­­­­#4/5 Ranked Eastern Washington Univ. "Eagles" versus Lindenwood University  "Lions"   Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019 • 1:05 p.m. Pacific Roos Field (8,600) • Cheney, Wash.
TV:	Regionally on SWX (Sam Adams, Mike Peterson)
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 great to be back on the Red, where perfection reigned in 2018 for the Eastern Washington University football team.
 
The No. 4/5 ranked Eagles will open their five-game home schedule against Lindenwood, a NCAA Division II school in St. Charles, Mo., this Saturday (Sept. 7). Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
 
This week's game is being televised regionally by SWX, and is also available via Pluto TV. 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.
 
It will be the season opener for Lindenwood while the Eagles opened their 2019 campaign with a 47-14 loss at Washington on 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.
 
 "It was the first game for all of us," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best on the opener, and moving past it to the next game. "Make no bones about us, that's the way it is every year – you can't simulate in practice a first game on the road against a nationally-renown program like Washington. There are no excuses here – we lost the game flat out and they won it."
 
The 65,709 fans at Husky Stadium was the largest crowd Eastern has ever played in front of, breaking the record set 12 years ago in 2012 at Brigham Young of 64,522.
 
 "We needed a better effort on our part as far as execution is concerned to keep that score closer," Best continued. "We just played okay in pockets and not well enough to win at the end of the day. In those games you have to play better than advertised to give yourself a legitimate chance. At times we did, but we need to continue to improve and that starts this week preparing for Lindenwood."
 
This is EWU's first-ever meeting with Lindenwood. The Lions were a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) last year, and all 11 of their games were league counters. Lindenwood finished 4-7 to finish 10th in the 12-team league, and will move to the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2019.
 
The Lions spent seven seasons as members of the MIAA from 2012-2018. Lindenwood has been picked to finish second in the eight-team GLVC, ranking only behind unanimous pick Indianapolis.  The Lions received one vote in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) NCAA Division II preseason top 25 poll.
 
Lindenwood features All-America junior wide receiver Erik Henneman, who was selected to the 2019 College Football America Yearbook Division II Preseason Starting Lineup.  Henneman earned first-team All-American honors by three different platforms (AFCA, CCA, and D2Football.com) in 2018.
 
The 6-foot-3 Henneman had 57 receptions for 639 yards and nine touchdowns a year ago. He broke the school record for touchdown catches in a game with four against Missouri Southern in the second game of the year.  Two games later he hauled in a season-high nine catches with a season-high 147 yards. 
 
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, and extended the school's consecutive regular season sell-out streak to 30 games. Then more than 4,000 fans showed up to support the Eagles in Frisco.
 
Eastern will enter the game ranked fourth in the STATS top 25 poll for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, and fifth in the American Football Coaches Association poll. In preseason rankings, EWU was ranked fourth by STATS and third by the AFCA.
 
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 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).
 
Against Washington, eight players – three on offense and five on defense – made their starting debuts for EWU.
 
 
 

Game Notes

 
Eagles Now 52-10 on The Red Turf, Including 13-4 in the Playoffs
 
After winning all five of its regular season home games in 2018 and a trio of playoff games to extend its current home winning streak to nine, Eastern is now 52-10 (83.9 percent) overall at Roos Field since 2010. A crowd of 8,789 was on hand for Senior Day on Nov. 10, 2018, versus UC Davis when EWU had its the 30th-straight regular season sellout at Roos Field (crowd of 8,600 or more) and 42nd in history. 

Eastern has lost just six regular season games at "The Inferno" – 39-6 (86.7 percent), plus are 13-4 (76.5 percent) in playoff games. The only regular season losses at home for EWU since then 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.
 
The stadium has been known as "Roos Field" since 2010 when a new red synthetic Sprinturf surface made its debut. Eastern finished a perfect 8-0 in its debut season at "The Inferno," including three playoff victories. Eastern has won 83.9 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 165-65 record (71.7 percent) in 230 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.
 
 
Ledbetter Continues Legacy of #4 Jersey
 
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.
 
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 8 1/2 sacks in his 41-game career (22 as a starter), with totals of 121 tackles, five passes broken up and four blocked kicks.
 
