­­­­#21 Ranked Eastern Washington Univ. "Eagles" versus #25 University of North Dakota "Fighting Hawks"  Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019 • 2:06 p.m. Pacific Roos Field (8,600) • Cheney, Washington
TV:	Regionally in Eastern Washington by SWX, and by Midco in North Dakota (Sam Adams, Bill Ames, Taylor Brooks)
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:	https://ewustats.com

The stakes in the Big Sky Conference football race are high for the Eastern Washington University football team against a team which hopes to be the spoiler versus its eight Big Sky foes this year.
 
The No. 21 Eagles open its Big Sky schedule against a team ineligible for the league title when EWU hosts No. 25 North Dakota on Hall of Fame Day on Saturday (Sept. 28) at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. This week's game will be the 1,000th in school history dating back to 1901, encompassing 111 seasons.
 
Kickoff is 2:06 p.m. Pacific time in a game broadcast regionally by SWX in Eastern Washington, as well as by Midco in North Dakota. 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.
 
Because of scheduling difficulties with the addition of Idaho to the league and the departure of North Dakota, Saturday's game counts in the league standings for EWU but last week's game with the Vandals did not. North Dakota is a NCAA Football Championship independent this year as it continues its transition to the Missouri Valley Football Conference beginning in 2019. Thus, the Fighting Hawks are ineligible for the BSC's automatic berth to the FCS Subdivision Playoffs.
 
Last year's meeting against the Vandals was a league game as Idaho played its first season back in the league after a more than 20-year venture as a NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision member. But last week's meeting in Moscow was not a Big Sky counter, but instead was a non-conference meeting scheduled to help both teams fill their 12-game schedules.
 
Eastern has never lost to North Dakota, beating them four times by an average score of 41 to 12 in those meetings. The Fighting Hawks are 2-1 this season after a bye which followed a 27-23 home victory on Sept. 14 over Sam Houston State, which was ranked as high as 21st in the FCS national rankings. Prior to that, the UND lost to top-ranked North Dakota State 38-7 on Sept. 7 and beat Drake 47-7 on Aug. 31.
 
The Fighting Hawks feature the top passing defense in FCS, having allowed an average of just 111.7 passing yards through three games. In passing efficiency defense, North Dakota is fourth with a 97.7 mark while allowing opponents to complete just 50.7 percent of their passes with five touchdowns and four interceptions. Eastern, meanwhile, is fourth in passing offense (348.0) with junior Eric Barriere leading FCS in that category with the same mark. He has 13 passing touchdowns and four interceptions.
 
The Eagles have surrendered 13 sacks this season already, and North Dakota is third in FCS in sacks with an average of 4.0 per game (12 total). Jaxon Turner has been credited with 4 1/2 of the sacks to rank fourth in FCS with an average of 1.5 per game.
 
The Eagles are coming off a disappointing 35-27 loss to Idaho last Saturday (Sept. 21) to finish 1-3 in the non-conference portion of their schedule. Idaho jumped out to a 28-0 lead at halftime for a complete reversal of last year's 38-14 romp past the Vandals in which EWU led 31-0 at intermission.
 
"The schedule is what it is," said Best. "We ran into a team that was better than we were on that particular day. Our team plays hard – there isn't a lack of effort. We just lack consistent execution. As coaches it starts with us, and we need to find ways to make us better for longer, more efficient for longer, scarier for longer and more respectable for longer. We have to do more than what we've done. Give credit to Idaho but don't count us out yet."
 
The Idaho loss dropped Eastern 10 spots to 21st in the STATS top 25 poll for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, and EWU is also 21st in the American Football Coaches Association poll. North Dakota is ranked 25th by the coaches and received enough votes (57) to rank 34th by STATS. Idaho, meanwhile, did not receive any votes from the coaches and received 25 from STATS to rank 37th. The Eagles have now been ranked 45-straight times in the STATS poll, and 102 of the last 103. In preseason rankings, EWU was ranked fourth by STATS and third by the AFCA – both the highest of the season -- before falling to Washington.
 
Senior linebacker Trevor Davis Jr. made the first start of his career as an injury replacement for Chris Ojoh and he finished with a career-high eight tackles. In addition, fellow senior linebacker Andrew Katzenberger had his second start, also filling in for an injured starter, Jack Sendelbach. And sophomore Ira Branch started his second game as an Eagle, replacing sophomore Darreon Moore who had started EWU's first three games. Katzenberger finished the game with eight tackles to equal his career high and Branch had three.
 
"I know I talked about having an idea of what we would be after four games, but I don't know if we know what we are right now," said Best. "In the four games we probably played really well in eight to nine quarters, and not so well in seven or eight of them. It's concerning a little bit when you are Jekyll and Hyde like that. We have to find some consistency, make some plays and get some opportunities. Some of those opportunities we have to create and not expect them to come our way. We need to make them come our way."
 
Against Washington, eight players – three on offense and five on defense – made their starting debuts for EWU. Against Lindenwood, redshirt freshman Tre Weed made his Eagle debut as a starter and versus Jacksonville State Rudolph Mataia Jr. started for the first time in an EWU uniform. The initial start for Davis against Idaho gave EWU at total of 11 players who have made their starting debuts in 2019.
 
 
 

Game Notes

 
Eagles Play 1,000th Game in School History
 
This week 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 999 games and has 554 wins, 422 losses and 23 ties for a .566 winning percentage since 1901. The Eagles are in their 36th season as a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) and 33rd season as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
 
 
Eagles Look for More Consistency After 1-3 Start
 
Eastern head coach Aaron Best was seeking answers after the Idaho game for the team's lack of consistency after four games – "Jekyll and Hyde" performances as he pointed out.
 
In the nine quarters Eastern has had an advantage in total offense, the Eagles are averaging 177.6 yards per quarter (41.8 rushing/129.4 passing) and 14.2 points while completing 69.6 percent of their passes. That equates to a game average of 710.2 yards (192.4/517.8) and 56.9 points. Opponents in those nine quarters are averaging 76.6 yards (24.8/51.8) and 6.2 points, equating to a game average of 306.2 yards (99.1/207.1) and 24.9 points. Eastern has registered three shutouts of their opponent in those nine quarters.
 
In the other seven quarters, EWU has been shut-out four times and has scored a total of 17 points (2.4 per quarter, equating to 9.7 per game), while opponents have scored 106 (15.1 per quarter, equating to 60.6 per game). The yardage totals are 53.4 per quarter for EWU (21.0 rushing/32.4 passing) to equate to 213.7 per game (84.0/129.7), compared to 154.9 per quarter for opponents (57.4/97.4) to equate to a game total of 619.4 yards (229.7/389.7).
 
Versus Idaho, Eastern fell behind 28-0 at halftime and was out-gained in total offense 329-103. In the second half, Eastern had a 27-7 advantage on the scoreboard and 357-134 in yards
 
Eastern fell at Jacksonville State 49-45 on Sept. 14 in a game in which the Eagles won the total offense battle and held the lead for all but 1:12 of the game – including leading for at least 10 points for 48:34. But the Gamecocks scored 21 points in the final 14:49 to overcome a 45-28 Eagle lead late in the third quarter. The Eagles had jumped out to a 28-7 lead in the first quarter.
 
Prior to the loss to the then No. 17/16-ranked Gamecocks, EWU beat Lindenwood 59-21 in which quarterback Eric Barriere had the 14th-best performance in Big Sky history (second all-time at EWU) with 556 yards of total offense. Eastern finished with a school record 769 yards as a team, with senior wide receiver Dre' Sonte Dorton setting a school record with his 289 yards receiving and ranking fourth with 15 catches.
 
The Eagles opened their 2019 campaign with a 47-14 loss at Washington of the Pac-12 Conference. The Huskies had entered the game ranked 13th in the Associated Press media poll and 12th by the coaches in the NCAA Bowl Subdivision after a 2018 season which saw them finish 10-4 overall and 7-2 in the Pac-12 North Division. Washington beat Utah 10-3 in the league championship game, then fell 28-23 to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
 
 
Eastern in FCS Statistics
 
Eastern enters the North Dakota game ranked ninth in the FCS in total offense (493.0), fourth in passing (348.0), 66th in rushing (145.0) and 19th in scoring (36.3). Defensively, Eastern is 57th in rushing defense (156.3), but is also 105th in passing defense (287.0), 84th in total defense (443.3) and 113th in scoring defense (40.5) among 116 FCS schools.
 
Individually, Eastern's Eric Barriere leads FCS with an average of 348.0 passing yards per game, and is second with 13 touchdown passes, third in points responsible for (24.0 per game with 13 TDs passing and three rushing), and third in total offense (356.5). Despite not catching a pass versus Jacksonville State, Eastern's Dre' Sonte Dorton is ranked 10th in receiving yards (107.0 per game), 40th in receptions (5.8 per game; 23 total) and 10th with four touchdown catches. Fellow wide receiver Andrew Boston is 28th in receptions (6.0 per game; 24 total). Running back Antoine Custer Jr., who had a career-high 184 yards versus Jacksonville and 59 versus Idaho, is 41st nationally in rushing (78.5).
 
 
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.
  
 
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.
 
 
Eastern is 30-17 Since 2010 Versus Ranked Opponents, Including 2-8 All-Time Versus No. 1
 
The Jacksonville State game was the first time in the 2019 season the Eagles played a ranked team in FCS, but, including Washington, was the second ranked foe in their first three games.
 
Despite falling to the Gamecocks 49-45, Eastern was 5-2 versus ranked opponents in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 2018 have now won 64 percent of its games (30-17) versus ranked teams since 2010. Eastern is 59-71 in 130 games overall against ranked teams since becoming a member of that classification in 1983 (then known as I-AA). Since 1983, Eastern is 1-7 versus ranked FBS foes, and a loss to Washington (ranked 13th by the media and 12th by the coaches) in 2019 was the eighth such foe EWU has faced.
 
