Eastern Washington denied comeback after touchdown called back, tying field goal misses in loss to Northern Iowa 17-14

Eastern Washington’s offense sputtered for three quarters on Saturday before finally revving up in the fourth quarter to avoid the program’s first shutout in 19 seasons.

During those first 45 minutes, the Eagles’ defense was twice gouged for long touchdown passes, but it also produced a red-zone interception and recovered a fumble, holding down Northern Iowa’s offense enough to keep the game within reach.

The Eagles even blocked a punt, and the Panthers just once started a drive beyond their own 29-yard line.

Yet two miscues on Eastern’s final drive allowed Northern Iowa to hold on for a 17-14 victory at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where EWU is now 0-7 all-time in college football games.

Eastern’s final drive, which spawned after a fourth-down stop from the Eagles’ defense with 2:23 remaining, almost fizzled out four plays in. But facing 4th and 14 from his own 13-yard line, redshirt sophomore quarterback Nate Bell completed a pass to redshirt junior Cole Pruett for 21 yards and a first down.

That spurred the Eagles (0-3) into gear, and four plays later Bell completed a 10-yard pass to sixth-year senior Nolan Ulm along the sidelines for a first down at the UNI 20 with 31 seconds left.

On the next play, with the Eagles out of timeouts, Bell dropped back for a pass but bailed out of the pocket, rushed toward the right sideline and then sneaked into the end zone for what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown – but the play was called back by an illegal formation penalty. It was the ninth penalty called against the Eagles, their most in the last 13 games.

“It’s unfortunate that it came down to that,” EWU head coach Aaron Best said in a postgame radio interview, noting that the illegal formation penalty came after UNI had called a timeout. “We were not disciplined enough in that situation.”

Unable to move the ball any farther, the Eagles opted to attempt a 42-yard field goal on third-and-15. Redshirt sophomore Soren McKee’s kick from the right hash stayed wide right, UNI took over, and the Panthers (2-1) kneeled out the clock.

It soured a sweet fourth-quarter performance from Bell, who was making his first career start, in relief of injured starter Jared Taylor. Led by Bell, the Eagles gained more yards in the fourth quarter (151) than they did the first three combined (125).

Down 17-0, Bell capped back-to-back Eagles drives with touchdown runs from 15 and then 40 yards. He finished with 159 passing yards while completing 21 of 35 passes, and he rushed 14 times for 89 yards. Neither he nor any of his teammates turned over the ball.

“Kudos to Nate,” Best said. “The first half didn’t go as he (or we) planned it to go. … We expected him to play like a pro, and he did. Unfortunately he got on track a little bit too late in the ballgame.”

The Eagles forced two turnovers to win the turnover margin for the first time this season, helping the Eagles compensate for UNI’s 495-276 advantage in total yards from scrimmage. The Panthers, too, committed costly penalties: Of their 10, three of them extended Eastern drives that would have ended otherwise.

Redshirt senior Noah Cronquist caught five passes for 42 yards and had another – that would have gone for a touchdown – called back by a penalty for an illegal player downfield. Redshirt junior Miles Williams also caught five passes, for 29 yards.

Defensively, the Eagles sacked UNI quarterback Matthew Schecklman twice but struggled on third downs, when UNI converted 9 of 17 times. The Panthers held the ball for 34 minutes, including a crucial 6-minute drive in the fourth quarter after Eastern had gotten within three points.

True freshman defensive back Bryce Smith led the Eagles with 10 tackles and also blocked a punt, and on the season the Eagles have now blocked a punt, an extra point (at Boise State) and a field goal (at Incarnate Word).

Redshirt sophomore Jaylen Jenkins recorded his first-career interception in the second quarter. In the third quarter, redshirt freshman Ambrose Marsh sacked Schecklman, forcing a fumble that was recovered by redshirt sophomore Samarai Anderson.

Schecklman finished 23-of-34 for 359 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown pass to Tysen Kershaw on UNI’s first offensive play of the game and a 63-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Price on a flea-flicker play in the third quarter.

Eastern has played its first three games on the road but returns home to face Western Illinois next week. It opens Big Sky play on the road the week after at Montana State.