Since the 2008 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
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).
 
 
Eight Players Make Starting Debuts at UW
 
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 and earned first team Freshman All-America honors as a backup a year ago 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 a year ago, 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 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.
 
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 (83 starts by 15 players): Dylan Ledbetter 22, Tysen Prunty 10, Jim Townsend 11, Dehonta Hayes 11, Chris Ojoh 9, Jack Sendelbach 5, Calin Criner 5, Kedrick Johnson 3, Andrew Katzenberger 1, Anfernee Gurley 1, Caleb Davis 1, Mitchell Johnson 1, Darreon Moore 1, Ira Branch 1, Joe Lang 1.
 
Current Starts on Offense (192 starts by 13 players): Chris Schlichting 41, Spencer Blackburn 38, Tristen Taylor 29, Antoine Custer Jr. 21, Kaleb Levao 19 (including 1 as defensive lineman), Andrew Boston 15, Eric Barriere 12, Jayce Gilder 7, Jayson Williams 4, Johnny Edwards IV 3, Will Gram 1, Dennis Merritt 1, Dre' Sonte Dorton 1.
  

Eagles Inching Closer to 1,000th Game in School History
 
At the end of this month when the Eagles host North Dakota on Hall of Fame day at EWU, Eastern will play its 1,000th football game in school history. Now in its 111th season in program history, Eastern has played 996 games and has 553 wins, 420 losses and 23 ties for a .567 winning percentage. 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.
 
 
Senior Chris Schlichting Has Started All 41 Games in His Career
 
Second-team All-Big Sky senior offensive tackle Chris Schlichting has started in each of EWU's 41 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 one thus far in 2019. Senior center Spencer Blackburn has a streak of 38 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 29 games, and coupled with the 19 starts by Kaleb Levao, four offensive linemen have combined to start 127 games (150 total games of experience) for the Eagles heading into the Lindenwood game. Guard Will Gram made the first start of his career against Washington, but entered the year with 27 games worth of experience.
 
 
Eagles Anxious to Get Running Game Untracked
 
After averaging just 2.1 yards per rushing on 30 attempts versus Washington (including four quarterback sacks), the Eagles are anxious to get their vaunted running game untracked behind an offensive line that has 177 games of experience and 128 total starts.
 
Four of EWU's top five running backs – three of them seniors in 2019 -- return from a record-breaking 2018 campaign, having combined 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.
 
Antoine Custer Jr. averaged 6.4 per carry, Tamarick Pierce was at 7.86, Dennis Merritt had a 7.86 average and Isaiah 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. Redshirt freshman Micah Smith rounds out the running back corp in 2019, with true freshman Silas Perreiah also suiting up but not playing versus the UW.
 
Custer, Pierce and Merritt are all seniors in 2019. 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.
 
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. He now has 1,841 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns in his 36-game career (21 as a starter). He also has 555 receiving yards on 67 catches with three scores, and 499 yards and one more score on kickoff returns for a total of 2,895 all-purpose yards (80.4 per game). He's scored a total of 28 touchdowns as an Eagle.
 
Although he didn't play versus Washington, Pierce has rushed for 837 yards and 15 touchdowns in 35 games with 11 catches for 104 yards; Merritt has 509 yards and four touchdowns rushing, and another seven catches for 115 yards and a score in 29 games; and Barriere has 664 rushing yards with nine scores in 20 games. Thus, that quintet has combined for 3,851 rushing yards and has scored 52 touchdowns on the ground in a collective total of 120 games played. The running backs alone have a collective total of 100 games played, and also have 85 catches for 774 yards and four more scores.
 
 
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. 24.
 
Linebacker Jack Sendelbach graduated following spring quarter in marketing, and is now in a graduate program for sport and recreation administration. Safety Dehonta Hayes will graduate with a communications studies degree at the end of summer quarter and enroll in CMST graduate school 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. 
 
