­­­­Eastern Washington University "Eagles" versus Portland State University "Vikings" Saturday, Nov. 23 • 1:06 p.m. Pacific Roos Field (8,600) • Cheney, Washington
TV:	Regionally in Eastern Washington on SWX (Sam Adams, Bill Ames)
Webcast:	Pluto TV Channel 534 (http://pluto.tv & http://watchbigsky.com)
Radio:	700-AM ESPN and 105.3-FM in the Spokane/Cheney area, as well as KTEL 1490-AM & 99.7-FM in Walla Walla. Larry Weir returns for his 29th season calling the play-by-play, with analysis handled by Paul Sorensen for the 17th year. Broadcasts begin one hour prior to kickoff and include an expanded post-game show.
Internet Radio:	https://tunein.com/radio/Eastern-Washington-Eagles-Sports-Network-s273711/
Radio Mobile Phone App:	Via tunein radio.
Live Stats:	http://ewustats.com

It's a day for the seniors, but it will also be a day to continue history.
 
The Eastern Washington University football team tries for its 13th-straight winning season and remain unbeaten at home when it hosts Portland State Saturday (Nov. 23) at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
 
Kickoff is 1:06 p.m. in a game in which 20 Eagle seniors will be honored in ceremonies prior to the game, which will be televised regionally in Eastern Washington by SWX. Fans can also listen to the game on 700-AM ESPN, 105.3-FM, via the web at tunein.com and via mobile phone app, with pre-game coverage starting one hour prior to kickoff.
 
Eastern is 6-5 overall and 5-2 in the Big Sky, and has its first multiple game winning streak of the season – now at three-straight victories. EWU has a current school-record 13-game winning streak at "The Inferno," with Eastern beating Northern Arizona 66-38 on Nov. 2 in the last game played there. The Eagles are a perfect 4-0 at home and 2-5 on the road this season.
 
The all-time series with Portland State is knotted 20-20-1, but Eastern has won the last three meetings, six of the last seven and eight of the last 10. During Eastern's current winning streak in the series, the Eagles have averaged 598.0 yards of offense (1,794 total), while doubling-up the Vikings in scoring 168-84 (average score of 56-28). However, four of the five meetings from 2012-16 were decided by seven point or less, including a one-point win by the Eagles in 2013 (42-41) and a three-point loss in 2015 (34-31).
 
Coached by former Eagle player and 1987 graduate Bruce Barnum, PSU opened the season 5-3 and 3-1 in the Big Sky, but has dropped its last three. The Vikings, who had a bye last week, lost consecutive games to Northern Arizona (31-29), Montana (38-23) and UC Davis (45-28) to fall to 5-6 overall and 3-4 in the Big Sky.
 
Last week, Eastern took its No. 1 offense in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision to Cal Poly and emerged with 496 yards of total offense to maintain that lead. The Eagles averaged 9.2 yards per play, with their six scoring drives taking just 31 plays for 450 yards and 9:01 off the clock – averages of 14.5 yards per play and 1:30 per possession.
 
While Eastern made its possessions count, the triple-offense of Cal Poly was churning out 477 total yards, including 367 on the ground. Two late EWU turnovers led to Mustang touchdowns. But a failed two-point conversion try and a missed field goal with 1:02 left by the Mustangs helped EWU survive for a 42-41 win, despite the fact Eastern had the ball for just 16:53 compared to 43:07 for Cal Poly.
 
 "We just found a way," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best of the thrilling finish. "We had a big play on the two-point conversion to get a stop in a very crucial situation, and did the same thing to force their field goal attempt. In a special situation, special players stepped up and made big plays."
 
The Cal Poly victory also helps Eastern toward its goal of extending its school-record streak of consecutive winning seasons to 13, having not had a losing season since 2006 when the Eagles were 3-8. If it wasn't for a two-game winning streak on the road, EWU wouldn't be in a position to extend that streak.
 
 "I was really proud of our team. I know I've said it all year, but that Cal Polly win was another proud moment," said Best. "That is win No. 6, and now it's time to find a way to win No. 7 against a very good Portland State team. We're 6-5 with one left to go to see where we go from there."
 
After starting the 2019 season 2-4, Eastern dropped out of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision rankings on Oct. 7 for only the second time since 2011. When Eastern beat Northern Colorado 54-21 on Oct. 12, it was the first time since 2011 EWU had been unranked entering a game. The Eagles had been ranked 46-straight times in the STATS poll, and 103 of the last 104 (EWU had a 57-week streak ended with the final poll of the 2015 season). In preseason rankings in 2019, EWU was ranked fourth by STATS and third by the American Football Coaches Association – both the highest of the season -- before falling to Washington.
 
A week after snapping a five-game losing streak on the road, Eastern extended its streak of 26-straight seasons with at least two wins away from Roos Field, where EWU has a current school-record 13-game winning streak. A 48-5 win at Idaho State on Nov. 9 extended EWU's current streak of seasons with at least one road win to 51.
 
 
 

Game Notes

 
Seniors Have Combined for 37 Victories and a 26-5 Big Sky Record in the Last Four Seasons
 
Eastern has yet another special group of seniors, and for the second-straight year, will honor at least 20 this week against Portland State. The 20 seniors, including several who are candidates to receive sixth years and return in 2020, have helped Eastern go 37-14 overall (72.5 percent) and 26-5 (83.9 percent) in Big Sky Conference play in the last three-plus seasons. Eastern's particularly large group of 27 seniors honored a year ago was reduced to 25 when Spencer Blackburn and Kaleb Levao each received a sixth year to complete four years of eligibility at EWU.
 
Below is a list of EWU's 20 seniors who will be honored Saturday, combining for 775 games played and 351 total starts in their careers.
 
32 - Bradley Alexander - CB- 5-10 - 175 - Sr. - 1L* - Las Vegas, Nevada / Canyon Springs '19 & Grambling St.  - 17/0
28 - Antoine Custer Jr. – RB- 5-9 - 190 - Sr. - 3L - Berkeley, Calif. / De La Salle '16 - 46/31
41 - Trevor Davis Jr. - LB - 6-1 - 215 - Sr. - 2L* - Tumwater, Wash. / Tumwater HS '15 - 27/6
10 - Dre' Sonte Dorton - WR - 5-10 - 185 - Sr. - 2L* - Pasco, Wash. / Chiawana HS '15 - 34/6
69 - Will Gram - OL - 6-4 - 300 - Sr. - 2L* - Troy, Idaho / Troy HS '15 - 38/9
23 - Dehonta Hayes - DB - 5-11 - 195 – Sr. - 2L* - Tacoma, Wash. / Lincoln HS '15 - 37/20
96 - Darnell Hogan - DL - 6-4 - 250 - Sr. - 2L* - Seattle, Wash. / Cleveland HS '15 - 36/1
36 - Andrew Katzenberger - LB - 6-1 - 220 - Sr. - 3L* - Lynnwood, Wash. / Lynnwood HS '15 - 44/4
66 - Kaleb Levao - OL - 6-4 - 310 - Sr. - 3L* - Aberdeen, Wash. / Aberdeen HS '14 - 50/29
6 - Dennis Merritt - RB - 5-10 - 180 - Sr. - 2L* - Leavenworth, Wash. / Cascade HS '15 - 30/1
22 - Tysen Prunty - DB - 6-1 - 205 - Sr. - 3L* - Beaverton, Ore. / Tigard HS '15 - 41/12
64 - Chris Schlichting - OL - 6-5 - 295 - Sr. - 3L* - North Bend, Wash. / Mount Si HS '15 - 51/51
65 - Tristen Taylor - OL - 6-6 - 325 - Sr. - 2L* - Stockton, Calif. / Stagg HS '15 - 39/39
49 - Jim Townsend - DL - 6-4 - 265 - Sr. - 3L* - Okanogan, Wash. / Okanogan HS '15 - 50/20
56 - Jusstis Warren - LB/DL - 6-2 - 250 - Sr. - TR - Tacoma, Wash. / Lincoln HS '15 & University of Washington - 1/0
2 - Jayson Williams - WR - 6-1 - 205 - Sr. - 3L* - Tacoma, Wash. / Lincoln HS '15 - 47/12
 
Senior Co-Captains . . .
89 - Jayce Gilder - TE - 6-4 - 245 - Sr. - 3L* - Corvallis, Mont. / Corvallis HS '15 - 51/16
4 - Dylan Ledbetter - DL - 6-3 - 275 - Sr. - 3L* - West Seattle, Wash. / O'Dea HS '15 - 51/32
8 - Jack Sendelbach - LB - 6-3 - 225 - Sr. - 2L* - Seattle, Wash. / Blanchet HS '15 - 35/14
75 - Spencer Blackburn - OL - 6-2 - 290 - Sr. - 3L* - Bellingham, Wash. / Meridian HS '14 - 50/48
 
 
Eagles Now 56-10 on the Red Turf with Record 13-Game Winning Streak
 
Having won all five of its regular season home games in 2018 and a trio of playoff games, Eastern has extended its current home winning streak to a school-record 13 in the 2019 season. Eastern is now 56-10 (84.8 percent) overall at Roos Field since 2010. The stadium has been known as "Roos Field" since 2010 when a new red synthetic Sprinturf surface made its debut. Eastern's last home loss came on Nov. 4, 2017, versus Weber State.
 
At its current site, the previous school record was 11 consecutive home wins set between 9/16/78 and 9/27/80 (between losses was from 11/19/77 to 11/1/80). Overall, the school record is 21 set from 1935-40. Eastern had a nine-game winning streak snapped in a 36-21 loss to Montana State on Sept. 24, 2011. The Eagles also had a nine-game winning streak at that venue snapped against Sacramento State on Oct. 21, 2000, when the Hornets made a 23-yard field goal with no time remaining.
 
Eastern has lost just six regular season games at "The Inferno" – 43-6 (87.8 percent), plus are 13-4 (76.5 percent) in playoff games. The only regular season losses at home for EWU since 2010 are to conference foes Montana State (2011), Portland State (2011 and 2015), Northern Arizona (2015) and Weber State (2017), as well as North Dakota State (2017).
 
Eastern finished a perfect 8-0 in its debut season at "The Inferno," including three playoff victories. Eastern has won 84.8 percent of its games since the red turf was installed in 2010 – including a 4-0 record versus rival Montana.
 
The North Dakota State game on Sept. 9, 2017, was the 50th at Roos Field since the red turf surface was installed in 2010. In 2016, Eastern finished 7-1 in the 50th season of football at EWU's current stadium location, which opened in 1967. Eastern has a 169-65 record (72.2 percent) in 234 games at Roos Field (formerly Woodward Field) since 1967, with the Eagles utilizing Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane as the school's main home field from 1983-89. 
 
 
Eagles Have Averaged 622 Yards and Have Outscored Opponents 214-110 at Roos Field
 
If only every game could be played at "The Inferno." Eastern is averaging 622.2 yards of offense and 53.5 points per game in four games at Roos Field thus far, while defensively allowing 398.0 yards and 27.5 points. Eastern has been quite impressive in the first half, out-scoring opponents 137-48 with advantages of 62-21 in the first quarter and 75-27 in the second period. In its last outing against Northern Arizona on Nov. 2, Eastern had a 38-24 halftime lead, and on Oct. 12 versus Northern Colorado led 40-0 at intermission.
 
Quarterback Eric Barriere, who is a perfect 10-0 in his career as a starter at Roos Field, has completed 66.9 percent of his passes and has an efficiency rating of 181.53 in those four games. He's passed for 1,427 yards and thrown 13 touchdown passes with no interceptions. He has also rushed for an additional 211 yards and three scores for an average of 409.5 yards of total offense, while running back Antoine Custer Jr. has totaled 388 yards on the ground with seven scores.
 
Defensively, Dehonta Hayes has 36 tackles and an interception at home this season, and fellow safety Calin Criner has 25 with a pair of picks. Linebacker Jack Sendelbach has added 28 tackles and a sack. Eastern has had 10 sacks at home, compared to just three in five road contests. The Eagles also have an 11-3 advantage in turnovers forced on the red turf, but away from home has had seven turnovers while forcing six.
 
 
Eastern Continues to Lead FCS in Total Offense
 
Eastern enters the Portland State game as the FCS leader in total offense (521.7), with 1,891 yards in the last three games (630.3 per game). Eastern is coming off a 496-yard performance at Cal Poly, but had 706 versus Northern Arizona on Nov. 2 to rank fifth in school history, and 689 at Idaho State on Nov. 9 to rank seventh all-time. Eastern has also had a school-record 769 this season versus Lindenwood, and 637 against Northern Colorado on Oct. 12 to rank as the 19th most in EWU history.
 
The Eagles are fourth in FCS in passing (322.3), 24th in rushing (199.5) and sixth in scoring (39.5). Defensively, Eastern is 78th in rushing defense (173.5), 104th in passing defense (261.5), 98th in total defense (435.0) and 94th in scoring defense (33.5) among 116 FCS schools. Eastern also has the fifth-most first downs in FCS with 268 and is 32nd in third down conversions (42.1 percent). Eastern is 16th in turnover margin (plus 0.73 per game), with 21 takeaways (26th) and 13 giveaways (21st).
 
Individually, Eastern's Eric Barriere is second in FCS in total offense, averaging 362.5 compared to the 362.7 average by Brown's E.J. Perry, a former Boston College quarterback. Barriere is second in passing (313.8 with Northern Arizona's Case Cookus at 333.1) and is also sixth with 28 touchdown passes and fifth in points responsible for per game (19.5 per game with 28 TDs passing, seven rushing and a two-point conversion).
 
Running back Antoine Custer Jr., who has had five 100-yard performances this season to go over the 1,000-yard mark, is 24th nationally in rushing (91.8) and 10th in rushing touchdowns (14). On a balanced receiving corp, Talolo Limu-Jones is 47th with seven touchdown catches and his average of 24.83 per catch is second behind the 25.18 average of Isaiah Weston of Northern Iowa. Jones, interestingly, has 41 career catches for 835 yards and 11 touchdowns – an average of 20.4 per reception in his career (currently second in school history behind the record of 22.8) and a TD every 3.7 catches.
 
In addition, Andrew Boston is 68th in receptions per game (4.7) and 72nd in receiving yards per game (67.2). Dehonta Hayes is 16th in tackles (9.6 per game; 106 total). Kicker Seth Harrison is the only player in FCS with an average of at least one field goal attempt per game to be perfect, going 11-of-11 so far.  He is 30th in field goals with an average of 1.1 per game).
 
 
Eagles Continuing Excellence in November and Beyond
 
November has long been a successful month for Eastern, and so far they are continuing that in 2019 with a 3-0 record thus far. Since 2004, EWU has lost just seven regular season games in November (Weber State in 2017; NAU, Portland State and Montana in 2015; Sac State and Weber State in 2006; and Cal Poly in 2005), with an overall record of 38-7 and a current eight-game winning streak in the month. Until losing to Northern Arizona on Nov. 7, 2015, Eastern had won its last 19 regular season games in November, dating back to a 15-13 loss to Sacramento State on Nov. 1, 2008.
 
In November and beyond since 2004, the Eagles are now 54-16, including a 38-7 regular season mark and 16-9 record in the FCS Playoffs. Since 2010, Eastern is 39-9 overall in November and beyond (28-4 regular season and 14-5 in the playoffs), with the lone setbacks coming in 2019 to North Dakota State in the NCAA Division I Championship game; 2017 to Weber State; 2016 to Youngstown State in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs; 2015 to Portland State, Montana and Northern Arizona; 2014 to Illinois State in the playoff quarterfinals; 2013 to Towson in the playoff semifinals; and 2012 to Sam Houston State in the playoff semifinals.
 
 
Custer Over 1,000-Yard Mark in 2019, With 11 Games of 100+ in His Career and Total of 2,827
 
Senior Antoine Custer Jr. accomplished his first 1,000-yard rushing season in 2019, scoring four touchdowns on the ground and finishing with 107 rushing yards total at Cal Poly on Nov. 16. He had his 11th 100-yard game as an Eagle – five times this season including the last three games -- and was also EWU's leading receiver with three catches for 27 yards. His touchdown runs were of 40, 38, 2 and 13 yards, giving him 11 plays in his career of at least 40 yards.
 
His is the 18th performance in school history of at least 1,000 yards in a single season, and he became the 13th different Eastern player to accomplish that feat (five have hit 1,000 yards twice in their careers). Eastern has now had a 1,000 yard rusher – including 10 different players – in 14 of the last 25 seasons (1995-2019), Sam McPherson had 1,510 in 2018, and he was the first since Quincy Forte in the 2013 season when he finished with 1,208.
 
Custer has 1,010 rushing yards on the year and 14 touchdowns on the ground, and now has 2,827 rushing yards (5.3 per carry) and 37 touchdowns in his 46-game career (31 as a starter). Currently seventh on EWU's all-time list for yards, he is 128 from moving into sixth (2,955, Taiwan Jones, 2008-10), 143 from fifth (2,970, Jamie Townsend, 1984-88), 148 from fourth (2,975, Quincy Forte, 2011-14) and 173 from becoming just the fourth player in school history to hit the 3,000-yard mark.
 
He also has 780 receiving yards on 93 catches with three scores, and 499 yards and one more score on kickoff returns for a total of 4,106 all-purpose yards (89.3 per game) to rank ninth in school history. He's scored a total of 41 touchdowns as an Eagle to rank fourth in school history. His rushing total currently ranks seventh, his average of 23.8 per kickoff return is 10th and his 37 rushing touchdowns only ranks behind the record of 48 set by Jesse Chatman (1999-01).
 
Behind a starting offensive line that has 228 games of experience and 176 total starts between them, Eastern has had some impressive rushing performances this season, rushing for at least 174 yards seven times this season and at least 247 in five games. The Eagles had a season-high 320 versus Cal Poly as quarterback Eric Barriere rushed for a career-high 164 and a score.
 
Custer had 145 and a touchdown in EWU's 48-5 win at Idaho State on Nov. 9. It was the fourth-most of his career, He had an 89-yard touchdown run early in the second half, ranking as the sixth-longest in school history. That was his career-longest run, having had an 83-yard TD against Idaho State in 2016 in the last meeting between the two teams in Cheney, Wash. His longest play, though, was a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in 2016 versus Northern Iowa.
 
One game earlier versus Northern Arizona on Nov. 2, he hit the 100-yard mark in the first half alone. He finished with 139 and three touchdowns as the Eagles had 312 as a team. He had career highs for both rushing yards (184) and carries (28) at Jacksonville State on Sept. 14, including a non-scoring 62-yard run. One game later, he had 134 yards and a career-high three touchdowns in a 35-20 win over North Dakota on Sept. 28 when the Eagles had 284 on the ground. Eastern had 247 yards versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7 in which Custer had 47 yards and a score.
 