Eastern also beat the No. 9 team in NCAA Division II at the time when EWU blasted Central Washington 58-13 to open the 2018 season. The Eagles then defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since 2016 when the Eagles beat Northern Arizona 31-26 on Sept. 8. Northern Arizona had entered the game ranked 18th in the STATS Top 25 poll, and the win snapped a three-game losing streak in games versus ranked foes. The last win over a ranked opponent before that was versus No. 12 Richmond 38-0 on Dec. 10, 2016, in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
 
Eastern, however, fell 14-6 to No. 13 Weber State on Oct. 13, 2018, in Ogden, Utah, in another game versus a ranked foe, then registered victories over No. 4 UC Davis (59-20), No. 15 Nicholls (42-21), No. 7 UC Davis (34-29) and No. 12 Maine (50-19), with the latter three wins coming in the FCS Playoffs. The Eagles then fell to top-ranked North Dakota State 38-24 in the NCAA Division I Championship Game in Frisco, Texas.
 
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 Now 53-10 on The Red Turf, Including 13-4 in the Playoffs
 
Having won all five of its regular season home games in 2018 and a trio of playoff games, Eastern has extended its current home winning streak to 10 in the 2019 season. Eastern is now 53-10 (84.1 percent) overall at Roos Field since 2010. The stadium has been known as "Roos Field" since 2010 when a new red synthetic Sprinturf surface made its debut.
 
Eastern's last home loss came on Nov. 4, 2017, versus Weber State. At its current site, the school record is 11 consecutive home wins set between 9/16/78 and 9/27/80 (between losses was from 11/19/77 to 11/1/80). Overall, the school record is 21 set from 1935-40. Eastern had a nine-game winning streak snapped in a 36-21 loss to Montana State on Sept. 24, 2011. The Eagles also had a nine-game winning streak at that venue snapped against Sacramento State on Oct. 21, 2000, when the Hornets made a 23-yard field goal with no time remaining.
 
Eastern has lost just six regular season games at "The Inferno" – 40-6 (87.0 percent), plus are 13-4 (76.5 percent) in playoff games. The only regular season losses at home for EWU since 2010 are to conference foes Montana State (2011), Portland State (2011 and 2015), Northern Arizona (2015) and Weber State (2017), as well as North Dakota State (2017).
 
Eastern finished a perfect 8-0 in its debut season at "The Inferno," including three playoff victories. Eastern has won 84.1 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 166-65 record (71.9 percent) in 231 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.
 
 
Walter Payton Award Candidate Eric Barriere Leading FCS in Passing
 
Junior quarterback and Walter Payton Award candidate Eric Barriere has had an productive start to the season, averaging 348.0 passing yards per game to lead the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, with a total of 356.5 yards of total offense to rank third. He has 13 touchdown passes plus another three on the ground.
 
He is coming off a performance at Idaho in which he accounted for all four of EWU's touchdowns with two rushing and two passing. He had just 74 passing yards at halftime, but finished 28-of-46 for 365 yards, with another 20 on the ground. His rushing TDs (2), pass attempts (46), and total plays of offense (57, including 11 rushing) were all career highs. He had the second-most yards in total offense of his career with 424, ranking only behind the 556 he had versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7. He now has 15 plays of at least 40 yards after his 50-yard pass to Dre' Sonte Dorton.
 
He had perhaps his fastest start as an Eagle on Sept. 14 at Jacksonville State, completing 11-of-12 passes for 156 yards in the opening quarter to help EWU to a 28-7 lead. However, EWU failed to score in the fourth quarter and JSU won 49-45, as Barriere finished 24-of-43 for 294 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
 
One game earlier versus Lindenwood when EWU had a school-record 769 yards of offense, Barriere accounted for 556  by himself to rank as the 14th-most in Big Sky Conference history and just four away from the school record. That helped him earn Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors from College Sports Madness, as well as honorable mention from STATS for the National FCS Offensive Player of the Week award that Dorton won. Barriere completed 32-of-46 passes for 522 yards, five touchdowns and an impressive 200.76 passing efficiency rating. He recorded the second-most passing yards in school history and just missed the top 14 in the 56-year history of the league (528 yards is No. 14 on the list). He rushed for 34 more yards, giving him 556 to come four yards from the EWU total offense record of 560 set by Gage Gubrud in 2017 versus Montana in which he also set the passing yards record of 549. Barriere's previous career highs were 352 passing yards and 405 yards of total offense.
 
Barriere now has had eight performances of at least 300 yards of total offense and three with at least 300 yards passing in his 23 games as an Eagle (10-5 as a starter). He has completed 61.1 percent of his passes (310-of-507) to currently rank seventh in school history, good for 3,980 yards, 38 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, and has rushed 157 times for 695 yards and 12 more TDs. He had a passing efficiency rating of 146.9 as a sophomore, 152.3 this year and a 146.69 mark in his career to currently rank fifth in school history. His touchdown passes rank 10th and his total of 4,675 yards of offense already rank 11th all-time at EWU.
 
Barriere was extremely productive throwing the ball in 2018 as an injury replacement for All-American Gage Gubrud (now at Washington State), finishing 13th in FCS in passing efficiency (146.9), 29th for passing yards overall (2,450) and 13th in touchdown passes with 24 after setting school and FCS Playoff records with seven versus Maine on Dec. 15. He was ninth with 198 total points responsible for and was 26th in average per game (14.14). He also finished 45th in total offense per game (218.8). Barriere averaged 6.2 per carry and finished with 613 yards on the ground to break the school record of 606 set by Gubrud in 2016.
 
In 2018, Eastern finished as the only school to rank in the top 20 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense, rushing and passing. The Eagles averaged 528.2 yards on offense to rank third in FCS, including 255.9 rushing (10th) and 272.3 passing (20th). Eastern was also ranked fourth in scoring (43.1). The Eagles as a team finished the 2018 season with a school-record 6.62 average per rush on the season to break the previous record of 6.41 set in 2001. The Eagles set team records for rushing yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41).
 
 
Custer Over 2,000 Yards Rushing in His Eagle Career
 
Behind an offensive line that has 192 games of experience and 143 total starts between them, Eastern has had a pair of impressive rushing performances this season after averaging just 2.1 yards per rushing on 30 attempts versus Washington (including four quarterback sacks).
 
Senior Antoine Custer Jr. had career highs for both rushing yards (184) and carries (28) at Jacksonville State on Sept. 14, giving him seven 100-yard performances in his career. His performance included a non-scoring 62-yard run, giving him eight plays of 40-plus yards in his career. One game earlier, Eastern had 247 total yards and an average per rush of 5.0 versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7.
 
Custer, Tamarick Pierce and Dennis Merritt are all seniors in 2019, although Merritt is a potential candidate for a sixth year after suffering a serious lower leg injury versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7. Through three games, Custer has 255 yards and a 4.8 average per rush this season, ranking 41st nationally in rushing (78.5). He is followed by Merritt with 87 yards (7.2 per rush) and Pierce has yet to play in 2019. Redshirt freshman Micah Smith rounds out the running back corp in 2019, with true freshman Silas Perreiah joining Smith in making their debuts as Eagles versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7.
 
Custer, an honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference selection in 2018, was a second team all-league pick in 2017 when he rushed for 776 yards and 10 touchdowns. He now has 2,131 rushing yards (5.1 per carry) and 25 touchdowns in his 39-game career (24 as a starter). He also has 652 receiving yards on 78 catches with three scores, and 499 yards and one more score on kickoff returns for a total of 3,282 all-purpose yards (84.2 per game). He's scored a total of 29 touchdowns as an Eagle to rank 10th in school history. His rushing total currently ranks 12th and his average of 23.8 per kickoff return is 10th.
 
Although he has yet to make his first appearance in 2019, Pierce has rushed for 837 yards and 15 touchdowns in 35 games with 11 catches for 104 yards; Merritt has 559 yards and four touchdowns rushing, and another eight catches for 147 yards and a score in 30 games; and quarterback Eric Barriere has another 695 rushing yards with 12 scores in 23 games. Thus, that quintet has combined for 4,222 rushing yards and has scored 56 touchdowns on the ground in a collective total of 127 games played. The running backs alone have a collective total of 104 games played, and also have 97 catches for 903 yards and four more scores.
 
Eastern had a record-breaking 2018 campaign, with Custer, Pierce, Merritt and Barriere combining for 1,573 yards and 15 touchdowns with an average per carry of 7.21. Eastern's running game set school records for most yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41) in a single season. The previous records were 3,130 yards set in 10 games in 1950 (313.0 average) and 32 TDs in 2014.
 
Eastern averaged 6.62 yards per carry to rank second in FCS in 2018, compared to a 4.0 average for opponents. Only Davidson's 7.44 average per rush was better in FCS, and the Eagles broke the previous school record of 6.4. The Eagles averaged 528.4 yards on offense to rank third in FCS, including 255.9 rushing to rank 10th.
 
Custer averaged 6.4 per carry as a junior, Pierce was at 7.86, Merritt had a 7.86 average and Lewis finished at 7.4 during a redshirt season that saw him play in three games. The school record is 7.88 set by Taiwan Jones in 2010. Custer finished his junior season with 613 yards and eight scores in 11 games played; Pierce had 550 yards and seven TDs; Merritt had 345 with a trio of scores; and Lewis has 52. From his quarterback position, Eric Barriere averaged 6.2 per carry and finished with 613 yards on the ground to break the school record of 606 set by Gage Gubrud in 2016.
 
 
Called "Eagle-Shirts" True Freshmen Getting Chance to Shine
 
Like they did in 2018, Eagle head coach Aaron Best and his coaching staff have made decisions on a game-by-game basis in 2019 on which, if any, of the team's 24 true freshmen would play in game. The team allows selected "Eagle-Shirts" to suit up and potentially play, but the No. 1 focus is on making sure those players were physically and mentally ready to play Division I football. Starting in 2018, the NCAA passed a rule that allows student-athletes to play in up to four games and retain their redshirt status for that season.
 