 
Seven Eagles Make NFL Rosters in 2019, Including Rookie Nsimba Webster
 
Seven former Eagles are on rosters for National Football League teams in 2019 as the NFL regular season begins in September, including four players with the Los Angeles Rams. In 2019, rookie Nsimba Webster made the 53-man roster for the Rams, joining former Eagles and NFL veterans Cooper Kupp, Samson Ebukam and Aaron Neary, who is currently inactive. Also making NFL teams were Kendrick Bourne with San Francisco, Jake Rodgers with Denver and Taiwan Jones with Houston. 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Still looking for his first regular season action in the NFL, Rodgers enters the 2019 season on the roster of the Denver Broncos after originally joining the league in 2015. 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.
 
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, but Eastern was the only Big Sky school with more than two. Eastern had the sixth-most 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 completed its 12-game football schedule in 2019 with the addition of a non-conference road game at Idaho on Sept. 21 and a non-conference home game versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7.
 
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 will open their five-game home schedule Lindenwood, a NCAA Division II school in St. Charles, Mo., in EWU's home opener on Sept. 7. The Lions are a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
 
Eastern's second home game will be Sept. 28 versus North Dakota, which will be 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, Nov. 2 against Northern Arizona and Nov. 23 versus Portland State on Senior Day at EWU. The game versus North Dakota is Hall of Fame Day at EWU, and Homecoming is scheduled for the UNC game.
 
Eastern opens the 2019 season at Washington of the Pac-12 Conference, and will also play a non-conference road game at Jacksonville State of the Ohio Valley Conference 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.
 
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.
 
Eastern plays four league road games – Oct. 5 at Sacramento State, Sept. 26 at Montana, Nov. 9 at Idaho State 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 Eastern Washington University football team 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.
 
 
 
 

Preseason Honors

 
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, 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 plays 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.
 
Barriere was extremely productive throwing the ball, 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 Gage Gubrud in 2016.
 
In his 20-game career (9-3 as a starter after the Washington game), Barriere has completed 60.8 percent of his passes (226-of-372) for 2,799 yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and has rushed 127 times for 664 yards and nine more TDs. He had a passing efficiency rating of 146.9 as a sophomore and a 141.6 mark in his career.
 
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).
 
In addition, earlier this year Barriere was productive in his first spring as the starter, completing 63.3 percent of his passes (31-of-49) for 451 yards and four touchdowns in three spring scrimmages. He was the quarterback for five of the 11 touchdowns the offense scored.
 
 
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 this 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 current string of 37-straight starts, 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 has started 38 of the 40 games he has played as an Eagle, including the last 38. 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., has started all 41 games he has played as an Eagle after one game in the 2019 season. 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).


 
 

More Team Notes

 
For Second-Straight Year, Eastern Picked to Win Title
 
The Eagles proved the prognosticators right in 2018, so they'll try to do the same thing again in 2019.
 
For the second-straight year, the Eastern Washington University football team has been picked to win the 2019 league title by both the coaches and media as the picks were released July 15 at the Big Sky Conference Football Kickoff in Spokane. The Eagles are the defending NCAA Football Championship Subdivision runner-up after sharing the Big Sky Conference title with UC Davis and Weber State.
 
It's the third time since 2014 the Eagles have been picked No. 1 in both polls, and in 2015 EWU was selected first by the media. In 2016 the Eagles were fourth by the coaches and third by the media, and in 2017 Eastern was second in both. In 2013, EWU was second in both as well.
 
Since winning the league and NCAA Division I titles in 2010, Eastern has won Big Sky championships in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018, giving the Eagles a total of 10 league titles. Despite losing 25 seniors from last year's squad that finished 12-3 overall and 7-1 in the league, Eastern has another veteran squad with 22 seniors and 48 total letter winners back.
 
The Eagles received 25 first-place votes and 536 total points among the 43 ballots cast by the media, and received 10 of the 13 first-place tallies and 140 total votes by the league's 14 coaches (coaches don't vote on their own teams). UC Davis was second in both polls with 510 votes by the media and 127 from the coaches, followed closely by Weber State (472, 124). Montana and Montana State flip-flopped the next two places – the Grizzlies were picked fourth by the coaches and fifth by the media, and the Bobcats were fourth in the media poll and fifth in the rankings of coaches.
 