Custer, Tamarick Pierce and Dennis Merritt entered the 2019 season as seniors, although Merritt is a potential candidate for a sixth year after suffering a serious lower leg injury versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7 and missed the remainder of the season. Through 11 games, Custer has 1,010 yards and a 5.6 average per rush this season, ranking 24th nationally in rushing (91.8) and 10th in rushing touchdowns (14).  He is followed by Barriere with 535 yards (seven touchdowns and 5.0 per carry) and true freshman Silas Perreiah with 247 yards (4.4 per carry), including 126 and a score versus North Dakota. Merritt has 87 yards (7.2 per rush) and Pierce made his 2019 debut versus Montana and had a team-leading 57 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries (long of 30). He has 123 yards in three games played, and is expected to play in just one more game in order to retain his redshirt status. Redshirt freshman Micah Smith rounds out the running back corp in 2019, with Perreiah joining Smith in making their debuts as Eagles versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7.
 
Custer, an honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference selection in 2018, was a second team all-league pick in 2017 when he rushed for 776 yards and 10 touchdowns. Pierce has rushed for 960 yards and 17 touchdowns in 38 games with 12 catches for 103 yards; Merritt has 559 yards and four touchdowns rushing, and another eight catches for 147 yards and a score in 30 games; and quarterback Eric Barriere has another 1,196 rushing yards with 16 scores in 30 games. Barriere is just 36 yards behind the rushing record for a quarterback of 1,232 yards set by Vernon Adams Jr. (2012-14).
 
Eastern had a record-breaking 2018 campaign, with Custer, Pierce, Merritt and Barriere combining for 1,573 yards and 15 touchdowns with an average per carry of 7.21. Eastern's running game set school records for most yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41) in a single season. The previous records were 3,130 yards set in 10 games in 1950 (313.0 average) and 32 TDs in 2014.
 
Eastern averaged 6.62 yards per carry to rank second in FCS in 2018, compared to a 4.0 average for opponents. Only Davidson's 7.44 average per rush was better in FCS, and the Eagles broke the previous school record of 6.4. The Eagles averaged 528.4 yards on offense to rank third in FCS, including 255.9 rushing to rank 10th.
 
Custer averaged 6.4 per carry as a junior, Pierce was at 7.86, Merritt had a 7.86 average and Lewis finished at 7.4 during a redshirt season that saw him play in three games. The school record is 7.88 set by Taiwan Jones in 2010. Custer finished his junior season with 613 yards and eight scores in 11 games played; Pierce had 550 yards and seven TDs; Merritt had 345 with a trio of scores; and Lewis has 52. From his quarterback position, Eric Barriere averaged 6.2 per carry and finished with 613 yards on the ground to break the school record of 606 set by Gage Gubrud in 2016.
 
 
Walter Payton Award Candidate Eric Barriere was BSC Player of the Week Two Weeks in a Row and Averaged 467.5 Yards of Offense in Those Outings
 
Junior quarterback and Walter Payton Award candidate Eric Barriere is coming off a career-best 164-yard rushing performance at Cal Poly, finishing with one TD rushing and one passing. He also had 176 yards through the air to give him his 13th performance of his 30-game career with at least 300 yards of total offense with 340. He had passing plays of 45 and 40 in the game, as well as a 47 yard non-scoring rush and 37-yard TD run, giving him 26 plays in his career of at least 40 yards.
 
Barriere is second in FCS in total offense, averaging 362.5 compared to the 362.7 average by Brown's E.J. Perry, a former Boston College quarterback. Barriere is second in passing (313.8 with Northern Arizona's Case Cookus at 333.1) and is also sixth with 28 touchdown passes and fifth in points responsible for per game (19.5 per game with 28 TDs passing, seven rushing and a two-point conversion).
 
Barriere has had 13 performances of at least 300 yards of total offense and eight with at least 300 yards passing in his 30 games as an Eagle (15-7 as a starter), plus 13 with at least 300 yards of total offense and seven with at least 400. He has completed 60.5 percent of his passes (451-of-746), good for 6,040 yards, 53 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, and has rushed 224 times for 1,196 yards and 16 more TDs. He had a passing efficiency rating of 146.9 as a sophomore, 151.7 this year and a 148.2 mark in his career to currently rank fifth in school history. His touchdown passes rank sixth, his total of 7,236 yards of offense already rank seventh all-time at EWU and his passing yardage is seventh. He has 1,196 rushing yards with 16 scores in 30 games, and is just 36 yards behind the rushing record for a quarterback of 1,232 yards set by Vernon Adams Jr. (2012-14).
 
In Eastern's first two games in November, Barriere had a total of 935 yards of total offense to earn him two-straight ROOT Sports Offensive Player of the Week honors as announced by the Big Sky Conference office. He has now been honored twice this season and three times in his career.
 
His latest honor came after his 467-yard performance in a 48-5 win at Idaho State on Nov. 9, and he also received honorable mention as the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Offensive Player of the Week (STATS). Barriere passed for 406 – his eighth of his career of at least 300 and third with 400 -- and rushed for 61 versus the Bengals. With a total of 467 yards of total offense, he now has seven performances with at least 400 yards of total offense. He had three passes of at least 58 yards versus Idaho State (58, 59, 80), and the 80-yarder against ISU was the longest of his career.
 
One week before the ISU game, he was rewarded for totaling 488 yards in EWU's 66-38 win over Northern Arizona on Nov. 2 by earning his player of the week honors from the Big Sky and also received honorable mention as the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Offensive Player of the Week (STATS) and Performer of the Week (College Football Performance Awards).
 
In a 66-38 win over Northern Arizona on Nov. 2, he had 367 through the air and 101 on the ground for 468 yards of total offense. He had a trio of touchdown passes, and finished 30-of-46 with no interceptions for an impressive 183.5 passing efficiency rating. He had a 75-yard touchdown pass to Talolo Limu-Jones on EWU's first offensive play of the game, and also caught a 20-yard pass from wide receiver Johnny Edwards IV.
 
In his previous home game on Oct. 12, he completed 28-of-43 passes for 445 yards and five touchdown passes for EWU in a 54-21 victory over Northern Colorado in which EWU led 40-0 at halftime. Coupled with his 41 yards rushing, his 486 yards were the second-most of his career.
 
Barriere had 309 yards passing with two touchdowns and 103 rushing and a TD versus Sacramento State on Oct. 5. He accounted for 412 of EWU's 497 yards of total offense, including a 92-yard touchdown run after he was flushed out of the pocket by Sacramento State. That equaled the fourth-longest run in school history, ranking only behind runs of 96 by Taiwan Jones (2009 versus Idaho State), 95 by John Ditz (1954 versus Lewis & Clark) and 94 by Sam McPherson (2018 versus Northern Arizona). It was the longest run by a quarterback, with the previous long set by Barriere versus Southern Utah in 2018 when he had an 85-yard TD run (he also had a 66-yard scoring run at Portland State in 2018). The Eagles had four runs of at least 81 yards in 2018.
 
He accounted for all four of EWU's touchdowns with two rushing and two passing against Idaho on Sept. 21. He had just 74 passing yards at halftime, but finished 28-of-46 for 365 yards, with another 20 on the ground. His rushing TDs (2), pass attempts (46), and total plays of offense (57, including 11 rushing) were all career highs. He had at the time the second-most yards in total offense of his career with 424, ranking only behind the 556 he had versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7.
 
He had perhaps his fastest start as an Eagle on Sept. 14 at Jacksonville State, completing 11-of-12 passes for 156 yards in the opening quarter to help EWU to a 28-7 lead. However, EWU failed to score in the fourth quarter and JSU won 49-45, as Barriere finished 24-of-43 for 294 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
 
One game earlier versus Lindenwood when EWU had a school-record 769 yards of offense, Barriere accounted for 556  by himself to rank as the 14th-most in Big Sky Conference history and just four away from the school record. That helped him earn Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors from College Sports Madness, as well as honorable mention from STATS for the National FCS Offensive Player of the Week award that wide receiver Dre' Sonte Dorton won. Barriere completed 32-of-46 passes for 522 yards, five touchdowns and an impressive 200.76 passing efficiency rating. He recorded the second-most passing yards in school history and just missed the top 14 in the 56-year history of the league (528 yards is No. 14 on the list). He rushed for 34 more yards, giving him 556 to come four yards from the EWU total offense record of 560 set by Gage Gubrud in 2017 versus Montana in which he also set the passing yards record of 549. Barriere's previous career highs were 352 passing yards and 405 yards of total offense.
 
Barriere was extremely productive throwing the ball in 2018 as an injury replacement for All-American Gage Gubrud (now at Washington State), finishing 13th in FCS in passing efficiency (146.9), 29th for passing yards overall (2,450) and 13th in touchdown passes with 24 after setting school and FCS Playoff records with seven versus Maine on Dec. 15. He was ninth with 198 total points responsible for and was 26th in average per game (14.14). He also finished 45th in total offense per game (218.8). Barriere averaged 6.2 per carry and finished with 613 yards on the ground to break the school record of 606 set by Gubrud in 2016.
 
In 2018, Eastern finished as the only school to rank in the top 20 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense, rushing and passing. The Eagles averaged 528.2 yards on offense to rank third in FCS, including 255.9 rushing (10th) and 272.3 passing (20th). Eastern was also ranked fourth in scoring (43.1). The Eagles as a team finished the 2018 season with a school-record 6.62 average per rush on the season to break the previous record of 6.41 set in 2001. The Eagles set team records for rushing yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41).
 
 
Criner Honored Again After Another Big Day as an Eagle in Front of Family at ISU
 
On big turnover days – and in front of family and friends too – junior Calin Criner has been at his best.
 
The 2016 graduate of Rocky Mountain High School in Boise, Idaho, had his second two-interception game of his career and had eight tackles in EWU's 48-5 victory over Idaho State on Nov. 9 to earn College Sports Madness Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors. Playing in front of a crowd of 14 family and friends which included his well-known father and grandfather, he also broke-up a pass and one of his tackles was for a loss of two yards.
 
It was the first time in 37 games that EWU hasn't allowed a touchdown since beating Richmond 38-0 in the FCS Playoffs in 2016. It had been 40 Big Sky Conference games since the Eagles held a league opponent out of the end zone, dating back to a 54-3 win over North Dakota in 2014. Eastern had a 3-0 advantage in turnovers forced, and held ISU to 4-of-17 on third down and 0-of-4 on fourth.
 
Earlier in the season, Criner helped Eastern to a dominating 6-0 advantage in turnovers forced with another pair of interceptions and seven tackles in EWU's 35-20 victory over North Dakota on Sept. 28. He was rewarded by earning honorable mention for STATS National Defensive Player of the Week honors. His first interception came in the first quarter and helped lead to a short Eastern drive and 14-0 lead. His second pick came with 11:46 to play and Eastern nursing a 28-20 lead. It was the first of four-straight empty possessions for the Fighting Hawks to close out the game. He also had a pair of tackles in the decisive fourth quarter as EWU allowed a season-low 20 points (at the time) and 369 total yards. Eastern scored 21 of its 35 points as a result of the turnovers the Eagles forced.
 
Through 11 games, Criner is third on the team with 79 tackles on the season, and also has three passes broken up and his four picks. He has seven interceptions, 177 tackles, 10 passes broken up, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in his 37-game career (15 as a starter). He had a career-high 16 tackles at Montana on Oct. 26 for the fifth performance of his career with at least 10.
 
Criner has deep collegiate football roots. His father, Mark, is a former player at Boise State (1990 graduate) and long-time college coach with tenures at Idaho, Portland State, Utah State, Minnesota, Eastern Michigan, Cincinnati, Middle Tennessee State, Lamar, and Colorado State Pueblo, as well as with the Las Vegas Outlaws of the now defunct Xtreme Football League. Calin is the grandson of former Boise State University head football coach Jim Criner (1976-82), who guided the Broncos to the 1980 NCAA Championship Subdivision (then I-AA) title. He was 59-21-1 overall and 34-12 in the Big Sky at BSU, and was later head coach at Iowa State (1983-86).
 
 
Harrison Leads FCS With Perfect 11-of-11 Field Goal Accuracy
 
Redshirt freshman kicker Seth Harrison is the only player in FCS with an average of at least one field goal attempt per game to be perfect, going 11-of-11 so far.  He is 30th in field goals with an average of 1.1 per game after booting four fields – the second time in four games he did that -- in a 48-5 victory over Idaho State on Nov. 9. He had makes of 40, 36, 21 and 36 in the first half, and his 40-yarder was a career long. He also had 10 kickoffs for a 57.5 average with one touchback.
 
Harrison is also 46-of-49 on extra points this season, having a string of 22-straight makes from Oct. 5 until missing his first attempt at Cal Poly on Nov. 16. He has also averaged 52.7 yards on 69 kickoffs (five touchbacks).
 
Harrison garnered Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors from the league after converting all nine of his extra point attempts and booting a 27-yard field goal in a 66-38 win over Northern Arizona on Nov. 2. He also had 10 kickoffs for a 50.8 average versus the Lumberjacks with one touchback.
 
In EWU's previous home game, he kicked four field goals (32, 21, 21 and 23) and made all six of his extra points to finish with 18 points in Eastern's 54-21 romp over Northern Colorado on Oct. 12. All four of his field goals came in the first half as he came one kick away from the school record of five. He also had 10 kickoffs for a 52.9 average.
 
Harrison had a field goal of 35 yards versus Montana on Oct. 26. In his first action as the No. 1 kicker on Sept. 14 versus Jacksonville State, Harrison made a 22-yard field goal, converted all six of his extra points, had eight kickoffs for a 58.1 average with two touchbacks and even recovered a fumble that led to an EWU touchdown.
 
Harrison, a redshirt freshman from Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) High School, didn't even start out the year as EWU's kicker. That role fell to junior Andre Slyter, whose first field goal made in his EWU career turned out to be the longest in 11 years for the Eagles on Sept. 7 versus Lindenwood.
 
His 50-yarder ranked as the 17th-best in school history and it was the longest in 11 years and one day since Felipe Macias made a 52-yarder on Sept. 6, 2008. Slyter also missed a 47-yard attempt against Lindenwood, and had a 63.4 average on five kickoffs with one touchback.
 
However, he missed the second half of that game and every game after that. For the season, Slyter has made 1-of-3 field goals, all six of his extra points and has a 61.9 average on kickoffs with three touchbacks in his first season as EWU's placekicker. In his career he has averaged 58.6 yards in 123 kickoffs with 50 touchbacks. He's averaged 61.9 yards per kick with three touchbacks this season. He's made 10-of-13 extra points as an Eagle and had not attempted a field goal until this season.
 
Harrison and Slyter are replacing EWU career and single season kick scoring leader Roldan Alcobendas, who was a perfect 16-of-16 kicking field goals in 2018 to win the Fred Mitchell Award as the top placekicker in the nation (all levels but FBS).
 
 
Blackburn One of 12 Finalists for Prestigious NFF Campbell Trophy
 
Spencer Blackburn, a sixth-year senior center for the Eastern Washington University football team, has been selected to the 2019 National Football Foundation (NFF) National Scholar-Athlete Class and is one of 12 finalists nationally for the 2019 William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, the NFF & College Hall of Fame announced Oct. 30. The Campbell Trophy annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. The winner of the award will be announced on Dec. 10.
 
"It's a huge honor, and it's a testament to not just being a player on the field but being a student in the classroom as well," said Blackburn, who also recently became a repeat selection on the CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Football Team. "I wouldn't be able to earn an honor like this if it wasn't for the coaching staff and the people around me. It's cliché to say that, but it's a group which actually truly says school comes first."
 
"He hits the books harder than football, and he hits football pretty hard," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "It's more than football in our program here at Eastern, and he's the epitome of that."
 
Blackburn and the other 11 finalists will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2019 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments. They will travel to New York City for the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 10, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports.
 
At the event, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 30th William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000. The event will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown and will be streamed live, with specific broadcast information to be announced at a later date.
 
"This is a great honor and will be a great experience for Spencer," added EWU Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey. "Spencer is the epitome of what Eastern has built with its football program.  He is an outstanding young man who excels both academically and athletically. He will represent this award very well and we congratulate Spencer on this award."
 
Blackburn is a 2014 graduate of Meridian High School in Bellingham, Wash., and has a streak of 48 consecutive starts since taking over the center position in the fourth game of the 2016 season. He's earned second-team All-Big Sky honors in each of the last three seasons, and earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors a year ago.
 
He has completed his economics major, but won't graduate until he finishes his second major in accounting this fall. In addition, Blackburn was a team co-captain in both 2019 and 2018, and both years was also named to the Academic All-District 8 Football Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He has also earned three Big Sky All-Academic honors, and has a 3.69 grade point average. He was the 2017 recipient of the Larry Hattemer Offensive Lineman Scholarship.
 
"He's a great friend to others, he's a great student and he's a great athlete, and when you put those things together great things happen," added Best. "For him to be in that group of 12 is prestigious and we're proud to be a part of such an honor. It speaks volumes to what he's done off the field, and he brings that to the field as well."
 
Last summer, Blackburn was one of just 28 players nationally to be honored on the Athlon 2019 Preseason NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America Team.  It was one of four preseason All-America honors Blackburn earned in the summer, as he also earned second team preseason All-America honors from STATS, Hero Sports and Phil Steele.  
 
Blackburn is a sixth-year senior in 2019 after he received approval from the Big Sky Conference and the NCAA for their hardship waiver requests to receive a sixth year to complete four years of eligibility.  He redshirted in 2014, but couldn't play in 2015 because of a thumb injury. In 2018 he earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors by Associated Press (second team) and STATS (third team).
 
 
Dehonta Hayes & Spencer Blackburn on Academic All-District 8 Squad
 
Eastern Washington University football senior safety Dehonta Hayes and sixth-year senior center Spencer Blackburn have been selected to the Academic All-District 8 Football Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). A total of 14 Big Sky Conference players earned spots on this year's academic all-district teams.
 
Hayes, a 2015 graduate of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash., completed studies toward his communications studies degree at the end of summer quarter and is enrolled in communication studies graduate school for fall quarter. He has a 3.80 grade point average at Eastern. A 3.69 student, Blackburn has completed his economics major, but won't graduate until he finishes his second major in accounting this fall. He is a 2014 graduate of Meridian High School in Bellingham, Wash., and was a member of the Academic All-District 8 Football Team a year ago. Blackburn has been honored three times on the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team, and Hayes has been honored twice previously.
 
Both Hayes and Blackburn now advance to the national ballot to select Academic All-America honors. Most recently, Cooper Kupp earned Academic All-America honors back-to-back in 2015 and 2016 for the Eagles, who have had eight different players win 12 Academic All-America honors since 1989. A total of 69 have now been honored since then on the All-District squad, which includes NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football players from schools in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii and British Columbia.
 
On the field, Hayes is EWU's leading tackler this season with 106, and ranks 16th in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision with an average of 9.6 per game.  He also has a pair of interceptions, a forced fumble and a pass broken up through 10 games. In 37 career games (20 as a starter), Hayes has 199 tackles, three interceptions, five passes broken up, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
 
 
Eagles Try to Extend Record String of Winning Seasons to 13
 
Eastern has had 21 winning seasons in the last 23 years (1996-2018), including a current school record string of 12-straight (2007-18) and another stretch of seven straight (1999-2005). The last time Eastern had that many winning seasons in a row came 75 years earlier in the Red Reese era when Eastern had a string of 11-straight winning seasons from 1931-1941. Since 1996, the only losing seasons for the Eagles came in 1998 under Mike Kramer (5-6) and 2006 under Paul Wulff (3-8).
 
