FINAL RED-WHITE GAME STATISTICS (not including three points awarded to Red for forcing a turnover)

Wind can't stop energy and enthusiasm.
 
On the strength of two touchdowns by senior receiver Jayson Williams, the Red edged the White 20-14 Saturday (April 27) in a spirited Red-White Game at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. The game concluded EWU's four weeks of spring practices in preparation for the 2019 season.
 
On yet another blustery Saturday afternoon at "The Inferno," The Red out-gained the White 245-151 in total offense, and also scored 17 offensive points compared to seven for the White.  The Red received three extra points for forcing the game's lone turnover on an interception by redshirt freshman Hunter Klinge, and the White scored once on a blocked punt returned for a TD.
 
"We got in some good work," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "It wasn't as clean as we would have liked it, but great teams make plays individually and collectively. There were some good plays at times and some sub-par plays at times, but all-in-all it was a competitive game."
 
After losing 25 seniors to graduation and about 20 players sitting out the spring to nurse injuries or because of post-surgery rehabilitation, depth was thin this spring. Offensive line and defensive line were of particular concern as the list of available players was drafted last Monday (April 22).
 
But the tweak to the scoring just added to the atmosphere of competition between teammates.
 
"I think we played very spirited," said Best of the game with teams selected via a draft earlier in the week. "We talked about playing with energy, and today had a different vibe to it. I was watching the body language of players and coaches on both sidelines, and there were people who wanted to win. I wanted to win, but I didn't even have a team – I was stressing neutrality for me. (The Red-White Game) is a big deal – it's like a rivalry splitting the household."
 
Williams caught four passes for 67 yards, catching an 11-yard TD pass in the third quarter from sophomore Gunner Talkington and a 15-yard TD from redshirt freshman Michael Taras. Williams won the Eagle Award given to the MVP of the game, edging out Talkington and redshirt freshman Freddie Roberson.
 
"Jayson Williams had two touchdowns and I'm really proud of him," said Best. "He's a senior who we will be leaning on in the slot. He provides a lot of leadership and he earned the Eagle Award today."
 
Talkington finished 10-of-17 through the air for 155 yards, and Taras completed both of his passes for 27 yards. Roberson caught a pair of lateral passes that are counted as rushing yardage, and finished with 40 yards on three carries while catching three passes for another 59. Redshirt freshman Micah Smith was the top running back with 30 yards on 10 carries.
 
Eastern starting quarterback Eric Barriere was 12-of-19 for 157 yards for the White, and had a 13-yard touchdown pass to junior Talolo Limu-Jones in the fourth quarter. Quarterbacks were a commendable 25-of-41 (61 percent) for 356 yards despite the wind.
 
"It's hard to keep the soul going in this weather," said Best. "The weather gods in Cheney know when it's Saturday – it blows and blows all different directions. It's going to be tough sometimes to create connections in the passing game, but they did get some going. The protection piece is important as well to protect the quarterback to be able to get the ball off."
 
Sophomore defensive end Mitchell Johnson led the Red with three quick-whistle sacks and had a team-high seven tackles. Freshman redshirt Joshua Jerome and junior Tamir Hill each had six tackles for the White. Hill also had a blocked punt that was recovered for a touchdown by sophomore Chris Lefau.
 
The Red kept the White off-balance all afternoon with six sacks, a pair of passes broken up and two quarterback hurries. The White finished with a net minus-23 yards rushing because of the sacks, and also held the White to 1-of-6 on third down.
 
However, Barriere got his team untracked in the final quarter with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive. However, White was able to run out the final 3:45 for the victory.
 
Earlier this week, senior All-America center Spencer Blackburn was the first pick overall in the choice made by Red team captains Tysen Prunty, Tamarick Pierce, Jack Sendelbach and Trevor Davis Jr. Blackburn had been the top draft choice the last two years when teams felt it was necessary to draft him first to block against All-America nose tackle Jay-Tee Tiuli.
 
The White then chose offensive tackle Tristen Taylor as its first pick, and later also secured offensive guard Kaleb Levao and Barriere. The white captains were Calin Criner, Dylan Ledbetter and Jayce Gilder. Captains for both squads did not play in the scrimmage.
 
Besides Blackburn, other returning All-Big Sky Conference selections going to the Red were offensive tackle Chris Schlichting, running back Antoine Custer Jr. and defensive end Mitchell Johnson. The White had Levao, Barriere and Taylor as its returning all-league selections, while Ledbetter and safety Anfernee Gurley did not play.
 
 
 

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 48 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).