Thus far, seven true freshmen have seen action, starting Sept. 7 versus Lindenwood when running back Silas Perreiah and offensive lineman Isaac Flemmer played. Perreiah ended up rushing seven times for 19 yards in that game and scored his first touchdown, and also had a catch for three yards. In the next game at Jacksonville State, Perreiah and three others saw action, and two made big plays in the first quarter. Marlon Jones Jr. forced a fumble on a kickoff return that was recovered by EWU and led to a touchdown. Later, true freshman defensive lineman Sebastian Gomez deflected a pass that was intercepted. Gomez had a pair of tackles, and also seeing action on the defensive line was Brock Harrison. Gomez also played at Idaho, and was joined by Nick Kokich, who punted twice including a 54-yarder and Jordan White who played on special teams.
 
 
Ledbetter Has Two More Blocked Kicks at Idaho; Continues Legacy of #4 Jersey
 
Honored nationally for blocking two more kicks at Idaho on Sept. 21, Eastern senior Dylan Ledbetter has continued the legacy of being awarded the No. 4 jersey at Eastern, a tribute that has existed for more than 10 years. He blocked a field goal in both the first half and second half versus the Vandals to give him six in his career and earn honorable mention from STATS for the National FCS Defensive Player of the Week award.
 
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 nine sacks in his 44-game career (25 as a starter), with totals of 135 tackles, five passes broken up and a school-record six blocked kicks.
 
Since the 2008 season when senior Jason Belford had the number, the coaching staff has selected a leader on defense to wear the jersey. It symbolizes the defensive player who most embodies the characteristics of defense at Eastern -- grit, toughness, effort, leadership and academic success.
 
Although the honor isn't necessarily given to the most talented defensive player on the team, Eastern has had 11-straight players in that number earn All-Big Sky honors, and 13 of a possible 14 since Eastern joined the league in 1987. Below is the list of players who have worn that number since EWU became a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 1984 (Big Sky in 1987).
 
Name – Year - Pos. -  Hometown / Previous School
Hunter, Darryl - 1983-84-85-86 - DB - Tacoma, Wash. / Foss HS
%Corr, Dominic - 1986-87-88-89 - RB - Seattle, Wash. / Garfield HS
%Wright, Harold - 1990-91-92-93 - RB - Tacoma, Wash. / Lakes HS '89
Givens, Roderick - 1995 - DB - Auburn, Wash. / Auburn HS '94
#%Brightful, Lamont - 1998-99-00-01 - WR - Everett, Wash. /Mariner HS '97
%Williams, A.J. - 2002-03 - DB - Lacey, Wash. - North Thurston HS '01
%Dotson, Anthony - 2005-06-07 - DB - Federal Way, Wash. / Federal Way HS '03
%Belford, Jason - 2005-06-07-08 - DL - Tacoma, Wash. / Lincoln HS '04
#%Sherritt, J.C. - 2007-08-09-10 - LB - Pullman, Wash. / Pullman HS '06
%Brown, Allen - 2010-11-12-13 - DB - Tacoma, Wash. / Foss HS '09
%Raynes, Todd - 2012-13-14-15 - DB - Kenmore, Wash. / Inglemoor HS '11
%Zamora, Miquiyah - 2013-14-15-16 - LB - Pasco, Wash. / Chiawana HS '12
%Havili, Albert - 2013-14-16-17 - DL - Federal Way, Wash. / Federal Way HS '13
%Fettig, Mitch - 2015-16-17-18 - DB  - Olympia Wash. / Olympia HS '14
%Ledbetter, Dylan - 2016-17-18-19 - DL - West Seattle, Wash. / O'Dea HS '15
 
#All-America selection (Brightful was first team in 2001, second team in 2000 & second team in 1999 as return specialist, and honorable mention in 2001 as a wide receiver; Sherritt was the Buck Buchanan Award winner in 2010, and first team in 2009 and 2010 as a linebacker).
 
%All-Big Sky Conference selection (Corr was first team in 1989 & second team in 1989 as return specialist; Wright was Big Sky Newcomer of the Year in 1989, and first team in 1991 & second team in 1992 as a running back; Brightful was first team in 2001 as a wide receiver and return specialist, first team in 2000 as a return specialist, second team in 2000 as a wide receiver and first team in 1999 as a return specialist; Williams was honorable mention in 2003 and 2002 as a safety; Dotson was second team in 2007 as an outside linebacker; Belford was second team in 2008 and honorable mention in 2007 as a defensive end; Sherritt was the Big Sky Defensive MVP in 2010, first team in 2009 and 2010 as a linebacker & honorable mention in 2008 as a linebacker; Brown was second team in 2012 & honorable mention in 2013 as a safety; Raynes was third team in 2015 as a safety; Zamora was first team in 2016 & honorable mention in 2014 as a linebacker; Havili was second team in 2017 as a defensive end; Fettig was third team in 2018 & 2017 & honorable mention in 2016 as a safety; Ledbetter was honorable mention in 2018 as a defensive tackle).
 
 
Total of 11 Players Have Made Starting Debuts Thus Far
 
Senior linebacker Trevor Davis Jr. made the first start of his career as an injury replacement for Chris Ojoh against Idaho on Sept. 21, and the 2015 graduate of Tumwater (Wash.) High School finished with a career-high eight tackles. Junior defensive nose tackle Rudolph Mataia Jr., made the first start of his career one game earlier in EWU's game at Jacksonville State on Sept. 14, becoming the 10th Eagle to make his starting debut this season. The 2016 graduate of Evergreen High School in Vancouver, Wash., wasn't credited with any tackles, but did play 40 snaps in the game.
 
Against Lindenwood on Sept. 7, redshirt freshman cornerback Tre Weed made the first start of his career for the Eagles at cornerback. Weed finished with three tackles and had a pass broken up. The 2018 Sumner (Wash.) also returned three punts for 10 yards with a long of eight. He played in four games a year ago as a true freshman, mostly on special teams, but retained his redshirt status.  
 
Eight Eastern players made the first starts of their careers in Seattle on Aug. 31 when EWU played Washington. They included senior Will Gram as the starter at left guard, Dennis Merritt at running back and Dre' Sonte Dorton at wide receiver. On defense, first-time starters include "Buck" end Mitchell Johnson, nose tackle Caleb Davis, rover Joe Lang and cornerbacks Ira Branch and Darreon Moore. On special teams, sophomore Trevor Bowens made his debut as EWU's punter, junior Andre Slyter takes over as EWU's placekicker and sophomore Cody Clements is in his first year as long snapper.
 
Gram is a 2015 graduate of Troy (Idaho) High School where he played 8-man football, and the UW game was his 28th as an Eagle. Merritt is a senior from Cascade HS in Leavenworth, Wash., and entered the 2019 season with 28 games of experience. Dorton is also a senior and is out of Chiawana HS in Pasco, Wash., and he saw action in his 28th game versus Washington.
 
Johnson played in all 15 games in 2018 and earned first team Freshman All-America honors as a backup to Nick Foerstel (first two games behind Keenan Williams). He is a 2017 graduate of West Linn (Ore.) HS. Davis is a 2017 Bonney Lake (Wash.) HS graduate who finished with 26 tackles and a sack in 11 games as a redshirt freshman in 2018.
 
Both sophomores, Branch is a 2017 graduate of Mount Tahoma HS in Tacoma, Wash., and Moore is from Pasco, Wash., and graduated the same year from Kamiakin HS. Both were backups in 2018, with Branch finishing with three tackles in seven games played, and Moore having 11 in 14 games.
 
Four other players in a group of 21 redshirt freshmen also made their Eagle debuts at Washington, including tackle Brad Godwin, guard Charlie Baumann, wide receiver Freddie Roberson and tight end Julian Houston on offense. Also playing versus UW among that group of 21 redshirts were seven of the nine players who played as true freshmen in 2018 and were able to still redshirt because of new NCAA legislation. They included defensive tackle Joshua Jerome, defensive end Zion Fa'aopega, running back Isaiah Lewis, tight end Aiden Nellor, linebacker Justin Patterson and cornerbacks Darrien Sampson and Tre Weed. In addition, Washington transfer Jusstis Warren made his Eagle debut versus his former team.
 
In the next game versus Lindenwood, running back Micah Smith, running back Silas Perreiah, offensive lineman Isaac Flemmer, kicker Seth Harrison and wide receiver Michael Taras played in their first games as an Eagle. Perreiah and Flemmer are the first two Eagle true freshmen to play this season, but can retain their redshirt status if they play in four games or less this season. In addition, wide receiver Anthony Stell Jr. made his season debut for EWU versus Lindenwood after playing in one game as a true freshman in 2018. Three true freshmen – Sebastian Gomez, Marlon Jones Jr. and Brock Harrison -- made their Eagle debuts at Jacksonville State on Sept. 14. Nick Kokich and Jordan White made their debuts on special teams at Idaho on Sept. 21.
 
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 (116 starts by 18 players): Dylan Ledbetter 25, Jim Townsend 14, Dehonta Hayes 14, Chris Ojoh 11, Tysen Prunty 10, Calin Criner 8, Jack Sendelbach 7, Mitchell Johnson 4, Joe Lang 4, Darreon Moore 3, Kedrick Johnson 3, Tre Weed 3, Caleb Davis 2, Ira Branch 2, Rudolph Mataia Jr. 2, Andrew Katzenberger 2, Trevor Davis Jr. 1, Anfernee Gurley 1.
 
Current Starts on Offense (225 starts by 13 players): Chris Schlichting 44, Spencer Blackburn 41, Tristen Taylor 32, Antoine Custer Jr. 24, Kaleb Levao 22 (including 1 as defensive lineman), Eric Barriere 15, Andrew Boston 15, Jayce Gilder 10, Jayson Williams 7, Johnny Edwards IV 6, Will Gram 4, Dre' Sonte Dorton 4, Dennis Merritt 1.
  

Senior Chris Schlichting Has Started All 44 Games in His Career
 
Second-team All-Big Sky senior offensive tackle Chris Schlichting has started in each of EWU's 44 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 four thus far in 2019. Senior center Spencer Blackburn has a streak of 41 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 32 games, and coupled with the 22 starts by Kaleb Levao, the four offensive linemen have combined to start 139 games (162 total games of experience) for the Eagles. Guard Will Gram made the first start of his career against Washington, but entered the year with 27 games worth of experience.
 