Interestingly, Eastern plays just one of the teams picked from No. 2 to No. 5, playing at Montana on Oct. 26. Besides the game versus the Griz and a Sept. 28 game versus Big Sky defector North Dakota, EWU's league games are versus Sacramento State (11th coaches/12th media), Northern Colorado (13th/13th), Northern Arizona (6th/6th), Idaho State (7th/7th), Cal Poly (9th/9th) and Portland State (10th/10th). Eastern plays Idaho (8th/8th) in a non-conference road game on Sept. 21.
  
 
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.
 
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.
 
Along the way to Eastern's 13th FCS playoff berth and 10th Big Sky title in school history, Eagle Nation supported the team in droves along the way. Eastern was unbeaten with a perfect 8-0 record at Roos Field, and extended the school's consecutive regular season sell-out streak to 30 games. Then more than 4,000 fans showed up to support the Eagles in Frisco.
 
Now in his 23rd season as a player or coach in the Eagle program, head coach Aaron 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 years at the helm, he compiled a 19-7 record overall (73.1 percent) and 13-3 mark in the league (81.3 percent). Both percentages ranked 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).
 
 
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."
 
 
Eastern Now 50-0 Since 2010 When Winning the TO Battle
 
In the last 11+ seasons (2008-19), the Eagles are now 59-1 when they've won the turnover battle, 24-7 when they've been tied and 21-32 when they've lost (total of 104-40). The last time EWU lost 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 50-0 since 2010 when they've won the turnover battle, 21-6 when they've been tied and 19-25 when they've lost. That's a collective record of 90-31 (74.3 percent), with 25 of those 31 losses (81 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 (79 percent when including ties).
 
Neither team had a turnover in the first game of the season between EWU and Washington. 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).
 
Eastern opened the 2018 season by losing the turnover battle against Central Washington 3-1, but winning on the scoreboard 58-13. The Eagles were tied 1-1 against NAU in turnovers, but prevailed 31-26. Washington State scored 24 points on four Eastern turnovers, with the Eagles failing to register a takeaway. Eastern won the turnover battle 2-1 in its 70-17 romp past Cal Poly, 2-1 at Montana State in a 34-17 win and 2-1 at home against Southern Utah. Eastern lost the turnover battle 2-1 in a 14-6 loss at Weber State when the Eagles threw two fourth-quarter interceptions.
 
During its seven-game winning streak, Eastern had a 23-8 advantage in turnovers forced. The Eagles won the battle 1-0 in beating Idaho 38-14 and 3-2 in defeating Northern Colorado 48-13. Eastern forced five turnovers – equaling its most since 2010 – and had only one giveaway in a 59-20 victory over UC Davis on Nov. 10. The Aggies had entered the game with a plus-12 margin, ranking them fifth in FCS. Eastern ended the regular season with a 4-1 advantage over Portland State, including EWU's third-straight game with three interceptions, the first time EWU has accomplished that feat since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1987. In the FCS Playoffs against Nicholls, EWU tied 2-2, then had a 4-1 advantage over both UC Davis and Maine in the quarterfinals. Eastern then lost the turnover battle 3-2 against North Dakota State in the NCAA Division I Championship 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).
 

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).
 
 
Eastern is 30-16 Since 2010 Versus Ranked Opponents, Including 2-8 All-Time Versus No. 1
 
Eastern was 5-2 versus ranked opponents in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 2018, and have now won 65 percent of its games (30-16) versus ranked teams since 2010. Eastern is 59-70 in 129 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 in 2019 was the eighth such foe EWU has faced.
 
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 came over 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.
 
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.
 
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 10-8 versus top 10 foes since 2010, including a 5-3 mark in the regular season and 5-5 in the playoffs Eastern is 19-43 in 62 games all-time versus top 10 opponents.
 
 
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. Eastern got the 2018 league season off to a great start on Sept. 22 with a 70-17 victory over Cal Poly, followed by wins over Montana State (34-17) and Southern Utah (50-17). After a 14-6 loss at Weber State, Eastern rebounded for victories over Idaho (38-14), Northern Colorado (48-13), UC Davis (59-20) and Portland State (74-23). A crowd of 8,789 was on hand for the UC Davis game – the 30th-straight sellout at Roos Field (crowd of 8,600 or more) and 42nd in history. 