 
Eagles Have Impressive 58-11 Big Sky Record Since 0-2 Start in 2011
 
The Eagles have won 58 of their last 69 Big Sky games since a 0-2 start in 2011. Included are current stretches of 48 victories in the last 57 games (including two at the end of the 2012 season) and 26 of the last 31 (since 2016).
 
Including three wins at the end of the 2009 season, Eastern has a 68-14 record in league games since then. Including four non-conference victories (two versus MSU, and one each against Cal Poly and Northern Arizona), two playoff wins (Montana and UC Davis) and one loss (Idaho), the Eagles are 66-12 since the 0-2 start in 2011 and 56-10 since the end of the 2012 campaign.
 
At one point the Eagles had won 44 of 50 league games, and the only Big Sky school which has come close to that in the 56-year history of the league was Montana, which won 50 of 55 games from 1995-2002 and 46 of 51 from 2003-2009.
 
What is perhaps most impressive is Eastern's ability to consistently win on the road versus conference foes, with records of 25-7 on the road, 28-3 at home and 53-10 overall in the last seven-plus seasons since 2012. Since then, Eastern has defeated every Big Sky team on the road at least once, including former Big Sky member North Dakota and a 2012 non-league road victory at Idaho, which re-joined the league in 2018. Until losing at Southern Utah in October of 2017, the Eagles had won their previous road game versus all 13 other league members.
 
 
Called "Eagle-Shirts," True Freshmen Getting Chance to Shine
 
Like they did in 2018, Eagle head coach Aaron Best and his coaching staff have made decisions on a game-by-game basis in 2019 on which, if any, of the team's 24 true freshmen would play in games. The team allows selected "Eagle-Shirts" to suit up and potentially play, but the No. 1 focus is on making sure those players are physically and mentally ready to play Division I football. Starting in 2018, the NCAA passed a rule that allows student-athletes to play in up to four games and retain their redshirt status for that season.
 
Thus far, 14 true freshmen have seen action, starting Sept. 7 versus Lindenwood when running back Silas Perreiah and offensive lineman Isaac Flemmer played. Perreiah ended up rushing seven times for 19 yards in that game and scored his first career touchdown on a reception for three yards. In the next game at Jacksonville State, Perreiah and three others saw action, and two made big plays in the first quarter. Marlon Jones Jr. forced a fumble on a kickoff return that was recovered by EWU and led to a touchdown. Later, true freshman defensive lineman Sebastian Gomez deflected a pass that was intercepted. Gomez had a pair of tackles, and also seeing action on the defensive line was Brock Harrison. Gomez also played at Idaho, and was joined by Nick Kokich, who punted twice including a 54-yarder and Jordan White who played on special teams.
 
Perreiah, Kokich and White all played against North Dakota on Sept. 28, with Perreiah rushing for 126 yards and a touchdown and Kokich punting nine times for a 37.7 average with a long of 59 to equal the 38th-longest in EWU history. Perreiah, Kokich, and Harrison also played versus Sacramento State, with Kokich punting six times for a 41.3 average with a long of 54 and three punts downed inside the Hornet 20-yard line.
 
Perreiah has played in nine games and is no longer a redshirt, and Kokich has played in eight as EWU's punter. Perreiah has 247 yards rushing, two catches for six yards and has scored twice. Kokich is averaging 39.8 yards in 37 punts this season, with nine downed inside the opponent 20-yard line and a long of 59 to equal the 38th longest in EWU history.
 
Eastern's 40-0 halftime lead versus UNC on Oct. 12 helped seven true freshmen to see action, including a trio making their Eagle debuts. Running back Kyle Bryant carried six times for 20 yards, offensive lineman Matthew Hewa-Baddege was in for 10 snaps and Warren Hardin saw action in eight. In addition. Flemmer and White also played.
 
Blake Gobel made his Eagle debut on Oct. 26 versus Montana, and Harrison and Jones also played in that game. Harrison had his first career tackle and Jones had his first career kickoff return with a 22-yarder versus the Griz. Soli Paleso'o made his Eagle debut with nine snaps against Northern Arizona on Nov. 2, and finished with a tackle. Jakobie James also made his debut, and Jones, Hewa-Baddege and Flemmer also played in the blowout 66-38 win.
 
Against Idaho State on Nov. 9 in a 48-5 victory, linebacker Steven Flowers made his Eagle debut and saw action on 11 plays, mostly on special teams. Gobel had his first career catch on a 15-yard touchdown on a fake field goal attempt, and James had his first career catch for six yards. Bryant and Paleso'o also played.
 
In Eastern's 42-41 win over Cal Poly on Nov. 16, Gobel actually made the first start of his career when EWU started in a three tight end formation and turned it into a 25-yard rushing gain on EWU's first offensive play. Flowers, Bryant, Harrison and Gomez all played in that game.
 
 
Ledbetter Recovers Two Fumbles Versus North Dakota After Two More Blocked Kicks at Idaho; Continues Legacy of #4 Jersey
 
Honored nationally for blocking two more kicks at Idaho on Sept. 21, Eastern senior Dylan Ledbetter has continued the legacy of being awarded the No. 4 jersey at Eastern, a tribute that has existed for more than 10 years. He blocked a field goal in both the first half and second half versus the Vandals to give him a school-record six in his career and earn honorable mention from STATS for the National FCS Defensive Player of the Week award. He followed that with the first two fumble recoveries of his career in a 35-20 win over North Dakota on Sept. 28, and forced a key fumble on Nov. 2 in the third quarter against Northern Arizona. Entering EWU's game on Nov. 16, he is sixth in FCS with two blocked kicks and 19th with two fumble recoveries.
 
A team co-captain in 2019, Ledbetter earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors as a junior when he had 45 tackles, 1 1/2 sacks, broke-up three passes and blocked three kicks. Ledbetter has 10 sacks in his 51-game career (32 as a starter), with totals of 164 tackles, five passes broken up, a school-record six blocked kicks, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
 
Since the 2008 season when senior Jason Belford had the number, the coaching staff has selected a leader on defense to wear the jersey. It symbolizes the defensive player who most embodies the characteristics of defense at Eastern -- grit, toughness, effort, leadership and academic success.
 
Although the honor isn't necessarily given to the most talented defensive player on the team, Eastern has had 11-straight players in that number earn All-Big Sky honors, and 13 of a possible 14 since Eastern joined the league in 1987. Below is the list of players who have worn that number since EWU became a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 1984 (Big Sky in 1987).
 
Name – Year - Pos. -  Hometown / Previous School
Hunter, Darryl - 1983-84-85-86 - DB - Tacoma, Wash. / Foss HS
%Corr, Dominic - 1986-87-88-89 - RB - Seattle, Wash. / Garfield HS
%Wright, Harold - 1990-91-92-93 - RB - Tacoma, Wash. / Lakes HS '89
Givens, Roderick - 1995 - DB - Auburn, Wash. / Auburn HS '94
#%Brightful, Lamont - 1998-99-00-01 - WR - Everett, Wash. /Mariner HS '97
%Williams, A.J. - 2002-03 - DB - Lacey, Wash. - North Thurston HS '01
%Dotson, Anthony - 2005-06-07 - DB - Federal Way, Wash. / Federal Way HS '03
%Belford, Jason - 2005-06-07-08 - DL - Tacoma, Wash. / Lincoln HS '04
#%Sherritt, J.C. - 2007-08-09-10 - LB - Pullman, Wash. / Pullman HS '06
%Brown, Allen - 2010-11-12-13 - DB - Tacoma, Wash. / Foss HS '09
%Raynes, Todd - 2012-13-14-15 - DB - Kenmore, Wash. / Inglemoor HS '11
%Zamora, Miquiyah - 2013-14-15-16 - LB - Pasco, Wash. / Chiawana HS '12
%Havili, Albert - 2013-14-16-17 - DL - Federal Way, Wash. / Federal Way HS '13
%Fettig, Mitch - 2015-16-17-18 - DB  - Olympia Wash. / Olympia HS '14
%Ledbetter, Dylan - 2016-17-18-19 - DL - West Seattle, Wash. / O'Dea HS '15
 
#All-America selection (Brightful was first team in 2001, second team in 2000 & second team in 1999 as return specialist, and honorable mention in 2001 as a wide receiver; Sherritt was the Buck Buchanan Award winner in 2010, and first team in 2009 and 2010 as a linebacker).
 
%All-Big Sky Conference selection (Corr was first team in 1989 & second team in 1989 as return specialist; Wright was Big Sky Newcomer of the Year in 1989, and first team in 1991 & second team in 1992 as a running back; Brightful was first team in 2001 as a wide receiver and return specialist, first team in 2000 as a return specialist, second team in 2000 as a wide receiver and first team in 1999 as a return specialist; Williams was honorable mention in 2003 and 2002 as a safety; Dotson was second team in 2007 as an outside linebacker; Belford was second team in 2008 and honorable mention in 2007 as a defensive end; Sherritt was the Big Sky Defensive MVP in 2010, first team in 2009 and 2010 as a linebacker & honorable mention in 2008 as a linebacker; Brown was second team in 2012 & honorable mention in 2013 as a safety; Raynes was third team in 2015 as a safety; Zamora was first team in 2016 & honorable mention in 2014 as a linebacker; Havili was second team in 2017 as a defensive end; Fettig was third team in 2018 & 2017 & honorable mention in 2016 as a safety; Ledbetter was honorable mention in 2018 as a defensive tackle).
 
 
Senior Chris Schlichting Has Started All 51 Games in His Career For a Quartet of Offensive Linemen With 167 Career Starts
 
Second-team All-Big Sky senior offensive tackle Chris Schlichting has started in each of EWU's 51 games in his last three-plus seasons for the Eagles. He started all 14 games as a redshirt freshman in 2016, all 11 in 2017, all 15 in 2018 and 11 thus far in 2019. Senior center Spencer Blackburn has a streak of 48 consecutive starts since taking over the position in the fourth game of the 2016 season. He's earned second-team All-Big Sky honors in each of the last three seasons.
 
Senior offensive tackle Tristen Taylor had started 28-of-28 games as an Eagle until a season-ending knee injury kept him out of the lineup on Sept. 22, 2018, versus Cal Poly. He has now started 39 games, and coupled with the 29 starts by Kaleb Levao, the four offensive linemen have combined to start 167 games (190 total games of experience) for the Eagles.
 
Guard Will Gram made the first start of his career against Washington, but now has 38 games worth of experience and started EWU's first six games and three since then (total of nine). Junior Conner Crist started on Oct. 12 versus Northern Colorado and Oct. 26 against Montana, and has 22 games of experience. Thus, including Gram in the starting lineup, that's a total of 176 starts and 228 games played for the EWU starting five through the first nine weeks of the season.
 
More importantly, EWU is 37-14 overall (72.5 percent) and 26-5 (83.9 percent) in Big Sky Conference play in the last three-plus seasons.
 
 
Total of 19 Players Have Made Starting Debuts Thus Far
 
True freshman Blake Gobel made the first start of his young career when EWU started the Cal Poly game on Nov. 16 in a three tight end formation. He helped block for a 25-yard run by Talolo Limu-Jones on the first play of the game, leading to an Eagle touchdown and early lead. He gives EWU a total of 19 players who have made their starting debuts in 2019.
 
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Freddie Roberson made the first start of his Eastern career against Idaho State on Nov. 9 in his ninth game as an Eagle. He is a 2018 graduate of Rainer Beach High School in Seattle, Wash. One game earlier, junior wide receiver Talolo Limu-Jones made the first start of his Eastern career against Northern Arizona on Nov. 2 and he made it a big one. On the first offensive play of the game for EWU, he caught a short pass from Eric Barriere and turned it into a 75-yard touchdown. Limu-Jones would finish the day with career highs of eight catches for 147 yards. He entered the game with 29 career catches for 553 yards and nine touchdowns – a TD for every 3.2 catches.
 
Redshirt freshman cornerback Darrien Sampson also made the first start of his young career, having entered the NAU game with seven games played. He finished with five tackles, a pass broken up and a quarterback hurry. Limu-Jones is from Vallejo, Calif., and graduated from Grace Davis High School in 2016. Sampson is from South Seattle, Wash., and graduated from Rainier Beach HS in 2018.
 
Junior Conner Crist made the first start of his career (at left guard) versus Northern Colorado on Oct. 12.  He is a 2016 graduate of Tigard (Ore.) High School, and the UNC game was his 19th as an Eagle. Prior to that, senior defensive end Darnell Hogan made the first start of his career at Sacramento State on Oct. 5. Hogan is from Seattle and graduated in 2015 from Cleveland High School, and the Sac State game was his 31st as an Eagle as he finished with 23 total snaps.
 
Nose tackle Keith Moore made the first start of his Eastern career against North Dakota on Sept. 28, as did Dylan Ingram as a second tight end to begin the game. Moore, a 2016 graduate of Olympic High School in Bremerton, Wash., finished with four tackles, including a forced fumble on a sack for a loss of nine yards, and another tackle for loss of three yards. Ingram is a 2017 graduate of Camas (Wash.) HS, and his brother, Dawson, is a true freshman for the Eagles in 2019.
 
Senior linebacker Trevor Davis Jr. made the first start of his career as an injury replacement for Chris Ojoh against Idaho on Sept. 21, and the 2015 graduate of Tumwater (Wash.) High School finished with a career-high eight tackles. Junior defensive nose tackle Rudolph Mataia Jr., made the first start of his career one game earlier in EWU's game at Jacksonville State on Sept. 14, becoming the 10th Eagle to make his starting debut this season. The 2016 graduate of Evergreen High School in Vancouver, Wash., wasn't credited with any tackles, but did play 40 snaps in the game.
 
Against Lindenwood on Sept. 7, redshirt freshman cornerback Tre Weed made the first start of his career for the Eagles at cornerback. Weed finished with three tackles and had a pass broken up. The 2018 Sumner (Wash.) also returned three punts for 10 yards with a long of eight. He played in four games a year ago as a true freshman, mostly on special teams, but retained his redshirt status.  
 
Eight Eastern players made the first starts of their careers in Seattle on Aug. 31 when EWU played Washington. They included senior Will Gram as the starter at left guard, Dennis Merritt at running back and Dre' Sonte Dorton at wide receiver. On defense, first-time starters include "Buck" end Mitchell Johnson, nose tackle Caleb Davis, rover Joe Lang and cornerbacks Ira Branch and Darreon Moore. On special teams, sophomore Trevor Bowens made his debut as EWU's punter, junior Andre Slyter takes over as EWU's placekicker and sophomore Cody Clements is in his first year as long snapper.
 
Gram is a 2015 graduate of Troy (Idaho) High School where he played 8-man football, and the UW game was his 28th as an Eagle. Merritt is a senior from Cascade HS in Leavenworth, Wash., and entered the 2019 season with 28 games of experience. Dorton is also a senior and is out of Chiawana HS in Pasco, Wash., and he saw action in his 28th game versus Washington.
 
Johnson played in all 15 games in 2018 and earned first team Freshman All-America honors as a backup to Nick Foerstel (first two games behind Keenan Williams). He is a 2017 graduate of West Linn (Ore.) HS. Davis is a 2017 Bonney Lake (Wash.) HS graduate who finished with 26 tackles and a sack in 11 games as a redshirt freshman in 2018.
 
Both sophomores, Branch is a 2017 graduate of Mount Tahoma HS in Tacoma, Wash., and Moore is from Pasco, Wash., and graduated the same year from Kamiakin HS. Both were backups in 2018, with Branch finishing with three tackles in seven games played, and Moore having 11 in 14 games.
 
Four other players in a group of 21 redshirt freshmen also made their Eagle playing debuts at Washington, including tackle Brad Godwin, guard Charlie Baumann, wide receiver Freddie Roberson and tight end Julian Houston on offense. Also playing versus UW among that group of 21 redshirts were seven of the nine players who played as true freshmen in 2018 and were able to still redshirt because of new NCAA legislation. They included defensive tackle Joshua Jerome, defensive end Zion Fa'aopega, running back Isaiah Lewis, tight end Aiden Nellor, linebacker Justin Patterson and cornerbacks Darrien Sampson and Tre Weed. In addition, Washington transfer Jusstis Warren made his Eagle debut versus his former team.
 
In the next game versus Lindenwood, running back Micah Smith, running back Silas Perreiah, offensive lineman Isaac Flemmer, kicker Seth Harrison and wide receiver Michael Taras played in their first games as an Eagle. Perreiah and Flemmer were the first two Eagle true freshmen to play this season, but can retain their redshirt status if they play in four games or less this season. In addition, wide receiver Anthony Stell Jr. made his season debut for EWU versus Lindenwood after playing in one game as a true freshman in 2018.
 
Three true freshmen – Sebastian Gomez, Marlon Jones Jr. and Brock Harrison -- made their Eagle debuts at Jacksonville State on Sept. 14. Two more, Nick Kokich and Jordan White, made their debuts on special teams at Idaho on Sept. 21. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Champ Grayson made his Eagle debut versus North Dakota on Sept. 28. A trio of true freshmen – Warren Hardin, Kyle Bryant and Matthew Hewa-Baddege – made the first appearances of their Eagle careers on Oct. 12 versus Northern Colorado. Blake Gobel made his Eagle debut against Montana on Oct. 26, and Soli Paleso'o and Jakobie James made their debuts versus Northern Arizona on Nov. 2, and Steven Flowers made his a week later against Idaho State on Nov. 9.
 
On special teams, Slyter handled kickoffs previously for EWU, but had only kicked four extra points and hadn't attempted a field goal prior to the 2019 season. Eastern's Roldan Alcobendas was a perfect 16-of-16 a year ago, and also handled EWU's punting duties. Clements is replacing Curtis Billen, who spent the previous four seasons as EWU's long snapper.
 
Eastern entered the 2019 season with a total of 20 players returning with 253 games of starting experience, including 10 players on defense with 72 starts and 10 on offense with 181 starts. Here are the current number of starts by EWU players on the 2019 roster.
 
Current Starts on Defense (193 starts by 22 players): Dylan Ledbetter 32, Dehonta Hayes 20, Jim Townsend 20, Calin Criner 15, Jack Sendelbach 14, Tysen Prunty 12, Chris Ojoh 11, Mitchell Johnson 11, Tre Weed 10, Keith Moore 7, Darreon Moore 6, Trevor Davis Jr. 6, Kedrick Johnson 6, Joe Lang 5, Andrew Katzenberger 4, Ira Branch 3, Anfernee Gurley 3, Darrien Sampson 3, Caleb Davis 2, Rudolph Mataia Jr. 2, Darnell Hogan 1.
 
