end), McKel Broussard (safety) and team captain DaJean Wells (cornerback).
On offense, the Eagles played without quarterback Jared Taylor and fellow redshirt senior running back Malik Dotson. They were also missing starting offensive lineman Kyle Stahlecker, a redshirt sophomore.
A (relatively) low-scoring affair
For 15 years, Portland State and Eastern Washington’s football games have accelerated into high-scoring contests, yet by those standards Saturday’s output was relatively ho-hum.
The 62 combined points were the fewest in the series since 2009, when Eastern defeated Portland State 47-10 in a game played at Qwest Field in Seattle.
Since that game, the two have averaged a combined total of 78.8 points per game, including a high of 99 in a 53-46 EWU victory in 2019.
Eastern improved to 13-11 all-time at home against the Vikings, and it now holds a 23-22-1 advantage in the series overall.