More importantly, EWU is 32-12 overall (72.7 percent) and 21-3 (87.5 percent) in Big Sky Conference play in the last three-plus seasons.
 
 
Slyter Has Longest Field Goal in 11 Years Versus Lindenwood
 
The first field goal made in the EWU career of junior Andre Slyter turned out to be the longest in 11 years for the Eagles on Sept. 7 versus Lindenwood. His 50-yarder ranked as the 17th-best in school history and it was the longest in 11 years and one day since Felipe Macias made a 52-yarder on Sept. 6, 2008. Slyter also missed a 47-yard attempt against Lindenwood, and had a 63.4 average on five kickoffs with one touchback.
 
However, he missed the second half of that game and the entire Jacksonville State and Idaho games and was replaced by redshirt freshman Seth Harrison. Harrison made a 22-yard field goal against the Gamecocks, converted all six of his extra points, had eight kickoffs for a 58.1 average with two touchbacks and even recovered a fumble that led to an EWU touchdown.
 
For the season, Slyter has made 1-of-3 field goals, all six of his extra points and has a 61.9 average on kickoffs with three touchbacks in his first season as EWU's placekicker. In his career he has averaged 58.6 yards in 123 kickoffs with 50 touchbacks. He's averaged 61.9 yards per kick with three touchbacks this season. He's made 10-of-13 extra points as an Eagle and had not attempted a field goal until this season.
 
Harrison is 13-of-14 kicking extra points, 1-of-1 on field goals and has averaged 55.8 yards on 16 kickoffs (two touchbacks). Harrison and Slyter are replacing EWU career and single season kick scoring leader Roldan Alcobendas, who was a perfect 16-of-16 kicking field goals in 2018 to win the Fred Mitchell Award as the top placekicker in the nation (all levels but FBS).
 
 
Four Current Eagles Have Completed Coursework Toward Degrees
 
Four seniors have already completed requirements toward their bachelor's degree, and another seven are on track to finish by the end of the fall quarter, which begins on Sept. 25.
 
Linebacker Jack Sendelbach graduated following spring quarter in marketing, and is now in a graduate program for sport and recreation administration. Safety Dehonta Hayes completed studies toward his communications studies degree at the end of summer quarter and is enrolled in communication studies graduate school for fall quarter. Center Spencer Blackburn has completed his economics major, but won't graduate until he finishes his second major in accounting this fall. Wide receiver Jayson Williams completed his marketing major, but won't graduate until winter with a double major in finance.
 
The student-athletes who can complete requirements toward their degrees this fall are Bradley Alexander (business management), Conner Crist (communication studies), Darnell Hogan (communication studies), Andrew Katzenberger (business management), Tysen Prunty (communication studies), Jim Townsend (biology) and Kaleb Levao (communication studies).
 
In fall quarter of 2018, Eastern's players had a combined 3.07 grade point average, and the accumulative average GPA of the Eagles is 3.06. 
 
 
Pair of Teammates Will be Inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 28
 
Former Eastern All-America defensive tackles Chris Scott and Dario Romero will be among the 19th class of inductees into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 28, 2019, in conjunction with EWU's football game versus North Dakota at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
 
Scott earned Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1997 when he went on to earn six NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors, including a trio of first team accolades. He finished his career with 236 tackles, which at the time ranked sixth in school history (22nd overall through 2018) and remains a record for an Eagle defensive lineman. He had 25 1/2 career sacks to rank second in school history at the time (currently fourth through 2018), including 11 as a senior to rank at the time as the fourth-most in school history (seventh through the 2018 season). After losing 20 pounds prior to his senior season, he had a school-record 21 tackles for loss in 1997 (now third through 2018) and the 47 in his career were second at the time (now fifth). His six career forced fumbles were a school record for 13 seasons (now tied for second), and his six fumble recoveries were third (now fifth).
 
Romero, who played seven seasons in the Canadian Football League and four in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins, was a 1996 graduate of Lewis & Clark High School in Spokane, and then played as a freshman on EWU's 1997 team. Before his playing career was through he would have 369 total tackles and 47 1/2 sacks in 15 total years of collegiate and pro football. Romero finished his EWU career with 172 tackles, including 22 sacks to rank fifth in school history at the time (now ninth through 2018). Romero was an honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference selection as a sophomore, then earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) All-America honors as both a junior and senior.
 
Romero began his professional career in 2001 for the Edmonton Eskimos, then spent four seasons from 2002-2005 on the roster of the Miami Dolphins and playing a total of 26 games (two as a starter) and registering 26 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks and two passes broken up. He returned to the CFL in 2006, and in 2008 and 2009 he was a West Division All-Star for the Edmonton Eskimos. He retired from professional football in 2012, and had 171 career regular season tackles in seven CFL seasons, including 22 sacks to go along with an interception and five fumble recoveries. Those are nearly identical to his stats while at EWU (172, 22).
 
Scott and Romero helped the 1997 team win the Big Sky title with a 7-1 record, advance to the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs and finish 12-2. That team was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012, and both Scott and Romero were selected by the Eastern Athletic Department to the "100 for 100" All-Time Football Team, which was honored on Sept. 27, 2008, to commemorate Eastern's 100th year of football. In a fan vote, Scott was selected as the top defensive lineman in school history among the 11 players who were honored at that position.
 
Also being inducted will be track and field competitor Lisa Sorrell and volleyball standout Keva Sonderen, as well as the 1980 men's track and field team which was coached by Hall of Famer Jerry Martin. Established in 1996, the Hall of Fame will consist of 92 individuals and 18 teams following the 2019 induction. In addition, there have also been 20 individuals and one organization honored as recipients of the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame Service and Contribution Award. All of the inductees and induction classes may be viewed at: http://goeags.com/hof.
 
 
Six Eagles Make NFL Rosters in 2019, Including Rookie Nsimba Webster
 
The numbers have been tabulated, and only Harvard has more players in the National Football League than Eastern Washington University among schools at the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision level.
 
Six former Eagles were on 53-man rosters announced at the end of the 2019 preseason, including a trio of players with the Los Angeles Rams. The six former Eagles were one less than Harvard with seven, and equals the six FCS powerhouse North Dakota State has. Eastern had more than fellow Big Sky Conference member Idaho (5), as well as Delaware (5), James Madison (5), Montana (1) and Montana State (1).
 
A total of 167 players from 67 current FCS schools were part of the 32 rosters for the NFL's 100th season, which kicked off Sept. 5. Add in 43 players signed to practice squads (which go through frequent changes) and the FCS haul in the NFL was 210.
 
In 2019, rookie wide receiver/kick returner Nsimba Webster made the 53-man roster for the Rams, joining former Eagles and NFL veterans Cooper Kupp (wide receiver) and Samson Ebukam (outside linebacker). Also making NFL teams were Kendrick Bourne (wide receiver) with San Francisco, Jake Rodgers (offensive lineman) with Denver and Taiwan Jones (running back) with Houston.
 
Offensive lineman Aaron Neary had an excellent chance to make the Rams 53-man roster, but suffered a fractured ankle in late August which required surgery. Two former Eagles were released at the end of the preseason, including Jay-Tee Tiuli with the Seattle Seahawks and Ketner Kupp with the Rams.
 
Webster was an undrafted free agent, but caught 15 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown in four preseason games in 2019 for Los Angeles. He also returned three punts for 28 yards (long of 12) and three kickoffs for 70 (long of 28) to show his versatility. In his 44-game career (26 as a starter) at Eastern, Webster caught 156 passes to rank 15th in school history, good for 2,233 yards to rank 17th and 18 touchdowns to equal the 16th-most all-time at EWU.
 
Still looking for his first regular season action in the NFL, Rodgers entered the 2019 season on the roster of the Denver Broncos after originally joining the league in 2015. However, he was later taken off the 53-man roster and placed on the practice squad for Denver. He has had two stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and has also been a part of the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons organizations.
 
Bourne saw action in all 16 games for the San Francisco 49ers in the 2018 season, finishing with 42 catches for 487 yards and four touchdowns. Bourne scored his first NFL touchdown on Sept. 16, 2018, against the Detroit Lions in a 30–27 victory. In Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, he recorded his second touchdown in the 29–27 loss. He had a career-high seven catches for 71 yards versus Arizona on Oct. 28, then had a season-high 73 yards on four catches in the final game of the season on Dec. 23. He had 16 receptions for 257 yards as a rookie, all coming in the last eight games of the season.
 
Veteran running back Taiwan Jones enters his ninth year in the NFL in 2019 and is with his third team. Jones signed a contract with the Houston Texans on May 14, 2019, as a free agent. In his eight-year NFL career entering 2019 as both a running back and cornerback, Jones has played in 80 total games with career totals of 183 yards rushing, 18 receptions for 251 yards and a touchdown, 82 kickoff returns for 1,890 yards (23.0 average) and 52 total tackles. He signed with the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 2, 2017, after getting released from the Oakland Raiders on July 28, 2017.
 
But it's the Los Angeles Rams who have captured the hearts of EWU Eagles fans since the NFL Draft in spring of 2017.
 
Cooper Kupp was a starting receiver for the Rams in 2018 after bursting onto the scene in 2017 with 62 catches for 869 yards and five touchdowns to earn All-Rookie honors by the Pro Football Writers Association. His second season was cut short with a knee injury, and he missed the team's march to the Super Bowl. Kupp caught 40 passes for 566 yards and six touchdowns in the first eight games of the 2018 season for the Rams, who would go on to finish 15-4 after losing to the New England Patriots 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII.
 
Before he was injured, he and his wife, Anna, and their newborn son, Cooper Jamison, actually attended the MSU game on Sept. 29, 2018, to watch his brother Ketner Kupp play. Cooper returned to a venue he caught nine passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore in 2014, and 13 for 154 and a score in his senior year in 2016. In all, Kupp caught 42 passes for 617 yards and seven touchdowns in four victories versus the Bobcats. It was the first time in two years with the Rams that Kupp was able to see the Eagles play. Just two days prior to attending the EWU-MSU game, he caught nine passes for a career-high 162 yards and had the first two-touchdown day of his career versus Minnesota. He had a 70-yard TD reception in the 38-31 victory, giving him 24 catches for 348 yards and four touchdowns in the first four games – all wins – for the Rams.
 