Current Starts on Offense (302 starts by 18 players): Chris Schlichting 51, Spencer Blackburn 48, Tristen Taylor 39, Antoine Custer Jr. 31, Kaleb Levao 29 (including 1 as defensive lineman), Eric Barriere 22, Andrew Boston 19, Jayce Gilder 16, Jayson Williams 12, Johnny Edwards IV 11, Will Gram 9, Dre' Sonte Dorton 6, Conner Crist 2, Talolo Limu Jones 2, Freddie Roberson 1, Dylan Ingram 2, Blake Gobel 1, Dennis Merritt 1.
  

Eagles Play 1,000th Game in School History
 
Eastern beat North Dakota 35-20 on Sept. 28 on Hall of Fame Day at EWU, but it was also Eastern's 1,000th football game in school history. Now in its 111th season in program history, Eastern has played 1006 games and has 559 wins, 424 losses and 23 ties for a .567 winning percentage since 1901. The Eagles are in their 36th season as a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) and 33rd season as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
 
 
Eastern Now 54-0 Since 2010 When Winning the TO Battle
 
In the last 11+ seasons (2008-19), the Eagles are now 63-1 when they've won the turnover battle, 24-9 when they've been tied and 23-33 when they've lost (total of 110-43). The last time EWU lost a game when it won the turnover battle came in the 2009 FCS Playoffs at Stephen F. Austin when EWU had two miscues and forced four in the 44-33 loss.
 
Thus, EWU is 54-0 since 2010 when they've won the turnover battle, 21-9 when they've been tied and 21-26 when they've lost. That's a collective record of 96-35 (73.3 percent), with 26 of those 35 losses (74 percent) coming in games EWU has lost the turnover battle and 56 percent of EWU's wins coming when they've won the turnover battle (78 percent when including ties).
 
Eastern is currently 16th in turnover margin (plus 0.73 per game), with 21 takeaways (26th) and 13 giveaways (21st). Neither team had a turnover in the first game of the season between EWU and Washington, then EWU lost the battle versus Lindenwood 2-1 and tied Jacksonville State 2-2. Eastern lost by another 2-1 margin at Idaho, but swung the tide by winning 6-0 versus North Dakota. Eastern was tied 2-2 versus Sacramento State, won 2-1 versus Northern Colorado, tied 1-1 against Montana and won 2-0 against Northern Arizona. In a game in which EWU had to settle for field goals three times in the red zone and converted 43 percent on third down, Eastern's 3-0 turnover advantage led to a 48-5 win against Idaho State on Nov. 9. Eastern lost the turnover battle at Cal Poly 3-1 on Nov. 16, but won the game 42-41. In 2019 thus far, Eastern is 4-0 when it has won the turnover battle, 2-2 when it has more turnovers and 0-3 when tied.
 
"We are 54-0 when since 2010 when we've won the turnover battle, so when you don't give the ball up you have a chance," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best after the ISU win. "We've done a good job of that all season and pushes us to plus 10 for the season. That helps when you have struggles in the red zone like we did in the first half against Idaho State, and when your third down efficiency dips a little bit. Being heavy on the plus side of turnovers allows you to overcome some of those deficiencies."
 
In the final 12 games of the 2018 season, Eastern had a plus-16 turnover advantage (32 takeaways and 16 giveaways), but in the first three the Eagles were a negative six (two takeaways and eight giveaways). For the season, Eastern was second in turnovers gained with 34, was third with 22 interceptions and ranked 16th overall in turnover margin (34 takeaways, 24 giveaways, +0.67 per game).
 
In 2018, Eastern was 9-0 it when it won the turnover battle, 1-3 when it had more turnovers and 2-0 when tied. In 2017, EWU was 3-0 when it won the turnover battle, 3-3 when it lost and 1-1 when it was tied. Eastern finished the 2017 season at minus 10 turnovers for the season, ranking EWU 105th out of 123 FCS schools in turnover margin (-0.91 per game), 90th in turnovers lost (23) and 105th in turnovers gained (13).
 


Lang's Big Day Includes Fumble Return for a TD
 
Redshirt junior rover Joe Lang had some big performances as an athlete at class 1A Royal (Wash.) High School, but he had an equally huge game in EWU's 54-21 victory over Northern Colorado on Oct. 12. Starting his fifth game as an Eagle – but first in three weeks – he had a career-high seven tackles, a forced fumble, a pass broken up and a 34-yard fumble return for a touchdown which opened the floodgates to help EWU open a 40-0 lead at halftime. His forced fumble on a kickoff earlier in the quarter led to an Eastern field goal.
 
On its way to a dominating 637-352 advantage in offense – 409-112 in the first half alone -- Eastern established a new school record for consecutive home victories (12 at the time) at the current site of Roos Field (formerly Woodward Field), plus extended a long winning streak to 12 over UNC.
 
For the season, Lang has 35 tackles and three passes broken up, in addition to his fumble forced and fumble recovered. The former walk-on had just six tackles in six previous games as an Eagle special teams player entering the 2019 season.
 
While an All-State defensive back and running back in high school, he led Royal to a perfect 14-0 record with a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 28-7 win over Kings for the State 1A title. He went on to win state titles in the long jump (21-9 1/4) and triple jump (42-0) at the State 1A Championships in 2016 at EWU, which has been the site of the meet annually since 1996.
 
 
Four Current Eagles Have Completed Coursework Toward Degrees
 
Four seniors have already completed requirements toward their bachelor's degree, and another seven are on track to finish by the end of the fall quarter, which begins on Sept. 25.
 
Linebacker Jack Sendelbach graduated following spring quarter in marketing, and is now in a graduate program for sport and recreation administration. Safety Dehonta Hayes completed studies toward his communications studies degree at the end of summer quarter and is enrolled in communication studies graduate school for fall quarter. Center Spencer Blackburn has completed his economics major, but won't graduate until he finishes his second major in accounting this fall. Wide receiver Jayson Williams completed his marketing major, but won't graduate until winter with a double major in finance.
 
The student-athletes who can complete requirements toward their degrees this fall are Bradley Alexander (business management), Conner Crist (communication studies), Darnell Hogan (communication studies), Andrew Katzenberger (business management), Tysen Prunty (communication studies), Jim Townsend (biology) and Kaleb Levao (communication studies).
 
In fall quarter of 2018, Eastern's players had a combined 3.07 grade point average, and the accumulative average GPA of the Eagles is 3.06. 
 
 
EWU Board Approves Task Force Recommendation to Renovate Football Stadium
 
The Eastern Washington University Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously approved a $25 million private fundraising strategy to renovate the existing football stadium after long-awaited pre-design plans were unveiled Sept. 6, 2019, on the EWU campus.
 
A BOT-appointed task force recommended the renovation plan after studying all fundraising and facility enhancement opportunities, since state dollars cannot be used. Part of the review involved working with ALSC Architects of Spokane to create stadium renderings that would reflect a realistic project the university could pursue.
 
Renovating the stadium will be a game-changer for Eastern as it will create a dynamic venue with all new seats, premium seating options and an expansion of the east side stands. 
 
"We like to talk about Eagle grit, and it's certainly taken a lot of grit and hard work to get to this point," says Lynn Hickey, director of athletics at EWU. "Eagle Nation deserves a space that matches the strength, passion and hard-work of a program and is a point of pride throughout the region and beyond. This is a reasonable plan that will give us that space."
 
Hickey notes the stadium's overall seating capacity won't increase much under the plan, but fans will enjoy better seats and improved sight lines, with more seatback chairs, covered club level seating and private loge box seating. Additional amenities include more concessions and new restrooms located on both sides of the stadium, reflecting feedback from surveys and focus groups. The track will also be removed to create a more intimate environment.
 
"This stadium renovation plan will elevate the whole campus year-round," says EWU President Mary Cullinan. "It will help Eastern recruit more high-caliber student-athletes and make that game day experience even more memorable."
 
Construction will begin once the funds are raised, however the immediate need is to replace the red turf before the beginning of the 2020 football season. For more information including a media kit with renderings and frequently asked questions, visit http://ewu.edu/stadium.
 
 
Eastern Receives $5 Million Gift Toward Stadium Renovation
 
Just two weeks after unveiling renovation plans, EWU announced a $5 million gift from a prominent local business owner—the largest individual private gift ever made to Eastern. EWU Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey revealed on Sept. 19 that Jack Gillingham, a Cheney resident who owns several businesses on the West Plains and in Spokane, made the gift to inspire others to also "Advance the Standard" of Eastern Athletics. The $5 million gift will be structured around an initial payment to expedite the replacement of the Roos Field's red turf, with the remainder disbursed over the next four years.
 
"I wanted to step up because I believe in the vision and the team Lynn Hickey has put together to move the Eastern athletic department further into greatness," said Gillingham. "This gift is a statement to and for the community to get behind this project, which can be a catalyst for the local economy. It's a rallying cry for current and future supporters to get involved to make this a reality."
 
"Jack and I discussed EWU's need for a champion to get this renovation kick-started," said Hickey. "He didn't hesitate to get on board, and he is very gracious and generous to make this commitment. The entire university will benefit from this—not just our department, the football program and our fans—as it will open doors for other philanthropists to support academics, scholarships and programs."
 
Sr. Associate Athletic Director Devon Thomas said Eastern has been accepting gifts and pledges since the announcement of the stadium renovation. The 52-year-old stadium will be completely renovated with all new seats including new premium seating offerings. Those who make gifts and pledges now will be contacted regarding options of how their contributions may be utilized toward future seating options.
 
Thomas said stadium naming rights are still available, and that the school is working with Gillingham to thoughtfully recognize his generous contribution, which included an on-field check presentation at North Dakota game on Sept. 28.
 
"I'm overjoyed to contribute to this visionary project," added Gillingham, who owns American Onsite Services, Barr-Tech and Northwest Industrial Services. "This project is real and EWU Athletics and the rest of the university will get it done."
 
 
 

Series Notes

 
* The all-time series is knotted 20-20-1, but Eastern has won the last three meetings, six of the last seven and eight of the last 10. Eastern is 8-11-1 at home against them and 1-0 in neutral site games. Eastern is 11-9 against the Vikings in Portland, including victories in 2018 (74-23), 2010 (50-17) and 2002 (27-24) at Hillsboro Stadium. The road team has won 13 of the last 21 meetings, not including a 2009 neutral site game in Seattle. The longest winning streak by either team was by Portland State in the first four games of the series from 1968-71, and in 2019 Eastern will be trying match that streak.
 
* During Eastern's current three-game winning streak in the series, the Eagles have averaged 598.0 yards of offense (1,794 total), while doubling-up the Vikings in scoring 168-84 (average score of 56-28). However, four of the five meetings from 2012-16 were decided by seven point or less, including a one-point win by the Eagles in 2013 (42-41) and a three-point loss in 2015 (34-31).
 
* Eastern has wrapped up Big Sky Conference titles at PSU the last four times the Eagles have played the Vikings on the road. Victories in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 all ended with EWU celebrating in the locker room. The Eagles also won at home in 2013 to clinch a league title and berth, but in both 2011 and 2015 suffered late-season home losses which contributed to the Eagles missing out on the FCS Playoffs. In 2015, PSU wrapped up a bye in playoffs with a 34-31 victory over EWU at Roos Field.
 
* The Eagles have five players from Oregon on their roster, including senior safety Tysen Prunty (Tigard HS '15), sophomore defensive end Mitchell Johnson (West Linn HS '17) and junior offensive lineman Conner Crist (Tigard HS '16). Joining the Eagles this year as true freshmen are Blake Gobel (Banks HS '19) and Isaac Flemmer (Banks/Valley Catholic '19), both as redshirts. Ten others played across the Columbia River in Washington in either Vancouver, Camas or Battle Ground.
 
* Eastern linebacker coach Josh Fetter was defensive line coach at Portland State from 2006-09. In the 2009 season, two of his Viking linemen earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors, and in 2007, all three of his regular starters were all-league. In 2006, PSU led the Big Sky in turnover margin, passing efficiency defense, sacks per game, tackles for loss, third-down defense, fourth-down defense and red-zone defense. The Vikings shut-out Eastern 34-0 in 2006, beat EWU 28-21 in 2007 and knocked off Eastern 47-36 in 2008, then EWU defeated PSU 47-10 in 2009 at Qwest Field in Seattle.
 
* Portland State head coach Bruce Barnum played for Eastern under legendary head coach Dick Zornes, and graduated from EWU in 1987. He redshirted in 1982 and was on the roster in 1983 but didn't letter for the Eagles after coming from Columbia River High School in Vancouver, Wash. His nickname has stuck too -- in the '82 football media guide he was listed as "Barney" and the style of football played in PSU is called "Barnyball."
 
 * The teams have played every year since 1990 when PSU was a member of NCAA Division II. The Vikings became a member of the Big Sky in 1996, and EWU leads the series 14-9 since then. That is Eastern's active streak of playing an opponent each year, having previously played Montana State every year from 1982-2018 and Montana from 1983-2017.
 
 
Looking Back to 2018 . . . #4/3 Eagles Clinch 10th Big Sky Title With 74-23 Win at Portland State
 
During a season of "Leave No Doubt," the Eagles left no doubt against Portland State. Jumping out to an early 14-0 lead and never looking back, No. 4/3 Eastern clinched its 10th Big Sky Conference title and 13th playoff berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision with an overwhelming 74-23 victory versus Portland State Nov. 16, 2018, at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Ore. With their fourth-straight dominating performance versus Big Sky competition, the Eagles rolled to 624 yards of offense while holding PSU to 304. The Eagles had a 4-1 turnover advantage against the Vikings with three interceptions (third-straight game with three) and a fumble recovery. Quarterback Eric Barriere accounted for six touchdowns and 315 yards of offense in the win, and receiver Nsimba Webster had touchdowns of 68 yards receiving and 57 on a punt return in the victory. En route to becoming the first Eagle running back to go over the 1,000-yard mark in five years, Sam McPherson rushed for 133 yards. Eastern's 74 points are the most ever versus a Big Sky Conference or FCS opponent, eclipsing the 70 EWU scored versus Cal Poly earlier in 2018. It was fourth-most overall, ranking only behind games played back in 1908 and 1914 and another in 1966. A 66-yard touchdown rush by Barriere on EWU's third offensive play set the tone for EWU. The Eagles scored on an 80-yard drive the next time they had the ball, then poured it on from there. Eastern scored 13 points in the second quarter to take a 27-14 lead at halftime, then scored 27 points in the third quarter to break it open. Linebacker Chris Ojoh made the fourth start of his career and had a team-leading nine tackles, and Josh Lewis, D'londo Tucker and Calin Criner all had interceptions. Nick Foerstel added four tackles with a sack.
 
 
Looking Back to 2017 . . . #18/20 Eastern Washington 59, Portland State 33
 
Senior wide receiver Nic Sblendorio nearly broke a school record for receiving yards in a 59-33 Big Sky Conference victory over Portland State on Nov. 18, 2017, at Roos Field to end the 2017 regular season. Sblendorio finished with nine catches for 273 yards and a pair of touchdowns, coming just two yards from the EWU record of 275 set by Cooper Kupp (now of the Los Angeles Rams) in 2015 at Northern Colorado. Sblendorio had a 60-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter and a 74-yard TD in the third as Eastern finished with 728 total yards to rank at the time as the third-most in school history. Eastern's 59 points were a season high and the 14th-most in school history at the time. Ahead just 31-26 at halftime, Eastern exploded in the second half and out-scored PSU 28-0 in the third quarter. Eastern had 264 yards in the quarter, compared to just 31 for PSU. In that quarter alone, Gage Gubrud passed for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including 149 yards and a TD to Sblendorio. Gubrud completed 17-of-32 passes for 445 yards and four touchdowns for the seventh-most yards in his career (19th in school history at the time). He added 67 rushing yards, giving him 512 yards of total offense to rank as the seventh-most in his career (eighth all-time at EWU at the time). Sophomore running back Antoine Custer Jr. had his third 100-yard rushing performance of his career, finishing with 177 to shatter his previous career high of 147. Linebacker Jack Sendelbach, the previous week's Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week, was second on the team in tackles with seven, just one behind fellow linebacker Ketner Kupp with eight. Kicker Roldan Alcobendas had a field goal and made all eight of his extra points. Eastern's seniors came up big on a team dominated by juniors and sophomores in the starting lineup. Besides Sblendorio, defensive end Albert Havili had a sack, two passes broken up and three total tackles. Safety Jake Hoffman, who was playing with a broken bone in his hand and was cleared to play just two days before, had six tackles. Defensive end Marcus Saugen, a high school teammate of Hoffman's, started and had five tackles. Defensive back John Kreifels received the start at rover and had three tackles, and cornerback Victor Gamboa had an interception, three tackles and pass broken up. Andre Lino had a pair of tackles with a half-sack. Senior punter Jordan Dascalo, the previous week's Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, averaged 44.0 yards on three punts.
 
 
Looking Back Further
 
* In the 2016 game in Portland, third-ranked Eastern wrapped up its ninth Big Sky Conference title and extended its winning streak to nine games with a 35-28 victory over nemesis Portland State on Nov. 18, 2016, at Providence Park. In the process, the Eagles equaled their best regular season finish in 108 years of football and finished with its second unbeaten Big Sky season in 30 years in the conference. Eastern battled back from deficits to knot the score at 14, 21 and 28, then took a 35-28 lead with 8:19 to play in the game on a Kendrick Bourne 10-yard pass from Gage Gubrud. Eastern's defense then stopped PSU on downs with 1:56 to play and was able to run out the clock. Shaq Hill caught seven passes for 124 yards and an 84-yard touchdown, with Gubrud finishing with 346 yards of total offense. Samson Ebukam had a pair of sacks and senior Kendrick Bourne had a TD reception. Gubrud, Ebukam and Bourne were all from the Portland area. Cooper Kupp went over 6,000 receiving yards and 400 receptions in his legendary career against PSU, catching six passes for 67 yards. Nic Sblendorio caught five passes for 69 yards and a 45-yard TD. Defensively, linebacker Alek Kacmarcik had 14 tackles and safety Zach Bruce had 11. After allowing PSU to gain 166 yards and 14 points on its first 24 plays of the game, the EWU defense held PSU to 14 points and 305 yards in the final 47:14.
 
* In 2015 in Cheney, the Eagles couldn't stop Portland State on third down in the second half and lost 34-31 to the Vikings at Roos Field on Nov. 21, 2015, in a Big Sky Conference showdown for the "Dam Cup." In a game that featured four lead changes in the first 33 minutes, the loss ended EWU's season at 6-5 and helped PSU secure a first-round bye in the FCS Playoffs. Eastern pulled within 34-31 with 5:48 left on a 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown by senior Todd Raynes, but the Vikings were able to run out the clock to improve to 8-2 on the season. Cooper Kupp had eight catches for 136 yards and a 78-yard touchdown grab. Jabari Wilson rushed for 85 yards on 14 carries and scored a touchdown. Kendrick Bourne caught five passes for 46 yards, and had a 63-yard touchdown run in the first quarter on a reverse. Reilly Hennessey made his second career start and completed 17-of-27 for 215 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Raynes concluded his Eastern career with 12 tackles, a sack, one other tackle for loss and a fumble recovery he returned 35 yards for a score. Miquiyah Zamora, Zach Bruce and Miles Weatheroy all had nine tackles. Portland State finished with 397 yards and the Eagles had 390. However, the Eagles were just 7-of-12 on third down and fumbled the ball on its lone fourth-down attempt of the game. Eastern, which had 10 turnovers in its previous two games, had four turnovers against the Vikings leading to 13 PSU points. Eastern scored seven points off three PSU turnovers.
 