Winningest FCS Teams Since 2010 (entering 2019 season)
 
By victories . . . 1. North Dakota State 121; 2. Sam Houston State 92; 3. Eastern Washington 90; 5. Jacksonville State 85; 6. James Madison 82; 7. Kennesaw State 79; 8. San Diego 77; 9. South Dakota State 75; 10. New Hampshire 74. 
 
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 Have Impressive 53-9 Big Sky Record Since 0-2 Start in 2011
 
The Eagles have won 53 of their last 62 Big Sky games since a 0-2 start in 2011. Included is a current stretch of 43 victories in the last 50 games (including two at the end of the 2012 season). Including three wins at the end of the 2009 season, Eastern has a 63-12 record in league games since then.
 
Including four non-conference victories (two versus MSU, and one each against Cal Poly and Northern Arizona) and two playoff wins (Montana and UC Davis), the Eagles are 59-9 since the 0-2 start in 2011 and 49-7 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 55-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 23-5 on the road, 25-3 at home and 48-8 overall in the last seven 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. Eastern also lost at Weber State in 2018.
 
 
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).
 

 

Player Notes

 
 
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, quarter-back 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 Open Season with 47-14 Loss to Washington
 
A pair of early fourth downs didn't go Eastern Washington University's way, and Washington of the Pac-12 Conference used a fast start to beat the Eagles 47-14 in the college football season opener for both teams Aug. 31 at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Wash.
 
The Huskies turned a fourth-and-two into a 23-yard touchdown run on its first possession and went on to lead 21-0 in the first quarter. Eastern was out-gained 162-54 in the opening 15 minutes and had its own fourth-and-two play in the period end with a sack.
 
Junior Andrew Boston's 64-yard touchdown catch and run from junior Eric Barriere was the lone score in the first half for EWU, which trailed 28-7 at halftime. The Huskies scored the next 14 points in the second half and finished the game with a 570-274 advantage in total offense.
 
Eastern entered the game ranked fourth in the STATS preseason top 25 poll for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, and were ranked third in the American Football Coaches Association poll. The Huskies, meanwhile, were ranked 13th in the Associated Press media poll and 12th by the coaches in the NCAA Bowl Subdivision.
 
The 65,709 fans at Husky Stadium was the largest crowd Eastern has ever played in front of, breaking the record set 12 years ago in 2012 at Brigham Young of 64,522.
 
"We didn't give them as much of a test as we anticipated," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "I feel at times we were playing our brand and our niche of football, but we just weren't consistent enough. The two bright spots were that we came away unscathed injury-wise and that there were no turnovers. First games you always worry about penalties, turnovers and sloppiness. We weren't very tidy on both sides of the ball. That wasn't the best version of Eastern Football you'll see this year in the next 11 games."
 
Besides the TD connection from Barriere to Boston, the Eagles also had an impressive 15-play, 79-yard drive in the first half, but it ended with a missed 35-yard field goal. Late in the third quarter Eastern put together a 14-play, 75-yard drive which was capped by a 4-yard TD run by Antoine Custer Jr.
 
Barriere completed 21-of-35 passes for 211 yards, and Boston had six catches for a career-high 112 yards. Junior linebacker Chris Ojoh had a career-high 11 tackles with a pass broken up. Junior rover Kedrick Johnson had nine tackles, and senior safety Dehonta Hayes added eight.
 
With neither team committing a turnover, the game came down to yardage. The Huskies had 200 rushing and 370 passing to finish with 570, while EWU had 63 on the ground and 211 through the air for a total of 274. Washington, which had a significant advantage in yards per play (7.0 to 4.2), also registered four sacks while EWU's defense had none.
 
Both schools had monumental 2018 campaigns, with Eastern finishing 12-3 and as the runner-up in FCS. Washington was 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.
 
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.'
 
 
 

More Aaron Best Comments

 
On Barriere Versus Washington: "I told Eric at halftime that the rectangle out there was his sandbox. Grab a shovel and go to work, but just don't put a stop sign in your sandbox. We want him to play loose, play free and look at his reads – if he has to tuck, tuck it and go make plays. He can extend plays and we'll continue to see that as the season goes on."
 