After his 2018 injury, Cooper, Anna and Cooper Jr. (nicknamed "June") watched Ketner play his final collegiate game on Jan. 5, 2019, at the NCAA Division I Championship Game in Frisco, Texas. After receiving a tryout with the San Francisco 49ers, Ketner Kupp reunited with four fellow former Eagles by signing a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Rams on May 15, 2019. Cooper was present at the signing, which was headlined by the Rams as a "Kupple of brothers living the dream." Ketner Kupp finished with 267 tackles in his career to rank 14th all-time at EWU, and started 27 of the 48 games he played as an Eagle.
 
Ebukam was a starter for the Los Angeles Rams at outside linebacker in the 2018 season, finishing with 40 total tackles, three sacks, an interception, three forced fumbles and a pass broken up. In Week 11 on Monday Night Football, Ebukam scored two defensive touchdowns off turnovers (one fumble, one interception he returned 25 yards) and forced another interception with his pass broken up in a 54-51 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. In the NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints, he recorded three tackles and a forced fumble in a tough 26-23 overtime victory. He had four tackles in a 13-3 loss in Super Bowl LIII to the New England Patriots. Ebukam had 31 tackles, a pair of sacks and a forced fumble in 16 games (two as a starter) as a rookie.
 
Neary signed a reserve/future contract on Feb. 8, 2019, to remain with the Los Angeles Rams after spending the 2017 and 2018 seasons as a practice squad player. He went with the team to Atlanta, Ga., for Super Bowl LIII where the Rams lost to New England 13-3. He did not play in a regular season games in 2018, and originally signed with the Rams on Sept. 3, 2017. He made his NFL debut on Dec. 31, 2017, versus San Francisco in the final game of the regular season for the NFC West champions.
 
With Kupp, Ebukam, Bourne and Neary, Eastern had four rookies play in the regular season in the NFL in 2017 – certainly extremely rare if not unprecedented by a FCS school. As NFL 53-man rosters were announced for 2018, STATS reported there were 157 players from 71 different FCS schools on regular season rosters, and Eastern had five to lead the Big Sky and rank sixth in FCS, trailing only Harvard (8), North Dakota State (6), James Madison (6), Illinois State (6) and Delaware (6).
 
Eastern also has five Eagles active in the Canadian Football League in 2019, including quarterbacks Bo Levi Mitchell (Calgary), Matt Nichols (Winnipeg) and Vernon Adams Jr. (Montreal). Defensive backs T.J. Lee III and Victor Gamboa both play for British Columbia. D'londo Tucker and Albert Havili were also both with British Columbia but didn't make the team.
 
Mitchell led the Calgary to the 2018 Grey Cup title after leading the Stampeders to the title back in 2014. He was the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 2018 after throwing a league-best 35 touchdowns passes. He was 24-of-36 passing for 253 yards and two TDs in a 27-16 victory over Ottawa in the Grey Cup on Nov. 25 in Edmonton, Alberta. J.C. Sherritt, a veteran of eight CFL seasons, announced his retirement on Jan. 16, 2019.
  
 
 Seven of EWU's 12 Games Will be on the Road in 2019
 
Eastern 12-game football schedule in 2019 includes seven road games, five at home and a couple of twists and turns along the way.
 
With the return of Idaho to the Big Sky Conference in 2018 and the departure of North Dakota, Eastern will annually play the Vandals in a league game. However, 2019 was left out as a league game because of schedules already in place. It worked out that both the Eagles and Vandals had the same open date in their schedule.
 
The Eagles and Idaho will play the final non-conference game against each other on Sept. 21 in Moscow. Starting in 2020, the two schools will be considered "rivals" by the league and will play each other every season. Portland State is EWU's other "rival," while Idaho will face Montana every year starting in 2020.
 
The Eagles opened their five-game home schedule with a 59-31 victory over Lindenwood, a NCAA Division II school in St. Charles, Mo., in EWU's home opener on Sept. 7. The Lions were a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in 2018, and begin play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2019.
 
Eastern's second home game 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 opened the 2019 season with a 47-14 loss at Washington of the Pac-12 Conference, and then lost a non-conference road game at Jacksonville State of the Ohio Valley Conference by a 49-45 score on Sept. 14. That game is part of a home-and home series that will also include a home game for EWU at Roos Field on Sept. 11, 2021.
 
Eastern plays four league road games – Oct. 5 at Sacramento State, 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.
 
 
A Little About the Eagles in 2018
 
Despite missing nine players near the end of the season who had begun the season as starters – six on defense and three on offense -- the Eagles finished 12-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Sky Conference to share the league title with Weber State and UC Davis. The Eagles won their last four games of the regular season, then won three home games in the NCAA Football Championship Playoffs before falling to North Dakota State 38-24 in the title game in Frisco, Texas.
 
Eastern was unbeaten with a perfect 8-0 record at Roos Field – 5-0 in the regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs -- and then more than 4,000 fans showed up to support the Eagles in Frisco.
 
A total of 47 returning letterwinners are on EWU's roster as Best begins his third season at the helm. The Eagles return nine total starters – five on offense and four on defense – with 23 letterwinners back on offense, 24 on defense and a kicker. Best said on Aug. 24 following the team's final scrimmage of preseason practices that "it's going to take the entire season to get to where we need to be."
 
The veteran-laden team in 2018 will see significant changes in 2019 – from both a player and coach standpoint. Besides the returning letterwinners, Eastern also has 21 redshirt freshmen competing for repetitions. Nine of those players saw action in 2018 as part of the new NCAA rule allowing freshman to play in as many as four games and still redshirt.
 
The success of 2018 resulted in four coaches moving on, and four new coaches have been with the Eagles since spring practices began. Replacements include new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ian Shoemaker, defensive passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Allen Brown, wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator Pat McCann and safeties coach Bryan Mills. In addition, Eti Ena was promoted to defensive coordinator.
 
The Eagles have back four full-time starters on defense (DT Dylan Ledbetter, DE Jim Townsend, LB Chris Ojoh, S Dehonta Hayes), plus three others who received starts and significant playing time (S Tysen Prunty, S Calin Criner, Rover Kedrick Johnson). Offensively, five starters return (QB Eric Barriere, WR Andrew Boston, C Spencer Blackburn, G Kaleb Levao, T Chris Schlichting).
 
A total of 23 All-Big Sky Conference honors were won by Eastern players in the 2018 season, including five on the first team. Six Eagles went on to win FCS All-America honors, with senior Roldan Alcobendas winning the Fred Mitchell Award as the top placekicker in the nation. Blackburn won second team All-America honors, while Barriere was honored as a sophomore All-American and Boston and defensive end Mitchell Johnson earned freshman All-America accolades.
 
And the Eagles did all that while combining for a 3.07 grade point average in the fall, and the entire team currently has a collective 3.06 accumulative GPA. In January, 32 Eagles were named to the Big Sky Conference Academic All-Conference team.
 
Now in his 23rd season as a player or coach in the Eagle program, Best was FCS Coach of the Year in a fan vote conducted by Hero Sports, and was the Big Sky Conference co-Coach of the Year. In his first two-plus years at the helm, he has compiled a 20-9 record overall (69.0 percent) and 13-3 mark in the league (81.3 percent). Both percentages ranked among the best in school history, just behind Beau Baldwin with an 85-32 overall mark (72.6 percent) in nine seasons from 2008-16, and just ahead of Baldwin's 58-14 league record (80.6 percent).
 
 
EWU Board Approves Task Force Recommendation to Renovate Football Stadium
 
The Eastern Washington University Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously approved a $25 million private fundraising strategy to renovate the existing football stadium after long-awaited pre-design plans were unveiled Sept. 6, 2019, on the EWU campus.
 
A BOT-appointed task force recommended the renovation plan after studying all fundraising and facility enhancement opportunities, since state dollars cannot be used. Part of the review involved working with ALSC Architects of Spokane to create stadium renderings that would reflect a realistic project the university could pursue.
 
Renovating the stadium will be a game-changer for Eastern as it will create a dynamic venue with all new seats, premium seating options and an expansion of the east side stands. 
 
"We like to talk about Eagle grit, and it's certainly taken a lot of grit and hard work to get to this point," says Lynn Hickey, director of athletics at EWU. "Eagle Nation deserves a space that matches the strength, passion and hard-work of a program and is a point of pride throughout the region and beyond. This is a reasonable plan that will give us that space."
 
Hickey notes the stadium's overall seating capacity won't increase much under the plan, but fans will enjoy better seats and improved sight lines, with more seatback chairs, covered club level seating and private loge box seating. Additional amenities include more concessions and new restrooms located on both sides of the stadium, reflecting feedback from surveys and focus groups. The track will also be removed to create a more intimate environment.
 
"This stadium renovation plan will elevate the whole campus year-round," says EWU President Mary Cullinan. "It will help Eastern recruit more high-caliber student-athletes and make that game day experience even more memorable."
 
Construction will begin once the funds are raised, however the immediate need is to replace the red turf before the beginning of the 2020 football season. For more information including a media kit with renderings and frequently asked questions, visit http://ewu.edu/stadium.
 
 
Eastern Receives $5 Million Gift Toward Stadium Renovation
 
Just two weeks after unveiling renovation plans, EWU announced a $5 million gift from a prominent local business owner—the largest individual private gift ever made to Eastern. EWU Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey revealed on Sept. 19 that Jack Gillingham, a Cheney resident who owns several businesses on the West Plains and in Spokane, made the gift to inspire others to also "Advance the Standard" of Eastern Athletics. The $5 million gift will be structured around an initial payment to expedite the replacement of the Roos Field's red turf, with the remainder disbursed over the next four years.
 