* In 2014 in Portland, fifth-ranked Eastern secured at least a share of its third-straight Big Sky Conference title – and its eighth overall – with a 56-34 victory over Portland State Nov. 21 at Providence Park in rain-drenched Portland, Ore. While Eastern's passing game was limited by the wet conditions, Jabari Wilson provided a career-high 132 yards and three touchdowns on the ground to help EWU pull away with 21 points in the third quarter and another 21 in the fourth. Vernon Adams Jr. did his part with 309 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air, and All-America wide receiver Cooper Kupp caught nine passes for 147 yards and a score. Shaq Hill added a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, and safety Tevin McDonald clinched the win with a 73-yard interception return for a score. The Eagle defense gave EWU the lead for good by turning two forced fumbles into scores in the third quarter. In the first half, the Eagles converted two early fourth downs, and turned them both into touchdowns. In the previous three meetings versus PSU, EWU had managed only 70 yards on 71 carries, but EWU had 185 on 39 carries versus the Vikings. Safety Zach Bruce, who was making just his third career start as a safety, had his first interception as an Eagle to squelch a PSU threat late in the first quarter. That led to a 98-yard EWU drive that gave the Eagles a 14-0 lead. He later added a second interception in the fourth quarter. Defensive end Samson Ebukam had a team-leading nine tackles.
 
* In 2013 in Cheney, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. and wide receiver Cooper Kupp connected for the game-winning touchdown with 31 seconds remaining to help EWU defeat Portland State 42-41 Nov. 23, 2013, at Roos Field. The victory preserved Eastern's unbeaten Big Sky Conference season and helped the third-ranked Eagles win the league's outright title. The game featured four ties and a pair of lead changes, and EWU did not have a lead in the final three quarters until the game-winning TD. It was EWU's 13th victory since 2010 when trailing or tied in the fourth quarter. The Eagles were aided by a missed PSU extra point on a touchdown with a minute left that gave PSU a short-lived 41-35 lead. Adams had five touchdown passes, including the game-winner to Kupp to cap a frantic four-play, 74-yard drive that started with a minute to play. Kevin Miller's extra point provided the one-point win. Adams completed 34-of-56 passes for 457 yards, setting career highs for attempts and completions and equaling his career-high of 457 yards (broken in the 2014 season). Linebacker Ronnie Hamlin had 14 tackles in a game that featured 1,131 yards of total offense. Portland State finished with 603 and Eastern ended with 528.
 
* In 2012 in Portland, "Find a way," were the continual words of Eastern head football coach Beau Baldwin in the waning seconds on Nov. 17 at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, Ore. Eastern's All-America wide receivers – and transfer quarterback Kyle Padron -- came up with huge plays when the Eagles needed them most, and EWU secured its sixth Big Sky Conference title with a 41-34 victory over Portland State. Eastern scored the winning points on an eight-play, 94-yard drive to break a 34-all tie with 1:25 to play in a steady downpour. Padron passed for 380 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Nicholas Edwards in the second half as Eastern rallied from season-high deficits of 13 and 12 points. Padron, who transferred that year from Southern Methodist, came off the bench to complete 26-of-38 passes for 381 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for one. He replaced starter Vernon Adams Jr., who was 4-of-7 for 82 yards. Brandon Kaufman had nine catches for 161 yards, including two sensational, highlight-reel catches after tipped balls. Greg Herd added seven catches for 108 yards, and Edwards added four for 77 yards and his two scores. Defensively, senior linebacker Zach Johnson had a pair of interceptions in the second half and three tackles, and junior cornerback T.J. Lee had eight tackles and three passes broken up. Eastern rushed for four touchdowns, but was held to a paltry rushing total for the second-straight year, finishing with no yards on the ground to go along with 463 through the air.
 
* In the 2011 loss, Eastern was gashed for more than 300 yards rushing as Portland State ran its way to a 43-26 Big Sky Conference football victory Oct. 29 on Senior Day at Roos Field. That game essentially kept the Eagles from getting a berth in the FCS Playoffs – the PSU loss was EWU's only setback in its last seven games as Eastern overcame an 0-4 start to finish 6-5. The Vikings used their pistol offense to score on four-straight possessions in the second quarter and three-straight possessions in the third. Portland State scored 21 unanswered points to turn a 20-15 EWU lead into a 36-20 advantage in the third quarter. Viking quarterback Connor Kavanaugh rushed for 154 yards and passed for another 147 and a touchdown for PSU, which finished with 338 yards rushing and 499 total yards. Eastern, led by the 440 passing yards of quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, rushed for minus 1 yard as Mitchell was sacked five times. Eastern finished with 439 yards of total offense and lost the turnover battle 3-1. Mitchell completed 20-of-42 passes and had four touchdowns in the loss, including three to Nicholas Edwards and one to Greg Herd. Edwards finished with nine catches for 166 yards and Herd had five receptions for 196 yards (sixth in school history at the time). Safeties Allen Brown and Jeff Minnerly each had 10 tackles for the Eagles, and true freshman middle linebacker Cody McCarthy also had 10.
 
* In 2010, EWU's Taiwan Jones rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone as eighth-ranked Eastern Washington University defeated PSU 50-17 on Oct. 30, 2010. Eastern finished with 523 yards of offense, and at one point had a 183-5 advantage over the Vikings en route to jumping out to a 14-0 lead. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell added 231 yards and two touchdowns through the air, finishing 13-of-23 with no interceptions. Freshman redshirt tight end Zack Gehring finished with a team-high 123 yards on three receptions with a 70-yard touchdown. J.C. Sherritt had 15 tackles to lead the defense. After leading 28-10 at intermission, the Eagles turned a blocked punt by Darriell Beaumonte into a recovery for a touchdown by T.J. Lee to increase the advantage to 18. Eastern scored the next 10 points on a 44-yard field goal by Kevin Miller and a 15-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell to Brandon Kaufman.
 
 
 
 

More Team Notes

 
Eagle Now 18-1 Versus FCS Schools in California From 2006-2019
 
Following a 42-41 win at Cal Poly on Nov. 16, the Eagles have won 18 of their last 19 matchups against NCAA Football Championship Subdivision opponents from California. In addition, until the Eagles lost at Sacramento State on Oct. 5, it had been 14 years since Eastern had lost a road game to a FCS school in California – an 8-0 record starting back to 2008. Eastern was 2-0 versus Sacramento State, 3-0 against Cal Poly and 2-0 at UC Davis in that span, with the last road loss to those three teams a 40-35 setback at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo on Nov. 5, 2005. The Eagles did lose to California of the Pac-12 Conference 59-7 on Sept. 12, 2009, in Berkeley, Calif.
 
The Sac State loss earlier this season ended a 17-game streak versus FCS foes from California dating back to a 15-13 home loss to Sacramento State on Nov. 1, 2008. During that streak, EWU was 5-0 versus Sac State and 6-0 against both Cal Poly and UC Davis. Overall, the Eagles are now 36-7 against those three foes (83.7 percent), but are better on the road (18-3 for 85.7 percent) than at home (18-4 for 81.8 percent). Eastern is now 12-1 at Sacramento State (19-5 overall), 2-0 at UC Davis (8-0 overall) and 4-2 at Cal Poly (9-2 overall).
 
 
Streak of At Least One Road Win Extended to 51 Seasons
 
A 50-year streak was extended to 51 when Eastern Washington won its first road game at Idaho State on Nov. 9 in Pocatello, Idaho. That streak now includes all 36 seasons Eastern has been a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA). The last time Eastern was winless on the road was 1969 when the then-Savages were 0-4 away from home and finished 4-5 on the season. In fact, since then, Eastern has had at least two road wins in all but six seasons (1974, 1975, 1976, 1988, 1989, 1994), a current streak of 26-straight seasons with at least a pair. Eastern extended that from 25 to 26 against Cal Poly on Nov. 16.
 
 
Eagles Trade Hot & Humid for Indoors
 
The game Nov. 9 versus Idaho State was Eastern's 60th game inside a dome, where the temperatures are always at about 72 degrees and wind or humidity are not factors. After the 48-5 win, Eastern is 31-29 all-time in domes, including a 15-4 record at Idaho State's Holt Arena. Eastern lost earlier this season at Idaho, where EWU is now 4-9 at the Kibbie Dome. Eastern is also 10-7 at NAU's Walkup Skydome, 2-0 at North Dakota, 0-1 at North Dakota State, 0-1 at South Dakota, 0-6 at Northern Iowa and 0-1 at the Houston Astrodome.
 
Playing in a dome is a far cry from what Eastern faced Sept. 14 in Jacksonville, Ala., where the game was delayed by 30 minutes to 3:35 p.m. because of lightning in the area. At kickoff it was 90 degrees with 67 percent humidity. That was the eighth-hottest game in recorded EWU history (since 1980), ranking behind the 106 at Arizona State (8/31/02 at 6 p.m.), 97 at Sacramento State (9/26/09 at 6 p.m.), 94 at Southwest Texas State (9/7/95 at 6 p.m. in San Marcos, Texas), 93 at Spokane's Albi Stadium versus Portland State (9/3/88 at 7 p.m.), 93 at Sacramento State (9/26/15 at 6 p.m.), 92 at Eastern Illinois (9/14/91 at 6:30 p.m.) and 91 at Nicholls State (9/2/04 at 6:30 p.m. at Thibodeaux, La.). On two other occasions the temperature has hit 90 degrees at kickoff.
 
The temperature for the Nicholls State game in 2004 also came with considerable humidity, and a pre-game rain shower soaked Eastern's footballs prior to the 37-14 loss. Eastern also faced severe weather at Sam Houston State on Sept. 28, 2013, when a thunder, lightning and rain storm stopped the game for 78 minutes. With a temperature of 84 degrees and 81 percent humidity, Eastern fell 49-34. There was also a similar one-hour weather delay when Eastern played at Southwest Texas State in San Marcos, Texas, on a 94-degree day on Sept. 7, 1995. Eastern won that game 34-16.
 
 
Eagles Record Second-Most Points in the Second Quarter and First Half Versus UNC
 
Eastern scored early and often versus Northern Colorado on Oct. 12 in a 54-21 victory, and the Eagles nearly broke a pair of school records in the process. Eastern's 40 points in the first half were the second most since becoming a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 1983, ranking only behind the 41 EWU scored versus Cal Poly in 1994. The 30 points the Eagles scored in the second quarter ranked only behind the 31 Eastern scored in a 2014 game versus North Dakota.
 
In Eastern's next home game, a 66-38 win over Northern Arizona on Nov. 2, the Eagles scored 37 in the first half to rank in a tie for third on the list. Earlier this season, EWU had a 28-point effort versus Jacksonville State to equal the second-best effort in the first quarter (EWU had 29 versus Central Washington in 2004).
 
Eastern has had numerous 40-point performances in the second half in school history, including 47 versus Portland State last year which were just two from the record of 49 set on two occasions. The most points scored in the third quarter were 36 versus UC Davis in 2016 and the most in the fourth quarter came versus Cal State Northridge with 35 in 2001.
 
 
Eastern is 30-18 Since 2010 Versus Ranked Opponents, Including 10-9 Versus Top 10 Foes
 
Montana was the 63rd time Eastern has faced a team ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (STATS), as well as the 131st against a ranked foe. Eastern lost that game 34-17 in Missoula.
 
The Jacksonville State game was the first time and only other time thus far in the 2019 season the Eagles played a ranked team in FCS in the STATS weekly poll. Eastern, ranked fourth at the time by STATS, lost 49-45 to the 17th-ranked Gamecocks. However, Washington (ranked in FBS) and North Dakota (ranked 25th in the FCS coaches poll but not by STATS), means EWU actually faced three ranked foes in EWU's first five games.
 
Eastern was 5-2 versus ranked opponents in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 2018 and thus far are 0-2, and have now won 63 percent of its games (30-18) versus ranked teams since 2010. Eastern is 59-72 in 131 games overall against ranked teams since becoming a member of that classification in 1983 (then known as I-AA). Since 1983, Eastern is 1-7 versus ranked FBS foes, and a loss to Washington (ranked 13th by the media and 12th by the coaches) in 2019 was the eighth such foe EWU has faced.
 
The Eagles are 9-35 all-time versus top 5 opponents (4-7 since 2010), including 2-8 versus No. 1 (0-2 since 2010). Eastern is also 10-9 versus top 10 foes since 2010, including a 5-4 mark in the regular season and 5-5 in the playoffs Eastern is 19-44 in 63 games all-time versus top 10 opponents.
 
Overall, EWU has faced the No. 1 team in FCS 10 times, winning twice -- 35-31 in 2004 over Southern Illinois in the FCS Playoffs and 30-21 in 2002 over Montana at Albi Stadium in Spokane, Wash. One of the losses was in 2016 in Fargo, N.D., when North Dakota State beat No. 8 Eastern 50-44 in overtime. The following season, EWU was ranked seventh and lost 40-13 to second-ranked NDSU in Cheney. Eastern lost a third time to the top-ranked Bison by a 38-24 score on Jan. 5, 2019, in the NCAA Division I Championship Game.
 
In 2018, Eastern also beat the No. 9 team in NCAA Division II at the time when EWU blasted Central Washington 58-13 to open the season. The Eagles then defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since 2016 when the Eagles beat Northern Arizona 31-26 on Sept. 8. Northern Arizona had entered the game ranked 18th in the STATS Top 25 poll, and the win snapped a three-game losing streak in games versus ranked foes. The last win over a ranked opponent before that was versus No. 12 Richmond 38-0 on Dec. 10, 2016, in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
 
Eastern, however, fell 14-6 to No. 13 Weber State on Oct. 13, 2018, in Ogden, Utah, in another game versus a ranked foe, then registered victories over No. 4 UC Davis (59-20), No. 15 Nicholls (42-21), No. 7 UC Davis (34-29) and No. 12 Maine (50-19), with the latter three wins coming in the FCS Playoffs. The Eagles then fell to top-ranked North Dakota State 38-24 in the NCAA Division I Championship Game in Frisco, Texas.
 
 
Through First Six Games, Eagles Were Looking for More Consistency
 
Through six games and an uncharacteristic 2-4 start to the season, Eastern head coach Aaron Best found his team looking for improved consistency– "Jekyll and Hyde" performances as he pointed out after a particularly lopsided performance at Idaho on Sept. 21.
 
In the 13 quarters Eastern had an advantage in total offense in those first six games, the Eagles were averaging 163.8 yards per quarter (52.2 rushing/111.5 passing) and 13.1 points while completing 65.0 percent of their passes. That equated to a game average of 655.0 yards (208.9/446.2) and 52.3 points. Opponents in those 13 quarters were averaging 77.8 yards (29.7/48.2) and 7.5 points, equating to a game average of 311.1 yards (118.5/192.6) and 30.2 points. Eastern registered four shutouts of their opponent in those 13 quarters.
 
In the other 11 quarters, EWU was shut-out five times and had scored a total of 37 points (3.4 per quarter, equating to 13.5 per game), while opponents scored 132 (12.0 per quarter, equating to 48.0 per game). The yardage totals were 65.2 per quarter for EWU (31.5 rushing/33.7 passing) to equate to 260.7 per game (125.8/134.9), compared to 145.6 per quarter for opponents (50.7/94.9) to equate to a game total of 582.5 yards (202.9/379.6).
 
Most recently, Eastern had advantages in the first three quarters at Cal Poly on Nov. 16 in a 42-41 win, and all four quarters in a 48-5 victory over Idaho State on Nov. 9. One game earlier, the Eagles had an incredible 331 yards of total offense in the first quarter (NAU had 151) in what would become a 706-yard effort in a 66-38 win over Northern Arizona. Eastern was edged out by NAU in the middle two quarters, then had a 111-66 advantage in the final quarter.
 
Eastern had a 174-104 advantage in yards and 14-7 on the scoreboard in the second quarter of what would become a 34-17 loss at Montana on Oct. 26. One game earlier, Eastern dominated Northern Colorado in a 40-0 first half before laying off the gas in the second half of the 54-21 win. Eastern had a 215-75 advantage in yards and 10-0 in scoring in the first quarter, and 194-37 and 30-0 in the second quarter.
 
Thus, when adding those statistics to the 13 previous quarters EWU had a yardage advantage, here are the numbers in 25 quarters this season in which EWU has had an advantage in total offense:
 

• EWU – 171.4 yards per quarter (60.4 rushing/111.0 passing) and 13.0 points, 65.3 percent pass completion rate (equates to game average of 685.6 yards/241.6 rushing/444.0 passing) and 52.2 points.
• Opponents – 87.2 yards (36.2/51.0) and 6.4 points, (equates to a game average of 348.6 yards/144.6/204.0) and 25.4 points. Eastern registered nine shutouts of their opponent in those 25­­­ quarters.

 
Against Sacramento State on Oct. 5, both teams had advantages in two quarters, and the game ended with EWU having a 497-471 edge in total offense. However, the difference in the game turned out to be two Eastern turnovers returned for touchdowns by the Hornets.
 
Eastern out-gained North Dakota in the first two quarters en route to a 28-7 lead at halftime. The Eagles were out-gained both quarters of the second half, but did have a 7-6 scoring edge in the final quarter thanks to a pair of turnovers gained en route to a 6-0 victory in the turnover battle.
 
Versus Idaho in a 35-27 loss on Sept. 21 in Moscow, Eastern fell behind 28-0 at halftime and was out-gained in total offense 329-103. In the second half, Eastern had a 27-7 advantage on the scoreboard and 357-134 in yards. The outcome was a reversal of a 38-14 romp past the Vandals in 2018 in which EWU led 31-0 at intermission.
 
Eastern fell at Jacksonville State 49-45 on Sept. 14 in a game in which the Eagles won the total offense battle and held the lead for all but 1:12 of the game – including leading for at least 10 points for 48:34. But the Gamecocks scored 21 points in the final 14:49 to overcome a 45-28 Eagle lead late in the third quarter. The Eagles had jumped out to a 28-7 lead in the first quarter.
 
Prior to the loss to the then No. 17/16-ranked Gamecocks, EWU beat Lindenwood 59-21 in which quarterback Eric Barriere had the 14th-best performance in Big Sky history (second all-time at EWU) with 556 yards of total offense. Eastern finished with a school record 769 yards as a team, with senior wide receiver Dre' Sonte Dorton setting a school record with his 289 yards receiving and ranking fourth with 15 catches.
 
