Two weeks of spring practices come to a close for the Eastern Washington University football team when it scrimmages Saturday (April 13) at approximately 10:50 a.m. at Roos Field.
 
Eastern head coach Aaron Best said the scrimmage will consist of about 60-70 plays, and will and be another chance for four new Eastern coaches – including a pair of new coordinators – to continue to gain game-like chemistry with the other coaches and players.
 
"We're looking for better effort and attention to detail," said Best, whose team is coming off a 12-3 finish, a Big Sky Conference co-championship and an appearance in the NCAA Division I Championship Game. "There are some technical aspects that we need to enhance. Coaches and players will have two weeks under their belts working together come Saturday. We'll try to push the envelope a little bit this week, and then push it even further the week after to see where we are heading into week four."
 
The success of 2018 resulted in four coaches moving on, and four new coaches officially stepped foot on "The Inferno" for the first time on April 2. 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 comfort factor will be there as we head into fall with a spring under their belts," said Best. "Then we'll be ready to actually keep score on Saturdays. There is always an acclimatization period getting to know one another and understanding how we run practices and staff meetings. There is a lot more to the day than calling plays and the two hours we spend out here at practice."
 
The scrimmage will be the seventh of 15 practice days the Eagles are allowed in the spring. The 15th will be the annual Red-White Game at Roos Field on Saturday, April 27 at noon.
 
A total of 48 returning letterwinners are on hand this spring and next fall when head coach Aaron 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.
 
"When you get to the halfway point you get a little bit achy, and a little bit grumpy – us coaches included," Best added. "That is where you kind of find out where you are and how you are going to push through. Spring ball has gone fast – all and all, it's gone as planned thus far."
 
 
More About the 2019 Eagles
 
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 on three home games in the NCAA Football Championship Playoffs before falling to North Dakota State 38-24 in the title game in Frisco.
 
The veteran-laden team in 2018 will see significant changes in 2019 – from both a player and coach standpoint. Besides the returning letterwinners, Eastern will also have a large group of as many as 21 redshirt freshmen on hand this spring competing for repetitions. Eight 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. Dean Sise, a transfer from Navy, also redshirted in 2018 and will be a sophomore for the Eagles next fall.
 
The Eagles will 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).
 
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 will enter the 2019 season with 39 games worth of experience, and Blackburn has started 37-straight games and Levao has started 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.
 
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.
 
A 22-year veteran of the Eagle program, Best himself 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 two years at the helm, he has compiled a 19-7 record overall (73.1 percent) and 13-3 mark in the league (81.3 percent). Both percentages currently rank as the best in school history, just ahead of the Beau Baldwin with an 85-32 overall mark (72.6 percent) in nine seasons from 2008-16, and a 58-14 league record (80.6 percent).
 
 
Remaining Spring Practice Schedule
 
The Eagles will spread 15 practices and scrimmages over the course of 26 days. Practices take place various days through April 27. Subject to change, most practices are scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. (3 p.m. on April 19 and 26). All practices are scheduled to take place at Roos Field. Scrimmages also take place on the red Sprinturf surface at the "Inferno" in Cheney, Wash. Remaining media interviews take place on April 16 (3:05 p.m.) and April 23 (3:05 p.m.), as well as after scrimmages.
 
Saturday, April 13 - Scrimmage, start/approx. 10 a.m., 10:50 a.m. scrimmage, Roos Field
Tuesday, April 16 – Practice, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 18 - Practice, 3:30 p.m.
Friday, April 19 – Practice, 3 p.m.

• EWU Coaches Clinic in evening (Mike Kramer keynote speaker)

Saturday, April 20 – Scrimmage, 1 p.m. start/approx. 1:30 p.m. scrimmage, Roos Field

• EWU Coaches Clinic all day

April 23 - Practice, 3:30 p.m.
April 25 – Practice, 3:30 p.m.
April 26 – Practice, 3 p.m.
April 27 – Red-White Spring Game, Noon, Roos Field (televised live regionally by SWX)

• Lil' EKG Day is after the game

 
 
Spring Scrimmages
 
Eastern is scheduled to scrimmage on Saturday, April 13 at approximately 10:50 a.m. and Saturday, April 20 at approximately 1:30 p.m. at Roos Field. The annual Red-White Game will take place on Saturday, April 27th at noon at Roos Field in conjunction with the 38th Annual Orland Killin Lobster Dinner, Dance and Auction. The Red-White game will be televised live regionally by SWX.
 
 
38th Annual Killin Dinner/Dance/Auction is April 27 at EWU
 
Tickets are now on sale for the 38th Annual Killin Dinner, Dance and Auction on April 27 at Eastern Washington University.
 
Tickets are $100 per individual and $700 for a table of eight. More information and a registration link to order tickets.is available via: http://goeags.com/killin. The registration deadline Tuesday, April 23.
 
Killin takes place at the EWU Sports and Recreation Center. The event starts with a social hour and auction at 4:30 p.m., followed by the dinner (6 p.m.), program/presentations/live auction (7 p.m.) and dancing (8 p.m.). The event follows the annual Red-White Spring Football Game on April 27 at noon at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
 
Net proceeds benefit areas of greatest need within Eastern Athletics, with last year's event raising more than $117,000. The event is named in honor of Orland Killin, who, along with his wife Bernice, helped create the event. Killin was a man immensely dedicated to academics and the integrity of Eastern Washington University, serving as professor, faculty athletic representative and faculty president. He was an Eastern football letter winner in 1941-42.
 
There is no admission charged for the Red-White Game, which will also be televised regionally by SWX.
 
Last year's event was the first featuring new Eastern Washington University Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey. Hickey gave a passionate plea for additional funding for scholarships prior to the live auction portion of the event. Besides a "paddle-raise" for scholarships, there were about a dozen live auction items and about a 100 silent auction items.