On UW Loss: "A loss is a loss – there are no moral victories. Yes, that's a heck of a football team. Yes, they've been Pac-12 champions multiple times. Yes, coach (Chris) Petersen has a great track record. But yes, we also didn't have the best version of Eastern Football on that day."
 
On Boston and Ojoh Versus UW: "There are always individual positives, but it's a team game. Chris was flying around the field like he usually does, and Andrew was crisp with his route running and playmaking ability. We should have got the ball to him a few more times – we had a couple of errant balls where we could have moved the sticks and had some more chunk plays. But that's the game of football."
 
On Inconsistency Against Washington: "We didn't play enough well enough for some portions of that game to give ourselves a chance to win. We were too sporadic. There have to be multiple plays made in all three phases, and we didn't make enough. That was obvious and it was disappointing from a coaching standpoint that we couldn't muster more big plays in all three phases."
 
On Jusstis Warren Adjusting to Buck End Position: "I think having Jusstis now is a big, big help. He is a more experienced player so having another player that's been through games and knows what he's doing out there is going to be a lot of help for us. He'll give us more depth at the position, but having Jusstis is a big help to improving our defense even more."
 
On What He is Seeing Out of the Team's Identity: "I'm starting to see a lot of grit. A lot of guys want to go out there and play and hit someone, but I think it's a tough group of guys who are starting to develop out there. A lot of the safeties really like to fly around and come at your no matter what you do. I think we are starting to play hard, fast and as free as we can out there to make plays."
 
On Eastern's Defense Having to Face The Offense's Running Game in Practice: "'You just have to be able to hold your ground and stick to your technique, and they will come to you. Chasing down Antoine and having to deal with all his cuts and jumping in and out of gaps is a difficult situation. Having E.B back there is even more of a challenge because if you mess up he's going to sprint out and just be gone down the sideline. "
 
On Not Playing UC Davis, Montana & Weber State in the Regular Season: "It's unfortunate. I would rather play them because I like playing the tougher teams and I like the challenge. I wouldn't mind playing Weber State again after that ugly game down there in 2018, but it is what it is and there's nothing we can do about it. We just have to focus on our schedule and maybe we will see them in the playoffs. Maybe if they make it to the playoffs and we do as well, we will see them and get another chance at them."
 
On Trey Turner's Status as No. 3 Quarterback: "To be determined -- it will be interesting how that third one works out. Obviously you don't like to play a third quarterback in any season, much less a freshman that ends up being in that situation. So we will see how Trey and Simon (Burkett), along with Kellen (Kranc) kind of progress and see things. The game is a little fast for those guys, but I do think you see how he kind of extends plays out here to be able to get out of harm's way at times. Ideally you don't want to ever have to play your third quarterback in his true freshman season. But if he gets some seasoning, sees it from the sideline and gets to experience some of those stadiums and Saturdays -- all while redshirting -- I think we all benefit from that. "
 
On Belief He Has in The Team's Mature, Experienced Players: "Tons! You believe in the ones you love, and I love that whole locker room. I love those guys but they don't always make me happy nor do I always make them happy. It's just one of those deals where sometimes we aren't always going to see eye to eye -- maybe they're going to think they played better than they did, or I thought they played better than they thought they did. So it's a back and forth. There's enough maturity in that room to put our arms around people and go okay. Now we can actually get into what are game plan will be and what we are going to employ next. I'm not concerned at all about the maturation of this team. I'd rather have it sooner rather than later but it's going to take the entire season to get to where we need to be."
 
On Positives from Preseason Practices: "I think the cornerback position will be interesting to see. I think we found some guys that were maybe a little further along than we thought they were going to be coming in with losing our top four corners. I think our health has been pretty good across the board.  Our offensive line is going to be just fine. We're still trying to find just a couple playmakers like we talked about last week in the receiver room. We have a good hunch who our top 4 or 5 guys are but we are usually traveling seven, sometimes eight. We want them to be pivotal on special teams and/or going to function on offense. I think once we get a game or two under our belts seeing those guys in live action will give us more data and a better evaluation as far as that goes. We are only a year older and your experience doesn't make you better just because you're a year older as a human. As a bottle of wine – and I'm not a wine drinker -- I think the older you are the better you are. We will see how this unfolds but I have a lot of confidence in this team and a few of those positions are a pleasant surprise."
 