The Eagles opened their 2019 campaign with a 47-14 loss at Washington of the Pac-12 Conference. The Huskies had entered the game ranked 13th in the Associated Press media poll and 12th by the coaches in the NCAA Bowl Subdivision after a 2018 season which saw them finish 10-4 overall and 7-2 in the Pac-12 North Division. Washington beat Utah 10-3 in the league championship game, then fell 28-23 to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
 
 
Eastern's 15 Pass Attempts Versus North Dakota Fewest in Nearly 30 Years
 
For an Eastern Washington football team to have just 100 yards passing and win by 15 points, you know the running game was clicking. Eastern had its fewest passing yards in 21 years and 255 games, equaled its fewest attempts in 29 years and 345 games, and its fewest completions in 40 years and 466 games in Eastern's weather-impacted 35-20 victory over North Dakota on Sept. 28.
 
In blizzard-like conditions, the Eagles completed 6-of-15 passes for 93 yards in the victory, while rushing for 284 and five scores. It was EWU's fewest passing yards since having 91 on Oct. 31, 1998, when EWU rushed for 192 in a 31-25 victory over Sacramento State. Eastern was 10-of-17 through the air in that Halloween contest.
 
The last time EWU had fewer attempts than 15 was back on Oct. 27, 1990, when EWU attempted 14 versus Portland State in a 21-13 win. The Eagles were 8-of-14 for 100 yards in that game, and rushed for 210. Eastern also had 15 pass attempts at Weber State on Oct. 23, 2004 (10-of-15 for 121 yards, 295 rushing in a 51-7 win) and 15 in the 1997 FCS Playoffs versus Northwestern State (9-of-15 for 196 yards, 241 rushing in a 40-10 win).
 
Eastern has never had fewer than six completions in 36 seasons (1984-2019) as a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA). You have to go back to the first game in the coaching career of Dick Zornes to find a game in which EWU completed less than that. The Eagles were 4-of-11 for 40 yards on Sept. 13, 1979, and also rushed for 237 in the 20-7 victory.
 
Even in 1999 when the Eagles rushed for a school-record 456 yards in a 48-41 victory over Cal State Northridge, EWU completed 9-of-18 passes for 132 yards. Eastern won the 2019 game against North Dakota by rushing 284 yards and five touchdowns on 62 carries, including 134 yards and three scores by Antoine Custer Jr. and another 126 and a TD for Silas Perreiah.
 
 
In Terms of Weather, Eagles Face Another Extreme in Sacramento
 
The temperature at kickoff against North Dakota on Sept. 28 in Cheney, Wash., was 35 degrees and snowing, with 20-mile-an-hour winds – weather not unlike some of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff games EWU has hosted since 2010. It was the first September snowfall in the Spokane area since 1926. The 35 degrees equaled the 17th-coldest in EWU history, but the top 16 on that list include no games prior to Nov. 4.
 
That was sandwiched around a pair of trips to sweltering locales, including an Oct. 5 game at Sacramento, Calif., where two of the four hottest games in EWU history have been played. Eastern played there in 97-degree heat (second all-time) on Sept. 26, 2009, and it was 93 (fourth) on Sept. 26, 2015, with both kickoffs at 6 p.m. The high for the Sacramento State game this time around in 2019 was 79 degrees at kickoff and sunny.
 
Eastern's game on Sept. 21 at Jacksonville State equaled the eighth-hottest at 90 degrees. The hottest home game for EWU was 93 degrees when EWU tied Portland State 31-31 at Albi Stadium in Spokane on Sept. 3, 1988. The coldest game was 12 degrees when Eastern hosted Youngstown State in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs at Roos Field on Dec. 16, 2016.
 
The hottest game in school history at kickoff was 106 degrees at Arizona State at 7 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2002. It was 94 at Southwest Texas on Sept. 7, 1995, also at 6 p.m. local time, to rank third in school history.
 
 
Blackburn and Levao Get Sixth Year to Help Ease the Loss of a Huge Senior Class
 
After having only 12 seniors in 2016 and 14 in 2017, Eastern had 27 on its 2018 roster. However, two of those 27 -- All-Big Sky offensive linemen Spencer Blackburn and Kaleb Levao -- were granted a sixth year by the NCAA to complete four years of eligibility because of seasons lost because of injuries. Both entered the 2019 season with 39 games worth of experience, and Blackburn entered the year with 37-straight starts with Levao starting 18.
 
Thus, Eastern's 25 lost seniors included 18 four-year letterwinners and another five who earned three. Combined, those 25 players had a total of 1,006 games played and 441 starts. Injuries to numerous Eagles helped give so many players opportunities to play and start.
 
 
Eagles Rank in the Top 12 in Both Playoff Appearances and Victories
 
The Eagles made their 13th appearance in the FCS Playoffs in 2018 to rank 12th in history, and have a 19-12 record all-time to rank eighth in wins. Head coach Aaron Best and his team had the mantra all season of "Leave No Doubt" after the team was denied a berth in 2017  after finishing 7-4 overall and 5-2 in the league.
 
"The standard around here are Big Sky championships and playoff berths, so when we don't do that it hurts," he explained. "I've been here 20-plus years and have been a part of a lot of victories, so it hurt when I couldn't tell those players in 2017 why we didn't get in. The natural response is we didn't do enough on our resume to get in, but in 2018 we didn't want to put it anybody else's hands. We weren't going to let a committee or people decide our fate. We decided our own fate."
 
 
70 Percent of EWU's Roster are from Washington in 2019
 
The Eagles have 102 players in their program in 2019, and 71 of them – 70 percent – are from the state of Washington. Eastern's coaching staff is Washington-based as well, with nine of the team's 11 full-time coaches (82 percent) hailing from the Evergreen State. Head coach Aaron Best is a 1996 graduate of Curtis High School in Tacoma, Wash., and shares the same alma mater with Brian Strandley (1990).
 

Eagles Continue Big Sky Success With Impressive Consistency
 
Consistency has been a cornerstone of EWU Football, and the Eagles have cemented a 15-year run of winning the league title and/or advancing to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs at least every other year. Since 2004, Eastern has advanced to the playoffs and/or won the league title at least every other year, and hasn't had back-back-empty seasons since 2002 and 2003.
 
In 2018, Eastern secured its 10th Big Sky title and 13th appearance in the FCS Playoffs in what is now 35 years as a member of the FCS (formerly I-AA). Since 2010 when EWU won the NCAA Division I title, the Eagles have won league titles six times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018) and advanced to the playoffs all six of those seasons. From 2004 to 2009 Eastern advanced to the playoffs four times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2009), and won the league title twice (2004, 2005). Eastern has three other playoff berths in school history (1985, 1992, 1997) and two other titles (1992, 1997), and has only had two multi-year stretches in which they accomplished neither. Those were both six-year stretches from between 1986-1991 and 1998-2003.
 
The Eagles have been impressive – if not dominant – in the league in the last 12 years (2007-2018), winning 80 percent of their games (77-19) and six titles. In that span, Eastern has had no league finish below 5-3 and five of them have included 7-1 or 8-0 records.


Winningest FCS Teams Since 2010 (entering 2019 season)
 
By victories . . . 1. North Dakota State 121; 2. Sam Houston State 92; 3. Eastern Washington 90; 4. Jacksonville State 85; 5. James Madison 82; 6. Kennesaw State 79; 7. San Diego 77; 8. South Dakota State 75; 9. New Hampshire 74; 10. Wofford 72.
 
By percentage . . . 1. North Dakota State .903 (121-13); 2. Harvard .778 (70-20); 3. Kennesaw State .7524 (79-26); 4. Jacksonville State .7522 (85-28); 5. Eastern Washington .750 (90-30); 6. Sam Houston State .742 (92-32); 7. San Diego .740 (77-27); 8. James Madison .713 (82-33); 9. Bethune-Cookman .696 (71-31); 10. North Carolina A&T .680 (70-53).
 
 
Eagles Continue Stretch of Success in FCS Statistics in Passing and Total Offense
 
In EWU's last 15 seasons (2004-2018), EWU has ranked in the top 10 in passing 12 times, total offense on 11 occasions and scoring six times. In school history, EWU has won two FCS titles for total offense (2001, 1997), as well as three passing offense titles (2016, 2015, 2011) and two for scoring offense (2014, 2001).
 
 
Six Eagles Make NFL Rosters in 2019, Including Rookie Nsimba Webster
 
The numbers have been tabulated, and only Harvard has more players in the National Football League than Eastern Washington University among schools at the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision level.
 
Six former Eagles were on 53-man rosters announced at the end of the 2019 preseason, including a trio of players with the Los Angeles Rams. The six former Eagles were one less than Harvard with seven, and equals the six FCS powerhouse North Dakota State has. Eastern had more than fellow Big Sky Conference member Idaho (5), as well as Delaware (5), James Madison (5), Montana (1) and Montana State (1).
 
A total of 167 players from 67 current FCS schools were part of the 32 rosters for the NFL's 100th season, which kicked off Sept. 5. Add in 43 players signed to practice squads (which go through frequent changes) and the FCS haul in the NFL was 210.
 
In 2019, rookie wide receiver/kick returner Nsimba Webster made the 53-man roster for the Rams, joining former Eagles and NFL veterans Cooper Kupp (wide receiver) and Samson Ebukam (outside linebacker). Also making NFL teams were Kendrick Bourne (wide receiver) with San Francisco, Jake Rodgers (offensive lineman) with Denver and Taiwan Jones (running back) with Houston.
 
Offensive lineman Aaron Neary had an excellent chance to make the Rams 53-man roster, but suffered a fractured ankle in late August which required surgery. Two former Eagles were released at the end of the preseason, including Jay-Tee Tiuli with the Seattle Seahawks and Ketner Kupp with the Rams.
 
Webster was an undrafted free agent, but caught 15 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown in four preseason games in 2019 for Los Angeles. He also returned three punts for 28 yards (long of 12) and three kickoffs for 70 (long of 28) to show his versatility. In his 44-game career (26 as a starter) at Eastern, Webster caught 156 passes to rank 15th in school history, good for 2,233 yards to rank 17th and 18 touchdowns to equal the 16th-most all-time at EWU.
 
Still looking for his first regular season action in the NFL, Rodgers entered the 2019 season on the roster of the Denver Broncos after originally joining the league in 2015. However, he was later taken off the 53-man roster and placed on the practice squad for Denver. He has had two stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and has also been a part of the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons organizations.
 
Bourne saw action in all 16 games for the San Francisco 49ers in the 2018 season, finishing with 42 catches for 487 yards and four touchdowns. Bourne scored his first NFL touchdown on Sept. 16, 2018, against the Detroit Lions in a 30–27 victory. In Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, he recorded his second touchdown in the 29–27 loss. He had a career-high seven catches for 71 yards versus Arizona on Oct. 28, then had a season-high 73 yards on four catches in the final game of the season on Dec. 23. He had 16 receptions for 257 yards as a rookie, all coming in the last eight games of the season.
 
Veteran running back Taiwan Jones enters his ninth year in the NFL in 2019 and is with his third team. Jones signed a contract with the Houston Texans on May 14, 2019, as a free agent. In his eight-year NFL career entering 2019 as both a running back and cornerback, Jones has played in 80 total games with career totals of 183 yards rushing, 18 receptions for 251 yards and a touchdown, 82 kickoff returns for 1,890 yards (23.0 average) and 52 total tackles. He signed with the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 2, 2017, after getting released from the Oakland Raiders on July 28, 2017.
 
But it's the Los Angeles Rams who have captured the hearts of EWU Eagles fans since the NFL Draft in spring of 2017.
 
Cooper Kupp was a starting receiver for the Rams in 2018 after bursting onto the scene in 2017 with 62 catches for 869 yards and five touchdowns to earn All-Rookie honors by the Pro Football Writers Association. His second season was cut short with a knee injury, and he missed the team's march to the Super Bowl. Kupp caught 40 passes for 566 yards and six touchdowns in the first eight games of the 2018 season for the Rams, who would go on to finish 15-4 after losing to the New England Patriots 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII.
 
Before he was injured, he and his wife, Anna, and their newborn son, Cooper Jamison, actually attended the MSU game on Sept. 29, 2018, to watch his brother Ketner Kupp play. Cooper returned to a venue he caught nine passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore in 2014, and 13 for 154 and a score in his senior year in 2016. In all, Kupp caught 42 passes for 617 yards and seven touchdowns in four victories versus the Bobcats. It was the first time in two years with the Rams that Kupp was able to see the Eagles play. Just two days prior to attending the EWU-MSU game, he caught nine passes for a career-high 162 yards and had the first two-touchdown day of his career versus Minnesota. He had a 70-yard TD reception in the 38-31 victory, giving him 24 catches for 348 yards and four touchdowns in the first four games – all wins – for the Rams.
 
After his 2018 injury, Cooper, Anna and Cooper Jr. (nicknamed "June") watched Ketner play his final collegiate game on Jan. 5, 2019, at the NCAA Division I Championship Game in Frisco, Texas. After receiving a tryout with the San Francisco 49ers, Ketner Kupp reunited with four fellow former Eagles by signing a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Rams on May 15, 2019. Cooper was present at the signing, which was headlined by the Rams as a "Kupple of brothers living the dream." Ketner Kupp finished with 267 tackles in his career to rank 14th all-time at EWU, and started 27 of the 48 games he played as an Eagle.
 
Ebukam was a starter for the Los Angeles Rams at outside linebacker in the 2018 season, finishing with 40 total tackles, three sacks, an interception, three forced fumbles and a pass broken up. In Week 11 on Monday Night Football, Ebukam scored two defensive touchdowns off turnovers (one fumble, one interception he returned 25 yards) and forced another interception with his pass broken up in a 54-51 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. In the NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints, he recorded three tackles and a forced fumble in a tough 26-23 overtime victory. He had four tackles in a 13-3 loss in Super Bowl LIII to the New England Patriots. Ebukam had 31 tackles, a pair of sacks and a forced fumble in 16 games (two as a starter) as a rookie.
 
Neary signed a reserve/future contract on Feb. 8, 2019, to remain with the Los Angeles Rams after spending the 2017 and 2018 seasons as a practice squad player. He went with the team to Atlanta, Ga., for Super Bowl LIII where the Rams lost to New England 13-3. He did not play in a regular season games in 2018, and originally signed with the Rams on Sept. 3, 2017. He made his NFL debut on Dec. 31, 2017, versus San Francisco in the final game of the regular season for the NFC West champions.
 
With Kupp, Ebukam, Bourne and Neary, Eastern had four rookies play in the regular season in the NFL in 2017 – certainly extremely rare if not unprecedented by a FCS school. As NFL 53-man rosters were announced for 2018, STATS reported there were 157 players from 71 different FCS schools on regular season rosters, and Eastern had five to lead the Big Sky and rank sixth in FCS, trailing only Harvard (8), North Dakota State (6), James Madison (6), Illinois State (6) and Delaware (6).
 
Eastern also has five Eagles active in the Canadian Football League in 2019, including quarterbacks Bo Levi Mitchell (Calgary), Matt Nichols (Winnipeg) and Vernon Adams Jr. (Montreal). Defensive backs T.J. Lee III and Victor Gamboa both play for British Columbia. D'londo Tucker and Albert Havili were also both with British Columbia but didn't make the team.
 
Mitchell led the Calgary to the 2018 Grey Cup title after leading the Stampeders to the title back in 2014. He was the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 2018 after throwing a league-best 35 touchdowns passes. He was 24-of-36 passing for 253 yards and two TDs in a 27-16 victory over Ottawa in the Grey Cup on Nov. 25 in Edmonton, Alberta. J.C. Sherritt, a veteran of eight CFL seasons, announced his retirement on Jan. 16, 2019.
  
 
 Seven of EWU's 12 Games Will be on the Road in 2019
 
Eastern 12-game football schedule in 2019 includes seven road games, five at home and a couple of twists and turns along the way.
 
With the return of Idaho to the Big Sky Conference in 2018 and the departure of North Dakota, Eastern will annually play the Vandals in a league game. However, 2019 was left out as a league game because of schedules already in place. It worked out that both the Eagles and Vandals had the same open date in their schedule.
 
The Eagles and Idaho will play the final non-conference game against each other on Sept. 21 in Moscow. Starting in 2020, the two schools will be considered "rivals" by the league and will play each other every season. Portland State is EWU's other "rival," while Idaho will face Montana every year starting in 2020.
 
The Eagles opened their five-game home schedule with a 59-31 victory over Lindenwood, a NCAA Division II school in St. Charles, Mo., in EWU's home opener on Sept. 7. The Lions were a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in 2018, and begin play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2019.
 
Eastern's second home game was a 35-20 victory on Sept. 28 versus North Dakota, which is the last game for EWU that counts in the league standings versus the Fighting Hawks. North Dakota is in transition after leaving the Big Sky for the Missouri Valley Conference, and will begin play in that league in 2020.
 
Other home games for the Eagles are Oct. 12 versus Northern Colorado (54-21 victory), Nov. 2 against Northern Arizona (66-38 win) and Nov. 23 versus Portland State on Senior Day at EWU. The game versus North Dakota was Hall of Fame Day at EWU, and the UNC game was Homecoming.
 
Eastern opened the 2019 season with a 47-14 loss at Washington of the Pac-12 Conference, and then lost a non-conference road game at Jacksonville State of the Ohio Valley Conference by a 49-45 score on Sept. 14. That game is part of a home-and home series that will also include a home game for EWU at Roos Field on Sept. 11, 2021.
 
Eastern plays four league road games – Oct. 5 at Sacramento State (a 48-27 loss), Sept. 26 at Montana (a 34-17 loss), Nov. 9 at Idaho State (48-5 win) and Nov. 16 at Cal Poly. Because of the way the calendar falls in 2019, an additional game is allowed by the NCAA in lieu of the traditional 11-game schedule collegiate teams play. The FCS Playoffs will begin on Nov. 30.
 
Eastern's 2020 schedule is also complete, and will include Big Sky home games against the top three favorites of Eagle fans – Montana (Oct. 3), Idaho (Oct. 17) and Montana State (Nov. 7). The Eagles will also host Weber State (Oct. 24) in a league counter, and host Western Illinois (Sept. 12) and Northern Arizona (Sept. 19) in non-conference games.
 
The Big Sky Conference has already announced its league football schedules for the 2020 through 2023 seasons, and as a result the Eagles will play Idaho on a regular basis and Montana less regularly.
 
All 13 Big Sky teams will continue to play eight conference games with four at home and four on the road. Each team will have two "rivals" it will play each season. Over the course of the four years, each Big Sky team will play each other a minimum of two times.
 
Montana, EWU's former rival prior to the return of Idaho, is now in the rotation with the other 10 league schools. Thus, EWU will host Montana just once in that four-year span (on Oct. 3, 2020), while going to UM on Oct. 8, 2022, and not playing the Griz in both 2021 and 2023. Thus, unless a non-conference game is scheduled, EWU will have played Montana at Roos Field just once in a seven-year span from 2017 to 2023.
 
On the positive side, Eastern's 2020 schedule is an anomaly, with the Eagles hosting Idaho, Montana and Montana State in the same year – the first time in EWU history that will have taken place. Eastern also hosts Montana State in 2023 and plays in Bozeman in 2021, but does not play the Bobcats in the 2022 season.
 