"I wanted to step up because I believe in the vision and the team Lynn Hickey has put together to move the Eastern athletic department further into greatness," said Gillingham. "This gift is a statement to and for the community to get behind this project, which can be a catalyst for the local economy. It's a rallying cry for current and future supporters to get involved to make this a reality."
 
"Jack and I discussed EWU's need for a champion to get this renovation kick-started," said Hickey. "He didn't hesitate to get on board, and he is very gracious and generous to make this commitment. The entire university will benefit from this—not just our department, the football program and our fans—as it will open doors for other philanthropists to support academics, scholarships and programs."
 
Sr. Associate Athletic Director Devon Thomas said Eastern has been accepting gifts and pledges since the announcement of the stadium renovation. The 52-year-old stadium will be completely renovated with all new seats including new premium seating offerings. Those who make gifts and pledges now will be contacted regarding options of how their contributions may be utilized toward future seating options.
 
Thomas said stadium naming rights are still available, and that the school is working with Gillingham to thoughtfully recognize his generous contribution, which includes an on-field check presentation at the next home football game Saturday, Sept. 28.
 
"I'm overjoyed to contribute to this visionary project," added Gillingham, who owns American Onsite Services, Barr-Tech and Northwest Industrial Services. "This project is real and EWU Athletics and the rest of the university will get it done."
 
 
 

Series Notes

 
Eastern has won all four previous meetings against North Dakota, winning by an average score of 41-12, including 54-10 at home in Cheney. The Eagles were nationally-ranked in all four meetings, ranking seventh when they won 55-17 in Cheney in 2012 and sixth the year after when the Eagles won 35-14 in 2013 in Grand Forks. Eastern was ranked sixth in the last meeting in Cheney, won 54-3 by the Eagles on Nov. 1, 2014, at Roos Field. The last time the two teams played was in 2017, and the first start in the career of Eric Barriere yielded a 21-14 win for the 19th-ranked Eagles (ranked 21st by the coaches).
 
 
Looking Back . . . #19/21 Eastern Washington 21, North Dakota 14 (Grand Forks)
 
Then redshirt freshman quarterback Eric Barriere won his first start as an Eagle, but he certainly had some help. The No. 19/21 Eastern Washington University football team had huge contributions by its defense, punter Jordan Dascalo and running back Sam McPherson as the Eagles beat North Dakota 21-14 on Nov. 11 at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D. Eastern scored all 21 of its points in the first half, and held on to clinch the school's 11th-straight winning season – equaling the most in EWU's 109-year football history. Barriere was filling in for suspended starter Gage Gubrud, and finished the game with 130 passing yards and 55 on the ground. Eastern finished with a 376-366 edge in total offense, including a 191-29 advantage in the second quarter when EWU out-scored UND 14-0. Eastern forced two turnovers and had none itself, giving the Eagles a 41-0 record since 2010 when winning the turnover battle. Dascalo punted seven times for a 52.7 average, but none were bigger than his last – a 67-yarder that was downed at the UND 3-yard line with 2:47 to play. The Fighting Hawks picked up just one turnover before turning the ball over on downs, thus enabling EWU to run out the clock with kneel-downs. McPherson contributed to all three EWU touchdowns and had 157 total yards, including a career-high 118 rushing, a TD pass and a scoring reception. He set-up EWU's third and final touchdown of the day late in the first half with a career-long 55-yard rush, but he was injured on the play and didn't return. Defensively, the Eagles held UND to a net 103 yards rushing and an average of 3.3 per rush. Jack Sendelbach, starting in place of suspended middle linebacker Kurt Calhoun, had a team-high 11 tackles and a key second-half fumble recovery. Sendelbach would earn Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts. Safety Tysen Prunty had nine tackles and junior end Keenan Williams was credited with 1 1/2 of EWU's four sacks on the day.
 
 
Looking Back . . . #6 Eastern Washington 54, North Dakota 3 (Cheney)
 
In the 2014 meeting, a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown by redshirt freshman Moe Roberts put the exclamation point on a 31-point second quarter and the sixth-ranked Eagles went on to beat North Dakota 54-3 Nov. 1, 2014, at Roos Field in EWU's 88th-annual Homecoming Game. The 51-point margin was EWU's largest in 27 seasons as a member of the Big Sky Conference (212 games at the time), and its fourth-largest in 31 years a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (357 games at the time). The Eagle defense held North Dakota to 37 yards passing, the fewest against EWU since surrendering 34 versus Montana in 2011. Eastern out-gained UND in total offense 459-163 for EWU's best defensive effort since 1996. Eastern sophomore Jordan West passed for 314 yards and two touchdowns in his fourth game as a starter in place of injured All-American Vernon Adams Jr. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp finished with nine catches for 111 yards and a score. Senior Quincy Forte added two scores on the ground for the Eagles, who improved to 53-32-3 all-time in Homecoming games. Sophomore Miquiyah Zamora and senior Cody McCarthy each had eight tackles for Eastern's defense, with Zamora also intercepting a pass that led to a touchdown and McCarthy breaking up a pass. Defensive lineman Andre Lino added five tackles, including his first career sack. Senior Jake Miller punted four times for a 46.5 average, with three downed inside the 20-yard line and a 63-yarder. Coming off an emotional loss and fearful of North Dakota's defense, the Eagle offense scored on the first possession of the game on a 15-play, 81-yard drive that took 7:12 off the clock. The Eagles took a 38-3 halftime lead.
 
 
Looking Back . . . #6 Eastern Washington 35, North Dakota 14 (Grand Forks)
 
In the 2013 meeting in Grand Forks, quarterback Vernon Adams overcame a slow start and passed for 307 yards and a pair of touchdowns to help EWU to a 35-14 victory over North Dakota in a Big Sky Conference game Oct. 12, 2013, indoors at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D. Eastern's defense also turned two second-half UND turnovers into scores, including a 77-yard interception return by Buck Buchanan Award candidate Ronnie Hamlin. The Eagles scored 14-straight points without North Dakota touching the ball to gain some distance over upset-minded UND. Although the Eagles won the total offense battle 408-406, the real statistical battle was won in the turnover department where EWU won 4-0. Eastern was also 9-of-15 on third down compared to a 5-of-15 performance by UND. All-America cornerback T.J. Lee finished with six tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Tevin McDonald and Evan Day also forced fumbles, and safety Todd Raynes, making the first start of his career, had a team-high seven tackles with a pass broken up. Adams finished the game 22-of-30, with Mario Brown rushing for 49 yards and Quincy Forte adding 40. Shaq Hill scored on a TD reception from Adams, and Forte scored on a fourth-and-1 play on the final play of the first half following a 58-yard pass from Adams to Cory Mitchell. Eastern was playing in the state of North Dakota for the first time in school history (the 20th state Eastern has played in all-time) and indoors for the first time in the career of Adams.
 
 
Looking Back . . . #7 Eastern Washington 55, North Dakota 17 (Cheney)
 
In 2012 in Cheney, a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Shaq Hill sparked Eastern to a 34-point first-half outburst in a 55-17 Big Sky Conference football victory over North Dakota Oct. 6, 2012, at Roos Field. Eastern's 38-point winning margin was its best at the time since a 52-13 win over Montana-Western on Aug. 31, 2007, and the largest versus a NCAA Football Championship Subdivision opponent since a 51-7 win over Weber State on Oct. 23, 2004. The 55 points the Eagles scored were their most since a 56-30 win at Sacramento State in 2009. Eastern won the total offense battle 458-325, but that didn't matter as much as EWU's short TD drives of 24 and 57 yards to open a 34-17 lead at halftime, despite having one yard less on offense than UND. Eastern had a 236-102 advantage in offense in the second half.  The Eagles rushed for 290 yards, despite starter Jordan Talley missing the game with a concussion. Starter Quincy Forte finished with 72 yards and Demitrius Bronson came off the bench to register his first 100-yard outing as an Eagle with 118 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Vernon Adams had an efficient and productive outing, completing 12-of-15 passes for  151 yards and four touchdowns in his third career start. His passing efficiency rating was an off-the-charts 252.6.
 
 
 


 
 

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 in 2019, but will host Northern Arizona on Nov. 2 and Portland State three weeks later.
 
Also on the list were a pair of players from Jacksonville State, which EWU played on Sept. 14 at Jacksonville, Ala. Junior quarterback Zerrick Cooper passed for JSU school records of 3,416 yards and 32 touchdowns in 2018, and senior wide receiver Josh Pearson was the FCS co-leader and set the school record with 17 touchdown receptions in 2018. Both players were first team All-Ohio Valley Conference performers last season.
 
Eastern has previously had three Walter Payton Award Winners – wide receiver Cooper Kupp in 2015, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell in 2011 and quarterback Erik Meyer in 2005. The Eagles are the only FCS program with three Payton winners since 2000.
 
In 2016, Kupp and Gage Gubrud were second and third, respectively, in the voting. Gubrud, who was an All-American in 2016 and a starter in both 2017 and 2018, was on the preseason watch list the past two seasons. In both 2013 and 2014, Vernon Adams Jr. was the runner-up for the Payton Award.
 
In June, Barriere earned first team honors on the Hero Sports Preseason FCS All-America team. In 2018, Gubrud suffered a foot injury five games into the season and Barriere took his place for the final 10 contests. EWU won eight of those games to finish 12-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Sky Conference to share the league title with Weber State and UC Davis.
 
 
Spencer Blackburn Among Elite Group of 28 Players Recognized on Athlon Preseason A-A Team
 
The center position is crowded when it comes to NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors, let alone Big Sky Conference honors. Sixth-year center Spencer Blackburn was selected as one of just 28 players nationally to be honored on the Athlon 2019 Preseason NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America Team announced June 11.
 
It was one of four preseason All-America honors Blackburn earned in the summer, as he also earned second team preseason All-America honors from STATS, Hero Sports and Phil Steele. Blackburn was listed as an offensive lineman on the Athlon team, with Zach Larsen from Southern Utah listed as the center. Larsen also earned first team honors from the other three outlets.
 