On Andre Slyter Improving Consistency: "He has! He has a stronger leg than Roldan (Alcobendas). Slyter can hit them, but he can get down on himself, which can play some minds games on you sometimes. He can thump the ball, so it's just a matter of doing the Roldan thing and crafting that ball in between the pipes. But he's been consistent the last two weeks with people in the stands, so the better he is the better we are."
 
On Being Picked as Big Sky Preseason Favorites: "We are humbled and grateful to the coaches and media for determining our football team as the Big Sky Conference preseason No. 1 team. Everyone aspires to be No. 1, and our mission will be to be champions at the end of the 2019 campaign after all the scores have been kept. Nothing is ever earned on paper and must be substantiated on the field of play. Our 2019 Eastern Washington football team is looking forward to this season. We must understand the challenges of a 12-game schedule with seven road contests, and the rigors of an always tough Big Sky Conference schedule."
 
On 2018 Season: "There were a lot of ups, a lot of downs, and a lot of challenges. Everything worth anything and appreciated in life has a story behind it. I'm going to remember the resiliency of the entire team – all season long we had to replace players in the lineup, mostly because of injuries. In the second day of camp we lost Anfernee Gurley to a knee injury suffered in a helmet-only practice, then lost senior Mitch Fettig and Keenan Williams in their last regular season game at Portland State. I'm just humbled and privileged to be able to lead these young men into life -- to be able to give them a little advice and a few tokens along the way to be able to use once they become fathers, husbands, better sons, and better brothers."
 
On NDSU Loss: "We played our tails off. I thought we more than held our own for a lengthy period of time. We came in aggressively. We played aggressive. We coached aggressive. And we left aggressive. Everyone wanted to know before the game if we were going to walk out of here losing 48-14 with our chins held high. We're competitors and we earned the right to play in this game, too. And I'm excited to protect our players -- they earned this opportunity. And we fell short. Very close but short. On the last touchdown we went down the field (80 yards on four plays) and that's what Eric Barriere is going to bring to us in the future. He was a puppy in this game and so was I. We all make mistakes, and to succeed you've got to fail. And he didn't fail today. He succeeded with small hurdles along the way."
 
On Depth of Defense in 2018 Despite Missing Starters: "As long as we have players we have a chance. It starts with coaching, and then it relies on the belief of the players. After the belief it's the execution. We rotate and have rotated for years with a lot of players seeing action in a game on the defensive front. If you earn time you're going to get time. That is kind of our philosophy on defense. It's not as if we play 11 guys and if someone gets hurt then we play the 12th guy. We're playing 16 to 18 guys in a normal game anyways. It just so happens that some of those guys that were getting second string reps early in the season are now first string players. Some of the players that started third string received second team reps because they earned them during the week of play. We can't say enough about those guys -- we only have who we have, and can only play with who we have. They are Eastern kind of guys -- that is why we recruited them and our DNA is going to stay that way for a long time."
 
On Journey to Success Since Becoming Head Coach: "This journey has aged me about 20 years. The people in our program are amazing, as well as our administration. I'm an Eastern alum and my wife is an Eastern alum – I couldn't write this script. I want us to continue to create an unwritten script, because those are the best scripts. This is truly authentic."
 
On Injuries in 2018: "You go and play games with the players you have -- we just find a way. We've stayed healthy at some positions and that helped us in certain areas. We don't worry about who we don't have, but it's unfortunate that a lot of the lost players were seniors. They played their last football for us and their final season was shortened. I think there is a respect factor by the players filling in for seniors and getting the opportunity to play. They've done a marvelous job – closing the gap between starters and the next man up is our job as coaches to develop players and depth over time. This is selfless team which does selfless acts."
  
On Seniors Embracing Leave No Doubt Mantra: "A lot of it has to do with the fact a quarter of our team were seniors. They got stung as juniors, and it's a lot easier when you echo something when it's heard and driven home by a quarter of the team. It truly helps when you have that type of veteran leadership on both sides of the ball. We learned from going 7-4 – we said we needed to get to eight to give us a better chance and leave no doubt. We exceeded those expectations."