Complete schedules for 2019 and 2020 are available at http://goeags.com.
 
 
A Little About the Eagles in 2018
 
Despite missing nine players near the end of the season who had begun the season as starters – six on defense and three on offense -- the Eagles finished 12-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Sky Conference to share the league title with Weber State and UC Davis. The Eagles won their last four games of the regular season, then won three home games in the NCAA Football Championship Playoffs before falling to North Dakota State 38-24 in the title game in Frisco, Texas.
 
Eastern was unbeaten with a perfect 8-0 record at Roos Field – 5-0 in the regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs -- and then more than 4,000 fans showed up to support the Eagles in Frisco.
 
A total of 47 returning letterwinners are on EWU's roster as Best begins his third season at the helm. The Eagles return nine total starters – five on offense and four on defense – with 23 letterwinners back on offense, 24 on defense and a kicker. Best said on Aug. 24 following the team's final scrimmage of preseason practices that "it's going to take the entire season to get to where we need to be."
 
The veteran-laden team in 2018 will see significant changes in 2019 – from both a player and coach standpoint. Besides the returning letterwinners, Eastern also has 21 redshirt freshmen competing for repetitions. Nine of those players saw action in 2018 as part of the new NCAA rule allowing freshman to play in as many as four games and still redshirt.
 
The success of 2018 resulted in four coaches moving on, and four new coaches have been with the Eagles since spring practices began. Replacements include new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ian Shoemaker, defensive passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Allen Brown, wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator Pat McCann and safeties coach Bryan Mills. In addition, Eti Ena was promoted to defensive coordinator.
 
The Eagles have back four full-time starters on defense (DT Dylan Ledbetter, DE Jim Townsend, LB Chris Ojoh, S Dehonta Hayes), plus three others who received starts and significant playing time (S Tysen Prunty, S Calin Criner, Rover Kedrick Johnson). Offensively, five starters return (QB Eric Barriere, WR Andrew Boston, C Spencer Blackburn, G Kaleb Levao, T Chris Schlichting).
 
A total of 23 All-Big Sky Conference honors were won by Eastern players in the 2018 season, including five on the first team. Six Eagles went on to win FCS All-America honors, with senior Roldan Alcobendas winning the Fred Mitchell Award as the top placekicker in the nation. Blackburn won second team All-America honors, while Barriere was honored as a sophomore All-American and Boston and defensive end Mitchell Johnson earned freshman All-America accolades.
 
And the Eagles did all that while combining for a 3.07 grade point average in the fall, and the entire team currently has a collective 3.06 accumulative GPA. In January, 32 Eagles were named to the Big Sky Conference Academic All-Conference team.
 
Now in his 23rd season as a player or coach in the Eagle program, Best was FCS Coach of the Year in a fan vote conducted by Hero Sports, and was the Big Sky Conference co-Coach of the Year. In his first two-plus years at the helm, he has compiled a 20-9 record overall (69.0 percent) and 13-3 mark in the league (81.3 percent). Both percentages ranked among the best in school history, just behind Beau Baldwin with an 85-32 overall mark (72.6 percent) in nine seasons from 2008-16, and just ahead of Baldwin's 58-14 league record (80.6 percent).
 
 
Pair of Teammates Inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 28
 
Former Eastern All-America defensive tackles Chris Scott and Dario Romero were among the 19th class of inductees into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 28, 2019, in conjunction with EWU's football game versus North Dakota at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
 
Scott earned Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1997 when he went on to earn six NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors, including a trio of first team accolades. He finished his career with 236 tackles, which at the time ranked sixth in school history (22nd overall through 2018) and remains a record for an Eagle defensive lineman. He had 25 1/2 career sacks to rank second in school history at the time (currently fourth through 2018), including 11 as a senior to rank at the time as the fourth-most in school history (seventh through the 2018 season). After losing 20 pounds prior to his senior season, he had a school-record 21 tackles for loss in 1997 (now third through 2018) and the 47 in his career were second at the time (now fifth). His six career forced fumbles were a school record for 13 seasons (now tied for second), and his six fumble recoveries were third (now fifth).
 
Romero, who played seven seasons in the Canadian Football League and four in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins, was a 1996 graduate of Lewis & Clark High School in Spokane, and then played as a freshman on EWU's 1997 team. Before his playing career was through he would have 369 total tackles and 47 1/2 sacks in 15 total years of collegiate and pro football. Romero finished his EWU career with 172 tackles, including 22 sacks to rank fifth in school history at the time (now ninth through 2018). Romero was an honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference selection as a sophomore, then earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) All-America honors as both a junior and senior.
 
Romero began his professional career in 2001 for the Edmonton Eskimos, then spent four seasons from 2002-2005 on the roster of the Miami Dolphins and playing a total of 26 games (two as a starter) and registering 26 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks and two passes broken up. He returned to the CFL in 2006, and in 2008 and 2009 he was a West Division All-Star for the Edmonton Eskimos. He retired from professional football in 2012, and had 171 career regular season tackles in seven CFL seasons, including 22 sacks to go along with an interception and five fumble recoveries. Those are nearly identical to his stats while at EWU (172, 22).
 
Scott and Romero helped the 1997 team win the Big Sky title with a 7-1 record, advance to the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs and finish 12-2. That team was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012, and both Scott and Romero were selected by the Eastern Athletic Department to the "100 for 100" All-Time Football Team, which was honored on Sept. 27, 2008, to commemorate Eastern's 100th year of football. In a fan vote, Scott was selected as the top defensive lineman in school history among the 11 players who were honored at that position.
 
Also inducted were track and field competitor Lisa Sorrell and volleyball standout Keva Sonderen, as well as the 1980 men's track and field team which was coached by Hall of Famer Jerry Martin. Established in 1996, the Hall of Fame now consists of 92 individuals and 18 teams following the 2019 induction. In addition, there have also been 20 individuals and one organization honored as recipients of the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame Service and Contribution Award. All of the inductees and induction classes may be viewed at: http://goeags.com/hof.
 
 

 

More Player Notes

 
 
Dorton Returns Kickoff For Touchdown a Week After Receiving National Accolades for Receiving
 
The day started off with another bang for Dre' Sonte Dorton on Sept. 14 at Jacksonville State when he returned the game's opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. It was his second career return for a TD, dating back to his first on Sept. 17, 2016, when he had a 93-yarder versus Northern Iowa. After a 50-yard catch at Idaho on Sept. 21, Dorton now has nine plays of at least 40 yards in his career, including a 78-yard reception for a touchdown on the game's first offensive play on Sept. 7 against Lindenwood.
 
Dorton had a record-breaking day receiving against Lindenwood, helping him earn honors as the STATS NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Offensive Player of the Week in helping EWU to a school-record 769 yards of total offense.  Dorton broke the school record with 289 receiving yards on 15 receptions, which equaled the fourth most. For his breakout game, he also earned honorable mention FCS National Player of the Week honors from College Football Performance Awards.
 
Dorton's 289 yards broke the receiving yardage record set by current Los Angeles Ram Cooper Kupp with 275 at Northern Colorado on Oct. 24, 2015. Interestingly, both Kupp and Dorton wore the No. 10 jersey on their record-setting days, which came up short of the Big Sky record of 333 yards. Dorton's 15 catches equaled the 15th-most in Big Sky history, and were fourth in school history with Kupp owning the record of 20 at UNC. Dorton's previous single-game bests were two catches and 52 yards, and he entered the game with 17 catches for 220 yards and four touchdowns in 28 career outings. Dorton's reception was a career long, and later in the game he had 59-yard TD catch.
 
He was injured on the game's opening kickoff against Northern Colorado on Oct. 12 and didn't play the rest of that game and has not played since then. In his 34-game career (six as a starter), he had 43 receptions for 691 yards (16.1 per catch) and eight touchdowns, as well as 54 kickoff returns for 1,248 yards (seventh in EWU history) and a 23.1 average with two touchdowns. Including minus three yards in rushing, that gives him a total of 1,936 all-purpose yards as an Eagle.
 
 
Barriere and Blackburn Earn Variety of Preseason All-America Honors
 
Eastern's "battery" of junior quarterback Eric Barriere and sixth-year center Spencer Blackburn led the way in preseason honors given to EWU players entering the 2019 season. Barriere earned recognition as a first team All-American by Hero Sports, and was a listed as a FCS Player of the Year candidate by three media outlets. Blackburn was on four All-America squads, including first team accolades as one of just 24 players honored by Athlon.
 
In addition, Blackburn and Barriere were among the nine Eastern players selected to Phil Steele's All-Big Sky Conference squad. Blackburn joined defensive end Mitchell Johnson as first team selections, with offensive tackle Chris Schlichting, offensive guard Kaleb Levao and defensive tackle Dylan Ledbetter earning second team honors. Named to the third team were Barriere, running back Antoine Custer Jr., offensive tackle Tristen Taylor and linebacker Chris Ojoh.
 
 
Barriere Selected to Walter Payton Award Watch List
 
Junior quarterback Eric Barriere was selected by STATS on July 31 as one of 25 players in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision to be selected to the Walter Payton Award Watch List. Barriere was also selected to the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) FCS National Performer of the Year Trophy Watch List and was the FCS Fans Nation choice to be the division's Offensive Player of the Year. In addition, he received first team preseason All-America recognition by Hero Sports, and third team honors on the Phil Steele All-Big Sky team.
 
Barriere took over as EWU's starter midway through the 2018 season and helped lead the Eagles to the cusp of the NCAA Division I title, going 8-1 as a starter before EWU fell in the title game. He passed for 24 touchdowns and rushed for another eight in a total of 14 games played as a sophomore.
 
He is joined on this year's watch list by fellow Big Sky Conference players Troy Andersen (Montana State), Case Cookus (Northern Arizona), Jake Maier (UC Davis) and Charlie Taumoepeau (Portland State). The Eagles don't play MSU or UC Davis in the regular season in 2019, but will host Northern Arizona on Nov. 2 and Portland State three weeks later.
 
Also on the list were a pair of players from Jacksonville State, which EWU played on Sept. 14 at Jacksonville, Ala. Junior quarterback Zerrick Cooper passed for JSU school records of 3,416 yards and 32 touchdowns in 2018, and senior wide receiver Josh Pearson was the FCS co-leader and set the school record with 17 touchdown receptions in 2018. Both players were first team All-Ohio Valley Conference performers last season.
 
Eastern has previously had three Walter Payton Award Winners – wide receiver Cooper Kupp in 2015, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell in 2011 and quarterback Erik Meyer in 2005. The Eagles are the only FCS program with three Payton winners since 2000.
 
In 2016, Kupp and Gage Gubrud were second and third, respectively, in the voting. Gubrud, who was an All-American in 2016 and a starter in both 2017 and 2018, was on the preseason watch list the past two seasons. In both 2013 and 2014, Vernon Adams Jr. was the runner-up for the Payton Award.
 
In June, Barriere earned first team honors on the Hero Sports Preseason FCS All-America team. In 2018, Gubrud suffered a foot injury five games into the season and Barriere took his place for the final 10 contests. EWU won eight of those games to finish 12-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Sky Conference to share the league title with Weber State and UC Davis.
 
 
Spencer Blackburn Among Elite Group of 28 Players Recognized on Athlon Preseason A-A Team
 
The center position is crowded when it comes to NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors, let alone Big Sky Conference honors. Sixth-year center Spencer Blackburn was selected as one of just 28 players nationally to be honored on the Athlon 2019 Preseason NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America Team announced June 11.
 
It was one of four preseason All-America honors Blackburn earned in the summer, as he also earned second team preseason All-America honors from STATS, Hero Sports and Phil Steele. Blackburn was listed as an offensive lineman on the Athlon team, with Zach Larsen from Southern Utah listed as the center. Larsen also earned first team honors from the other three outlets.
 
Larsen and Blackburn are the two best centers in the Big Sky Conference as evidenced by all-league teams. Larsen has been the first team All-BSC center each of the last two seasons while Blackburn has earned second team accolades in each of the last three years. In 2016 when Blackburn was a sophomore and started his string of 37-straight starts (entering 2019), Joey Kuperman from Cal Poly earned first team honors.
 
Blackburn is a sixth-year senior in 2019 after he received approval from the Big Sky Conference and the NCAA for their hardship waiver requests to receive a sixth year to complete four years of eligibility.  Blackburn is a 2014 graduate of Meridian High School in Bellingham, Wash. He redshirted in 2014, but couldn't play in 2015 because of a thumb injury. In 2018 he earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors by Associated Press (second team) and STATS (third team).
 
Blackburn entered his senior season having started 37 of the 39 games he played as an Eagle. In addition, Blackburn was a team co-captain in 2018 – and again in 2019 -- and was named in November to the Google Cloud Academic All-District 8 Football Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He has also earned three Big Sky All-Academic honors, and has a 3.69 GPA in professional accounting. He was the 2017 recipient of the Larry Hattemer Offensive Lineman Scholarship.
 
Eastern finished as the only school to rank in the top 20 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense, rushing and passing. The Eagles averaged 528.2 yards on offense to rank third in FCS, including 255.9 rushing (10th) and 272.3 passing (20th). Eastern was also ranked fourth in scoring (43.1). The Eagles as a team finished the 2018 season with a school-record 6.62 average per rush on the season to break the previous record of 6.41 set in 2001. The Eagles set team records for rushing yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41).
 
 
Chris Schlichting is Lone Eagle on Preseason All-Big Sky Team
 
On a team of worthy candidates, senior offensive tackle Chris Schlichting was the lone Eastern Washington University football player picked to the 2019 Big Sky Conference Preseason All-Conference Team announced July 15 by the league.
 
The 2015 graduate of Mount Si High School in North Bend, Wash., entered the 2019 season having started all 40 games he played as an Eagle. He was a second team All-Big Sky Conference selection in 2018, and is one of nine Eagles returning who have previously received Big Sky accolades. Included were fellow offensive linemen Spencer Blackburn (center) and Kaleb Levao (guard), who also earned second team honors in 2018.
 
The 6-foot-5, 295-pound Schlichting started all 14 games as a redshirt freshman in 2016, all 11 in 2017 and all 15 in 2018 when EWU won a share of the Big Sky Conference championship and lost to North Dakota State 38-24 in the NCAA Division I Championship game.
 
He helped Eastern rank second in FCS in total offense with an average of 529.6 yards per game, trailing only Sam Houston State at 547.3 per outing. Eastern was the FCS leader in passing offense (401.0 yards per game), and was third in third down conversions (52.1 percent), third in completion percentage (.679), third in scoring offense (42.4), and third in passing efficiency (168.2). Eastern quarterbacks were sacked only 24 times in 620 passing attempts (one sack per 25.8 attempts).
 
In 2017, he helped Eastern rank fifth in FCS in total offense (476.7 per game), and was also eighth in passing (320.5), 14th in scoring (34.5) and 11th in third down conversions (46.1 percent).
 
In 2016, Schlichting made his debut as an Eagle starter versus Washington State (9/3/16) in EWU's thrilling 45-42 win. He helped Eastern rank second in FCS in total offense with an average of 529.6 yards per game, trailing only Sam Houston State at 547.3 per outing. Eastern was the FCS leader in passing offense (401.0 yards per game), and was third in third down conversions (52.1 percent), third in completion percentage (.679), third in scoring offense (42.4), and third in passing efficiency (168.2).


Eagles Get Two Offensive Linemen Back as Sixth-Year Seniors
 
Eagle All-America center Spencer Blackburn and All-Big Sky offensive guard Kaleb Levao will return for the 2019 football season after their hardship waiver requests to receive a sixth year to complete four years of eligibility were approved by the Big Sky Conference and the NCAA. That gave EWU four starters back on the offensive line with a collective 146 games of experience, including 123 starts (entering 2019 season).
 
Honored the past three years as a second team All-Big Sky Conference selection, Blackburn is a 2014 graduate of Meridian High School in Bellingham, Wash. He redshirted in 2014, but couldn't play in 2015 because of a thumb injury. In 2018 he earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors by Associated Press (second team) and STATS (third team).
 
"It means a ton to be able to come back and be a part of another year with such a special program," said Blackburn. "This team has the experience and structure to further advance the standard we set this last season all the way to January. Go Eags!"
 
Entering 2019, Blackburn started 37 of the 39 games he played as an Eagle, including the last 37. The Eagles finished 12-3 overall in 2018 after winning a share of the Big Sky Conference title, then won three FCS Playoff games at home to advance to the NCAA Division I Championship game. Blackburn started all 15 games for the Eagles.
 
In addition, Blackburn was a team co-captain in 2018 and was named in November to the Google Cloud Academic All-District 8 Football Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He has also earned three Big Sky All-Academic honors, and has a 3.69 GPA in professional accounting. He was the 2017 recipient of the Larry Hattemer Offensive Lineman Scholarship.
 
"We're excited and eager for Spencer to be back with us again in 2019," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "We're happy that he will continue to be a leader and example for his brothers on and off the field for one more season."
 
Levao, who played just two games out of 11 in 2017, started 14 of EWU's 15 games in 2018 alongside Blackburn. That means EWU will have three returning starters along the offensive line (tackle Chris Schlichting is the other), while also having back tackle Tristen Taylor who played in just three games in 2018 before being lost with a season-ending knee injury.
 
That leaves 2014 Spokane High School graduates Jack Hunter (Gonzaga Prep; 27 starts in 40 career games at guard) and Beau Byus (Central Valley; 11 starts in 37 career games as a tackle and tight end) as the lone seniors lost from the 2018 squad.
 
Eastern finished as the only school to rank in the top 20 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense, rushing and passing. The Eagles averaged 528.2 yards on offense to rank third in FCS, including 255.9 rushing (10th) and 272.3 passing (20th). Eastern was also ranked fourth in scoring (43.1).
 
En route to a 12-3 finish overall and runner-up finish in the NCAA Division I Championship Game, the Eagles as a team finished the 2018 season with a school-record 6.62 average per rush on the season to break the previous record of 6.41 set in 2001. The Eagles set team records for rushing yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41).
 
"It's very good and fortunate news to hear of the NCAA granting Kaleb a sixth fall," said Best. "He was one of our most consistent offensive linemen on our run to the national championship game. Having the RG and C tandem intact for another run will be exciting as we watch them write more chapters to their already incredible stories."
 
Entering 2019, Levao started 18 of the 39 games he played as an Eagle, including one as a defensive lineman. He had 14 tackles as a redshirt freshman in 2015 before moving over to the offensive line after that season. He started twice as a sophomore in 2016, both games in 2017 prior to his injury and 14 of 15 in 2018. The 2014 graduate of Aberdeen (Wash.) High School had four tackles and a sack versus Montana on Nov. 14, 2015.
 
 
Six Eagles Receive All-America Recognition, Including Four Returning in 2019
 
Among Eastern's six players to earn All-America honors in the 2018 season, four are slated to return in the 2019 season. They include Spencer Blackburn, who earned his first All-America honors after earning second team All-Big Sky Conference honors for three-straight seasons from 2016-18.  The other three were honored as All-Americans in their respective classes – quarterback Eric Barriere as a sophomore All-American (honorable mention by Hero Sports) and defensive end Mitchell Johnson and wide receiver Andrew Boston as Freshman All-Americans.
 