Larsen and Blackburn are the two best centers in the Big Sky Conference as evidenced by all-league teams. Larsen has been the first team All-BSC center each of the last two seasons while Blackburn has earned second team accolades in each of the last three years. In 2016 when Blackburn was a sophomore and started his string of 37-straight starts (entering 2019), Joey Kuperman from Cal Poly earned first team honors.
 
Blackburn is a sixth-year senior in 2019 after he received approval from the Big Sky Conference and the NCAA for their hardship waiver requests to receive a sixth year to complete four years of eligibility.  Blackburn is a 2014 graduate of Meridian High School in Bellingham, Wash. He redshirted in 2014, but couldn't play in 2015 because of a thumb injury. In 2018 he earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors by Associated Press (second team) and STATS (third team).
 
Blackburn entered his senior season having started 37 of the 39 games he played as an Eagle. In addition, Blackburn was a team co-captain in 2018 – and again in 2019 -- and was named in November to the Google Cloud Academic All-District 8 Football Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He has also earned three Big Sky All-Academic honors, and has a 3.69 GPA in professional accounting. He was the 2017 recipient of the Larry Hattemer Offensive Lineman Scholarship.
 
Eastern finished as the only school to rank in the top 20 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense, rushing and passing. The Eagles averaged 528.2 yards on offense to rank third in FCS, including 255.9 rushing (10th) and 272.3 passing (20th). Eastern was also ranked fourth in scoring (43.1). The Eagles as a team finished the 2018 season with a school-record 6.62 average per rush on the season to break the previous record of 6.41 set in 2001. The Eagles set team records for rushing yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41).
 
 
Chris Schlichting is Lone Eagle on Preseason All-Big Sky Team
 
On a team of worthy candidates, senior offensive tackle Chris Schlichting was the lone Eastern Washington University football player picked to the 2019 Big Sky Conference Preseason All-Conference Team announced July 15 by the league.
 
The 2015 graduate of Mount Si High School in North Bend, Wash., entered the 2019 season having started all 40 games he played as an Eagle. He was a second team All-Big Sky Conference selection in 2018, and is one of nine Eagles returning who have previously received Big Sky accolades. Included were fellow offensive linemen Spencer Blackburn (center) and Kaleb Levao (guard), who also earned second team honors in 2018.
 
The 6-foot-5, 295-pound Schlichting started all 14 games as a redshirt freshman in 2016, all 11 in 2017 and all 15 in 2018 when EWU won a share of the Big Sky Conference championship and lost to North Dakota State 38-24 in the NCAA Division I Championship game.
 
He helped Eastern rank second in FCS in total offense with an average of 529.6 yards per game, trailing only Sam Houston State at 547.3 per outing. Eastern was the FCS leader in passing offense (401.0 yards per game), and was third in third down conversions (52.1 percent), third in completion percentage (.679), third in scoring offense (42.4), and third in passing efficiency (168.2). Eastern quarterbacks were sacked only 24 times in 620 passing attempts (one sack per 25.8 attempts).
 
In 2017, he helped Eastern rank fifth in FCS in total offense (476.7 per game), and was also eighth in passing (320.5), 14th in scoring (34.5) and 11th in third down conversions (46.1 percent).
 
In 2016, Schlichting made his debut as an Eagle starter versus Washington State (9/3/16) in EWU's thrilling 45-42 win. He helped Eastern rank second in FCS in total offense with an average of 529.6 yards per game, trailing only Sam Houston State at 547.3 per outing. Eastern was the FCS leader in passing offense (401.0 yards per game), and was third in third down conversions (52.1 percent), third in completion percentage (.679), third in scoring offense (42.4), and third in passing efficiency (168.2).


 
 

More Team Notes

 
Eagles Trade Hot & Humid for Indoors
 
The game Sept. 21 versus Idaho was Eastern's 59th game inside a dome, where the temperatures are always at about 72 degrees and wind or humidity are not factors. After the 35-27 loss, Eastern is 30-29 all-time in domes, including a 4-9 record at the Kibbie Dome. Eastern is also 14-4 at Idaho State's Holt Arena, 10-7 at NAU's Walkup Skydome, 2-0 at North Dakota, 0-1 at North Dakota State, 0-1 at South Dakota, 0-6 at Northern Iowa and 0-1 at the Houston Astrodome.
 
Playing in a dome is a far cry from what Eastern faced Sept. 14 in Jacksonville, Ala., where the game was delayed by 30 minutes to 3:35 p.m. because of lightning in the area. At kickoff it was 90 degrees with 67 percent humidity. That was the eighth-hottest game in recorded EWU history (since 1980), ranking behind the 106 at Arizona State (8/31/02 at 6 p.m.), 97 at Sacramento State (9/26/09 at 6 p.m.), 94 at Southwest Texas State (9/7/95 at 6 p.m. in San Marcos, Texas), 93 at Spokane's Albi Stadium versus Portland State (9/3/88 at 7 p.m.), 93 at Sacramento State (9/26/15 at 6 p.m.), 92 at Eastern Illinois (9/14/91 at 6:30 p.m.) and 91 at Nicholls State (9/2/04 at 6:30 p.m. at Thibodeaux, La.). On two other occasions the temperature has hit 90 degrees at kickoff.
 
The temperature for the Nicholls State game in 2004 also came with considerable humidity, and a pre-game rain shower soaked Eastern's footballs prior to the 37-14 loss. Eastern also faced severe weather at Sam Houston State on Sept. 28, 2013, when a thunder, lightning and rain storm stopped the game for 78 minutes. With a temperature of 84 degrees and 81 percent humidity, Eastern fell 49-34. There was also a similar one-hour weather delay when Eastern played at Southwest Texas State in San Marcos, Texas, on a 94-degree day on Sept. 7, 1995. Eastern won that game 34-16.
 
 
Blackburn and Levao Get Sixth Year to Help Ease the Loss of a Huge Senior Class
 
After having only 12 seniors in 2016 and 14 in 2017, Eastern had 27 on its 2018 roster. However, two of those 27 -- All-Big Sky offensive linemen Spencer Blackburn and Kaleb Levao -- were granted a sixth year by the NCAA to complete four years of eligibility because of seasons lost because of injuries. Both entered the 2019 season with 39 games worth of experience, and Blackburn entered the year with 37-straight starts with Levao starting 18.
 
Thus, Eastern's 25 lost seniors included 18 four-year letterwinners and another five who earned three. Combined, those 25 players had a total of 1,006 games played and 441 starts. Injuries to numerous Eagles helped give so many players opportunities to play and start.
 
 
Eagles Rank in the Top 12 in Both Playoff Appearances and Victories
 
The Eagles made their 13th appearance in the FCS Playoffs in 2018 to rank 12th in history, and have a 19-12 record all-time to rank eighth in wins. Head coach Aaron Best and his team had the mantra all season of "Leave No Doubt" after the team was denied a berth in 2017  after finishing 7-4 overall and 5-2 in the league.
 
"The standard around here are Big Sky championships and playoff berths, so when we don't do that it hurts," he explained. "I've been here 20-plus years and have been a part of a lot of victories, so it hurt when I couldn't tell those players in 2017 why we didn't get in. The natural response is we didn't do enough on our resume to get in, but in 2018 we didn't want to put it anybody else's hands. We weren't going to let a committee or people decide our fate. We decided our own fate."
 
 
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, 24-8 when they've been tied and 22-33 when they've lost (total of 105-42). 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, 21-7 when they've been tied and 20-26 when they've lost. That's a collective record of 91-33 (73.4 percent), with 26 of those 33 losses (79 percent) coming in games EWU has lost the turnover battle and 55 percent of EWU's wins coming when they've won the turnover battle (78 percent when including ties).
 
Neither team had a turnover in the first game of the season between EWU and Washington, then EWU lost the battle versus Lindenwood 2-1 and tied Jacksonville State 2-2. Eastern lost by another 2-1 margin at Idaho. In 2019 thus far, Eastern is 0-0 when it has won the turnover battle, 1-2 when it had more turnovers and 0-1 when tied.
 
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).
 

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


Winningest FCS Teams Since 2010 (entering 2019 season)
 
By victories . . . 1. North Dakota State 121; 2. Sam Houston State 92; 3. Eastern Washington 90; 4. Jacksonville State 85; 5. James Madison 82; 6. Kennesaw State 79; 7. San Diego 77; 8. South Dakota State 75; 9. New Hampshire 74; 10. Wofford 72.
 
By percentage . . . 1. North Dakota State .903 (121-13); 2. Harvard .778 (70-20); 3. Kennesaw State .7524 (79-26); 4. Jacksonville State .7522 (85-28); 5. Eastern Washington .750 (90-30); 6. Sam Houston State .742 (92-32); 7. San Diego .740 (77-27); 8. James Madison .713 (82-33); 9. Bethune-Cookman .696 (71-31); 10. North Carolina A&T .680 (70-53).
 
 
Eagles Continue Stretch of Success in FCS Statistics in Passing and Total Offense
 
In EWU's last 15 seasons (2004-2018), EWU has ranked in the top 10 in passing 12 times, total offense on 11 occasions and scoring six times. In school history, EWU has won two FCS titles for total offense (2001, 1997), as well as three passing offense titles (2016, 2015, 2011) and two for scoring offense (2014, 2001).
 

 

More Player Notes

 
 
Dorton Returns Kickoff For Touchdown a Week After Receiving National Accolades for Receiving
 
The day started off with another bang for Dre' Sonte Dorton on Sept. 14 at Jacksonville State when he returned the game's opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. It was his second career return for a TD, dating back to his first on Sept. 17, 2016, when he had a 93-yarder versus Northern Iowa.
 
After a 50-yard catch at Idaho on Sept. 21, Dorton now has nine plays of at least 40 yards in his career, including a 78-yard reception for a touchdown on the game's first offensive play on Sept. 7 against Lindenwood.
 
Dorton had a record-breaking day receiving against Lindenwood, helping him earn honors as the STATS NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Offensive Player of the Week in helping EWU to a school-record 769 yards of total offense.  Dorton broke the school record with 289 receiving yards on 15 receptions, which equaled the fourth most. For his breakout game, he also earned honorable mention FCS National Player of the Week honors from College Football Performance Awards.
 