Blackburn was on the Associated Press second team and the STATS third squad. The Eagles have now had 23 offensive linemen earn All-America accolades in 35 years in FCS (1984-2018), including 14 first team All-Americans. They have combined for 73 honors (37 first team, 19 second team, 5 third team and 12 honorable mention).
 
Sixth-year senior kicker Roldan Alcobendas was honored on seven NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America teams as a first team selection. He was honored by the American Football Coaches Association, the FCS Athletics Directors Association, Associated Press, STATS, Hero Sports, Athlon Sports and Phil Steele Publications. In being honored for his perfect season kicking field goals, he was one of just 11 players nationwide to be honored on the FCS ADA All-America squad. In addition, he was also named on Dec. 9 as the winner of the Fred Mitchell Award as the top placekicker among FCS, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and NJCAA schools.
 
Alcobendas is only the third All-America kicker in EWU's history as a member of FCS, and the first since Jimmy Pavel was honored as a first team All-American in 2012. The 2013 graduate of Camas (Wash.) High School earned first team All-Big Sky Conference honors as both a kicker and punter in the 2018 season.
 
Jay-Tee Tiuli, a senior nose tackle, was a second team All-America selection by both STATS and Associated Press, and a third team pick by Phil Steele. Tiuli was the Big Sky Conference Defensive MVP in 2018 and earned first team All-Big Sky honors. He is the first interior defensive lineman (not including defensive ends) to earn All-America honors for the Eagles since Renard Williams earned honorable mention in 2011 and first team accolades in 2010.
 

Freshman All-America Accolades Awarded to Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Boston
 
In a big year for the defense at Eastern, redshirt freshman Mitchell Johnson was awarded first team Freshman All-America honors in 2018 from Hero Sports. In addition, fellow redshirt freshman Andrew Boston earned honorable mention as a wide receiver. In addition, Johnson received first team honors from Phil Steele Publications and Boston was on the third team.
 
Mitchell burst on the scene in 2018 and responded with 31 tackles, a team-leading 4 1/2 sacks, a pair of interceptions, two passes broken up, a pair of quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Johnson earned second-team All-Big Sky honors in his first season as an Eagle.
 
A 2017 graduate of West Linn (Ore.) High School, Johnson was EWU's Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year when he redshirted in 2017. He played in all 15 games as a backup in 2018, and had season highs of four tackles in three different games. He had four of his sacks in consecutive games versus Northern Arizona, Washington State and Cal Poly. Two of them came against the Cougars, and he also had a half-sack versus Maine on Dec. 15 to advance EWU to the NCAA Division I Championship Game on Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas. Mitchell also had interceptions against Southern Utah in the regular season and UC Davis in the playoffs. His fumble recovery came against Weber State on Oct. 13 – Eastern's last setback until losing to North Dakota State in Frisco. He also had a sack and forced fumble against Cal Poly on Sept. 22 which was returned 62 yards for a touchdown by teammate Jim Townsend.
 
Boston finished the season second on the team with 43 receptions for 531 yards (12.3 per catch) and four touchdowns. He had a career-high nine catches versus Idaho on Oct. 27, and had five grabs for a season-high 89 yards and a TD against Nicholls in the first round of the FCS Playoffs on Dec. 1. He scored a touchdown versus Maine in the semifinals, and had scores against Washington State and Cal Poly in back-to-back games early in the season. He is from Puyallup, Wash., and is a 2017 graduate of Emerald Ridge High School. He was the 2017 co-Scout Team Offensive Player of the Year.

 
Nine Eagles Return After Earning All-Big Sky Conference Honors
 
A total of 21 EWU players were recognized with a total of 23 honors on the All-Big Sky Conference football team in 2018, and seven of them return for the 2019 season. Plus, two other injured players who have been honored previously are playing again in 2019.
 
Center Spencer Blackburn earned second team honors for the third-straight year, and was joined by offensive tackle Chris Schlichting, offensive guard Kaleb Levao and defensive end Mitchell Johnson. On the third team was quarterback Eric Barriere, and receiving honorable mention were running back Antoine Custer Jr. and defensive tackle Dylan Ledbetter. In addition, offensive tackle Tristen Taylor was honorable mention in 2016 and 2017 and safety Anfernee Gurley received honorable mention as a freshman in 2017 for his play on special teams.
 
Blackburn, a second-team All-Big Sky choice the last three seasons, entered the 2019 season having started 37 of the 39 games he has played as an Eagle, including the last 37. Schlichting entered having started all 40 games he has played and Levao had started 18 of 39. Taylor had started all 28 he played until being sidelined with a knee injury in 2018. Thus, EWU entered 2019 with four starters back on the offensive line with a collective 146 games of experience and 123 starts.
 
Entering 2019, Ledbetter had 8 1/2 sacks in his 40-game career (21 as a starter), with totals of 119 tackles, five passes broken up and four blocked kicks. His blocks in 2018 came against Northern Arizona, Weber State and Nicholls in the FCS Playoffs. After falling behind 14-3 against Nicholls, sophomore Kedrick Johnson returned a blocked field goal by Ledbetter for a touchdown and start a run of 39 unanswered points in the 42-21 win. Ledbetter's father, Mark, played as a linebacker at Washington State and lettered from 1986-89. He played in the Aloha Bowl on Dec. 25, 1988 and had eight tackles with a sack. He went on the play in the World League after signing a free agent contract with New Orleans in the NFL, and then played in the Canadian Football League for Sacramento, Birmingham and Calgary.
 
 
Barriere Leads EWU to Trio of Postseason Wins and Was 8-2 as a Starter in 2018
 
Quarterback Eric Barriere took over as EWU's starter from the injured Gage Gubrud in Eastern's sixth game of the 2018 season, and led EWU on a seven-game winning streak with a trio of playoff wins. Barriere finished 8-2 as a starter in his sophomore campaign and was selected on Dec. 18, 2018, as an honorable mention Sophomore All-America selection by Hero Sports besides earning third team All-Big Sky honors.
 
He steadily climbed the national rankings despite playing in three of EWU's first five games of the season as a backup to Gubrud. He finished 13th in FCS in passing efficiency (146.9), 29th for passing yards overall (2,450) and 13th in touchdown passes with 24 after setting school and FCS Playoff records with seven versus Maine on Dec. 15. He was ninth with 198 total points responsible for and was 26th in average per game (14.14). He finished 45th in total offense per game (218.8).
 
During the seven-game winning streak he directed from Oct. 27 to Dec. 15, the Eagles out-scored opponents 345-139 for an average score of 49-20 and a winning margin of 29.4 points. In 14 games played in 2018, Barriere completed 190-of-311 passes (61.1 percent) for 2,450 yards and 24 touchdowns, with 99 rushes for 613 yards (6.2 per carry) and eight scores. He broke Gubrud's single season record for rushing yards by a quarterback of 606 in 2016.
 
In his first postseason start against Nicholls on Dec. 1, Barriere accounted for 216 yards of offense. He was 17-of-29 passing for 162 yards and a touchdown, and added 54 yards on the ground. He followed that with a 21-of-25 (84.0 percent) passing performance against UC Davis and 278 total yards (235 passing, 43 rushing). His 29-yard scramble was the first play of a game-winning 75-yard driving in the final minute for the Eagles in the 34-29 quarterfinal victory.
 
His third playoff game featured a career-high 405 yards of total offense, with 352 passing and 53 rushing. He had seven touchdown passes to set new school and FCS Playoff records. He tied the EWU record of seven set by Vernon Adams Jr. versus Washington on Sept. 6, 2014, and broke the previous FCS Playoffs record of six held by five former players, including Eagles Kyle Padron and Adams in 2012.
 
Barriere certainly had the Midas touch to end the regular season on Nov. 16 in Hillsboro, Ore., and as a result earned a pair of player of the week honors. He was not only the Big Sky Conference co-Offensive Player of the week, but College Football Performance Awards named Barriere as its FCS National Player of the Week. He accounted for 40 points and 315 yards of offense in EWU's 74-23 victory at Portland State in directing EWU to its 10th Big Sky Conference football title in school history.
 
Barriere scored on a 66-yard touchdown on the game's third offensive play, setting the stage for what was to come for the Eagles. Including his six rushes for 99 yards and 15 pass completions for 216, he averaged 15.0 yards on those plays. with a touchdown every 3.5 times he rushed or completed a pass. He completed 15-of-27 passes for a career-high five touchdowns and an efficiency rating of 176.5. Including his rushing touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversion passes, he accounted for 40 points for the Eagles.
 
Gubrud started for the Eagles in the first five games before suffering a season-ending foot injury against Montana State on Sept. 29. Barriere took the reins in the 10 games after that, and they produced nearly identical total offense averages as starters. Gubrud averaged 283.2 passing and 33.8 rushing for a total of 317.0 per game; Barriere averaged 243.7 passing and 56.9 rushing for a 300.6 average. Gubrud accounted for 17 touchdowns (13 passing, 2 rushing), and Barriere had 32 (24 passing, eight rushing).
 
"He came here because we win and he wanted to be a part of a highly-productive, quarterback driven football team," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "He just got the opportunity to have the keys thrown up to him a little sooner than expected. Why wouldn't you rev that thing up? We tell him to go warm-up the car and drive it."
 
Barriere guided a 59-20 victory over fourth-ranked UC Davis on Nov. 10, in which EWU scored 21-straight points to take the lead for good in the first half. In the sixth start of his career, Barriere completed 16-of-30 passes for 285 yards and a score against UCD, and finished with 60 yards rushing to give him 345 yards of total offense.
 
He also engineered a 48-13 win at Northern Colorado on Nov. 3 in a game the Eagles took a 20-0 halftime line. Versus UNC, Barriere accounted for 309 yards of total offense for EWU – 245 passing and 64 rushing. He completed 24-of-36 passes and TD passes of 4 and 19 yards, plus he scored runs of on 9 and 15 yards.
 
One game earlier, he led the Eagles to a 31-0 halftime lead and 38-14 victory over Idaho on Oct. 27. Against the Vandals, he completed 29-of-42 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns in his first 300-yard passing performance of his career. He also rushed for 70 yards and a TD, giving him what was then a career-high 396 yards of total offense. His previous high was 331 versus Southern Utah on Oct. 6 in a 55-17 Eagle win. Barriere and the Eagles had a near-perfect first half versus UI, scoring 31 points and having a 364-129 advantage in total offense.
 
In a 55-17 win over Southern Utah on Oct. 6 in his first start of the 2018 season, he passed for 233 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 98 and two more TDs in just three quarters of action. He completed 13-of-21 passes and had his rushing yardage on five carries with no sacks. Making just his second career start, he completed a 48-yard pass on the first offensive play of the day for the Eagles, then later had an 85-yard rush for a touchdown – a school record for a quarterback and ninth-longest overall all-time -- to give the Eagles a 31-10 lead in the second quarter. He accounted for three of EWU's seven touchdowns, rushing for two scores and passing for another.
 
However, in a 14-6 loss at Weber State on Oct. 13, Eastern was held without a touchdown for the first time in 10 years. Barriere completed 19-of-42 passes for 185 yards and was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter to squelch Eagle drives. He had a net rushing gain of 18 yards despite getting sacked four times.
 
Barriere was also thrown to the fire during his redshirt freshman season when he made the first start of his career against North Dakota on Nov. 11, 2017, and led the Eagles to a 21-14 win. The 2016 graduate of La Habra (Calif.) High School had 185 yards of total offense, had a touchdown pass and scored once on the ground on a fourth down play to end the first half. He completed 13-of-23 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown, and rushed 15 times for 55 yards. He was sacked only once and had no turnovers. He rushed for a pair of first downs, and passed for another eight. Barriere helped Eastern to a turnoverless game, but had to recover his own fumble late in the game that was followed by a key 67-yard punt by Jordan Dascalo that was downed at the UND 3-yard line. Had Barriere not recovered the fumble, UND would have taken over at the EWU 31 trailing just 21-14.
 
By contrast, Vernon Adams Jr. – a former Eagle who Barriere draws comparisons to – had 75 yards passing (7-of-12) and 62 rushing (five carries) in his starting debut in 2012 at Weber State in a 32-26 victory. Before the UND game, Barriere had appeared in three games in 2017 and was 1-of-2 for 13 yards and an interception, all coming against Texas Tech on Sept. 2.
 
 
  

Recent Game Recap

 
Eagles Score Fast and Survive for 42-41 Win
                                                      
Eastern scored its first six touchdowns on drives that took just nine minutes, and went on to win on the road for a second-straight week by holding on for a 42-41 victory at Cal Poly on Nov. 16 at Alex G. Spanos Stadium in San Luis Obispo, Calif. In this game, time of possession could be thrown out the window, and thankfully, two late Eagle turnovers could as well. Eastern had two late fumbles that both led the Mustang touchdowns and nearly cost the Eagles the win. Cal Poly had a chance to take the lead with 4:58 to play, but failed on a two-point conversion. Then, after the second EWU turnover, the Mustangs missed a field goal with 1:02 left that could have won it. In a rematch of EWU's 53-point blowout victory in Cheney in 2018, Eastern had the ball for just 16:53 compared to 43:07 for the Mustangs. But Eastern made their possessions count, scoring those first six touchdowns on just 31 plays for 450 yards and 9:01 off the clock – averages of 14.5 yards per play and 1:30 per possession. Senior running back Antoine Custer Jr. scored four touchdowns on the ground and had 107 rushing yards total, as he went over the 1,000 yard mark for the season and had his 11th 100-yard game. He was also EWU's leading receiver with three catches for 27 yards. Junior quarterback Eric Barriere had a career-high 164 yards on the ground, finishing with one TD rushing and one passing. He also had 176 yards through the air to give him his 13th performance of his 30-game career with at least 300 yards of total offense with 340. Eastern did most of its damage in the rushing category with 320 yards. Eastern's third-straight victory came against the triple-option attack of the Mustangs, who rushed for 367 yards. Cal Poly had an 88-54 advantage in total plays with an offense that has given EWU fits in the past.  In fact, in the last three meetings alone, Cal Poly had averaged 417.7 yards on the ground per game.  Four Eagles finished in double figures in tackles, led by the 14 of rover Kedrick Johnson. Linebackers Jack Sendelbach and Andrew Katzenberger each had 11, and Jim Townsend finished with 10. Dylan Ledbetter added nine. Defensive stops were few and far between by both teams, but Townsend had two with a forced fumble that EWU's Mitchell Johnson recovered and another stop on a fourth down play which EWU subsequently scored after to take a 14-0 lead. Ledbetter also had a key tackle in the fourth quarter to force a punt, and Joshua Jerome had tackles on second down and third down prior to Cal Poly's missed field goal. He finished with six tackles, not including his stop on the failed 2-point try by the Mustangs. Eastern scored its first four touchdowns in the first half on a collective total of just 19 plays for 284 yards and just 5:27 in time of possession. Starting the game in a three tight end set, a 25-yard run by Talolo Limu-Jones led to a 40-yard touchdown run by Custer, then Jones caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Barriere to give EWU a 14-0 lead just eight minutes into the game. Eastern's second score, a three-play, 77-yard drive, was set-up when Eastern's defense stopped Cal Poly on downs. Eastern scored again in the second quarter on a 38-yard run by Custer, then ended the half with a six-play, 75-yard drive that took just 1:18 off the clock. The Eagles led 28-14 at halftime, with Cal Poly scoring one of its TDs after a muffed Eastern punt return. Cal Poly pulled to within 28-21 and EWU had a kickoff return for a touchdown by Anthony Stell Jr. called back because of a penalty, but EWU scored again anyway. A seven-play, 91-yard drive took just 2:11 of the clock as Barriere scored on a 37-yard run. Eastern had a chance to go up by three scores, but were forced to punt. Custer scored on a 13-yard run to put EWU up by 14, but Cal Poly scored twice to pull within 42-41 with 4:58 left. However, the Mustangs attempted a two-point conversion after their second score, and pressure by Johnson resulted in a tackle by Jerome well short of the end zone. The Eagles then coughed the ball up again with 3:05 play, but Jerome had key tackles on second and third down to force a fourth-and three situation. Cal Poly's 35-yard field goal attempt with 1:02 left was wide, and EWU was able to go into victory formation to secure the win.
 
 
 

More Aaron Best Comments

 
On Cal Poly Win: "It was a game between two gutsy teams and we ended up a point better. When you give up turnovers on your last two possessions, that usually doesn't equate to victories. But our guys were resilient – our energy is zapped. It took every ounce of energy to get to this point and we ended up on top. I proud of how scrappy we were today. We found a way to win a close game late, which is what we haven't been able to do very much this season."
 
On Roller-Coaster Game: "We overcame some turnovers and some inefficiencies at times, and we couldn't get off the field on defense at times. We just weren't married at times offensively and defensively. Credit Cal Poly – they were fresher going into this game, but we found a way to score one more point and we hung on."
 
On Offensive Efficiency at Cal Poly: "That is just the way these games sometime play out. We were scoring from distances and we had some big chunk plays. You don't want to get away from those things that give you success, even if it means putting your defense out there more. We're never sorry for scoring points."
 
On First Road Win at ISU & Defense: "It's game 10 and we finally won on the road. I'm not sure what we're supposed to do to celebrate – this team hasn't won on the road before. This bunch is happy and excited, and we know that winning on the road is hard to do. Even as depleted as our defense is, the 64 guys in pads only gave up three points. I couldn't be prouder of this bunch."
 
On Defense Versus ISU: "Great is an understatement. It's awesome to only give up three offensive points on the road against a team that is going to lean on the run and the run-pass option, and then take some shots deep. They were withstanding some storms by our offense, and we just couldn't get untracked. Finally we got it going, and once the offense got going with its tempo, the defense still played up to par. Coach (Eti) Ena put in a great game plan not knowing who the quarterback would be, and them coming in with the top rusher in the league."
 
On Offense Versus ISU: "We started picking up steam in the second quarter, but we let er' rip in the third quarter. We did that early and got the long run by Antoine, and then we got the long plays that really opened it up and started sealing their fate a little bit. Our offense and defense played off each other really well, and when you play that well – especially on the road – you give yourself a chance to win the ballgame."
 
On NAU Win: "We probably played our best game overall. There were some explosive plays – probably a few too many given up by our defense. But we were balanced in a lot of ways, and distributed the ball to various players well. Eric (Barriere) orchestrated the offense almost flawlessly – we had zero turnovers and caused two so that is another win when we are on the plus side of turnover margin. We're really proud of our bunch of players and coaches."
 
On Montana Loss: "We played really good football for a half, and didn't play very good football for the other half. That seems to be a common theme. I thought our protection was actually pretty good for the better part of the day. They gave Eric enough time, but our receivers weren't open when we expected them to be open. They didn't opportunistically catch the ball or tuck the ball when they were open and the ball was thrown to them."