Dorton's 289 yards broke the receiving yardage record set by current Los Angeles Ram Cooper Kupp with 275 at Northern Colorado on Oct. 24, 2015. Interestingly, both Kupp and Dorton wore the No. 10 jersey on their record-setting days, which came up short of the Big Sky record of 333 yards. Dorton's 15 catches equaled the 15th-most in Big Sky history, and were fourth in school history with Kupp owning the record of 20 at UNC. Dorton's previous single-game bests were two catches and 52 yards, and he entered the game with 17 catches for 220 yards and four touchdowns in 28 career outings. Dorton's reception was a career long, and later in the game he had 59-yard TD catch.
 
After catching seven passes for 133 yards and a touchdown at Idaho on Sept. 21, Dorton is ranked 10th in FCS in receiving yards (107.0 per game), 40th in receptions (5.8 per game; 23 total) and 10th with four touchdown catches.
 
 
Eagles Get Two Offensive Linemen Back as Sixth-Year Seniors
 
Eagle All-America center Spencer Blackburn and All-Big Sky offensive guard Kaleb Levao will return for the 2019 football season after their hardship waiver requests to receive a sixth year to complete four years of eligibility were approved by the Big Sky Conference and the NCAA. That gave EWU four starters back on the offensive line with a collective 146 games of experience, including 123 starts (entering 2019 season).
 
Honored the past three years as a second team All-Big Sky Conference selection, Blackburn is a 2014 graduate of Meridian High School in Bellingham, Wash. He redshirted in 2014, but couldn't play in 2015 because of a thumb injury. In 2018 he earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors by Associated Press (second team) and STATS (third team).
 
"It means a ton to be able to come back and be a part of another year with such a special program," said Blackburn. "This team has the experience and structure to further advance the standard we set this last season all the way to January. Go Eags!"
 
Entering 2019, Blackburn started 37 of the 39 games he played as an Eagle, including the last 37. The Eagles finished 12-3 overall in 2018 after winning a share of the Big Sky Conference title, then won three FCS Playoff games at home to advance to the NCAA Division I Championship game. Blackburn started all 15 games for the Eagles.
 
In addition, Blackburn was a team co-captain in 2018 and was named in November to the Google Cloud Academic All-District 8 Football Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He has also earned three Big Sky All-Academic honors, and has a 3.69 GPA in professional accounting. He was the 2017 recipient of the Larry Hattemer Offensive Lineman Scholarship.
 
"We're excited and eager for Spencer to be back with us again in 2019," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "We're happy that he will continue to be a leader and example for his brothers on and off the field for one more season."
 
Levao, who played just two games out of 11 in 2017, started 14 of EWU's 15 games in 2018 alongside Blackburn. That means EWU will have three returning starters along the offensive line (tackle Chris Schlichting is the other), while also having back tackle Tristen Taylor who played in just three games in 2018 before being lost with a season-ending knee injury.
 
That leaves 2014 Spokane High School graduates Jack Hunter (Gonzaga Prep; 27 starts in 40 career games at guard) and Beau Byus (Central Valley; 11 starts in 37 career games as a tackle and tight end) as the lone seniors lost from the 2018 squad.
 
Eastern finished as the only school to rank in the top 20 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense, rushing and passing. The Eagles averaged 528.2 yards on offense to rank third in FCS, including 255.9 rushing (10th) and 272.3 passing (20th). Eastern was also ranked fourth in scoring (43.1).
 
En route to a 12-3 finish overall and runner-up finish in the NCAA Division I Championship Game, the Eagles as a team finished the 2018 season with a school-record 6.62 average per rush on the season to break the previous record of 6.41 set in 2001. The Eagles set team records for rushing yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41).
 
"It's very good and fortunate news to hear of the NCAA granting Kaleb a sixth fall," said Best. "He was one of our most consistent offensive linemen on our run to the national championship game. Having the RG and C tandem intact for another run will be exciting as we watch them write more chapters to their already incredible stories."
 
Entering 2019, Levao started 18 of the 39 games he played as an Eagle, including one as a defensive lineman. He had 14 tackles as a redshirt freshman in 2015 before moving over to the offensive line after that season. He started twice as a sophomore in 2016, both games in 2017 prior to his injury and 14 of 15 in 2018. The 2014 graduate of Aberdeen (Wash.) High School had four tackles and a sack versus Montana on Nov. 14, 2015.
 
 
Six Eagles Receive All-America Recognition, Including Four Returning in 2019
 
Among Eastern's six players to earn All-America honors in the 2018 season, four are slated to return in the 2019 season. They include Spencer Blackburn, who earned his first All-America honors after earning second team All-Big Sky Conference honors for three-straight seasons from 2016-18.  The other three were honored as All-Americans in their respective classes – quarterback Eric Barriere as a sophomore All-American (honorable mention by Hero Sports) and defensive end Mitchell Johnson and wide receiver Andrew Boston as Freshman All-Americans.
 
Blackburn was on the Associated Press second team and the STATS third squad. The Eagles have now had 23 offensive linemen earn All-America accolades in 35 years in FCS (1984-2018), including 14 first team All-Americans. They have combined for 73 honors (37 first team, 19 second team, 5 third team and 12 honorable mention).
 
Sixth-year senior kicker Roldan Alcobendas was honored on seven NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America teams as a first team selection. He was honored by the American Football Coaches Association, the FCS Athletics Directors Association, Associated Press, STATS, Hero Sports, Athlon Sports and Phil Steele Publications. In being honored for his perfect season kicking field goals, he was one of just 11 players nationwide to be honored on the FCS ADA All-America squad. In addition, he was also named on Dec. 9 as the winner of the Fred Mitchell Award as the top placekicker among FCS, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and NJCAA schools.
 
Alcobendas is only the third All-America kicker in EWU's history as a member of FCS, and the first since Jimmy Pavel was honored as a first team All-American in 2012. The 2013 graduate of Camas (Wash.) High School earned first team All-Big Sky Conference honors as both a kicker and punter in the 2018 season.
 
Jay-Tee Tiuli, a senior nose tackle, was a second team All-America selection by both STATS and Associated Press, and a third team pick by Phil Steele. Tiuli was the Big Sky Conference Defensive MVP in 2018 and earned first team All-Big Sky honors. He is the first interior defensive lineman (not including defensive ends) to earn All-America honors for the Eagles since Renard Williams earned honorable mention in 2011 and first team accolades in 2010.
 

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

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

Recent Game Recap

 
Vandals Use Big First Half to Upend No. 11 Eastern 35-27
 
Idaho used a huge first half performance to take apart a depleted Eastern Washington University defense to defeat the No. 11 Eagles in a non-conference football game on Sept. 21 at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals took a 28-0 lead in the first half, accumulating an early 286-24 advantage in total offense. A year earlier, in a 38-14 Eagle romp in Cheney, Wash., Eastern led 31-0 at halftime en route to a third-straight victory over the Vandals. Idaho beat Eastern for the first time since 1999. Now 1-3 on the season, Eastern rallied to score the first 13 points of the second half on a pair of rushing touchdowns by Eric Barriere. But Idaho countered with a touchdown of its own to take a 34-13 lead, and EWU couldn't recover onside kicks following its final two scores in the last 3:59 of the game. Eastern's defense was missing three players who had started each of EWU's first three games, and were replaced by players with a combined two career starts. Idaho finished the game with 463 yards, while Eastern's offense, which had four punts and two turnovers in its first six possessions, finished with 460. Idaho rushed for 223 yards compared to 95 for the Eagles. Junior quarterback Eric Barriere had just 74 yards at halftime, but finished 28-of-46 for 365 yards, with another 20 on the ground. He led EWU on a 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive to start the second half, then a short 28-yard drive after an interception by senior safety Dehonta Hayes to cut the lead to 28-13. Barriere later had a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jayson Williams and another of 30 yards to Dre' Sonte Dorton, giving him 13 TD passes on the season to go along with three on the ground. Dorton led Eagle receivers with seven catches for 133 yards, and Antoine Custer Jr. rushed for a team-leading 59 yards. Hayes finished with a career-high 17 tackles to rank 19th on Eastern's all-time list. It was the fourth double-figure tackle performance of his career as he eclipsed his previous high of 13. Senior defensive end Jim Townsend also had a career-high with 12 with a sack and one other tackle for loss, as his previous top tackling performance was seven. Senior defensive tackle Dylan Ledbetter blocked a pair of Idaho field goal attempts, one in each half. He now has six blocked kicks as an Eagle and finished the Idaho game with six tackles. The Vandals converted 10-of-16 third downs compared to just 3-of-12 for the Eagles.
 
 
 
 

More Aaron Best Comments

 
On Idaho Game: "We didn't come out with enough energy to start the game, myself included. I'm the one who needs fingers pointed at. In the last quarter of the last game and the first two quarters against Idaho – three quarters in a row – we played with minimal energy. The effort is there, but the energy prior to the effort is lacking."
 
On Second Half Versus Idaho: "There were no moral victories in the second half. We had a 28-0 deficit and were up 27-7 in the second half to give ourselves a chance. The game came down to two onside kicks late. We were in it, but that's not the way we want to go about our business. Credit Idaho – they did a really good job in all three phases of the game."
 
On Idaho's Early Lead: "I'm not going to worry about the bodies we don't have – at 28-0 they dictated tempo and kept Eric (Barriere) where they needed to. Credit their defensive game plan. And they ran the ball better than us and were more consistent with it. They were better on third down and we lost the turnover margin."
 
On Moving Forward: "We'll look at things and move forward. I'm extremely disappointed in myself and the outcome of this game, just based on the product we put on the field for that first half."
 
On Jacksonville State Loss: "We grew up (against Jacksonville State) immensely, even though the score doesn't indicate that. There are were a lot of tough times and there are a lot of tough kids in that locker room. There are a lot of guys limping, a lot of them shaken and lot of them have grown from this game – there are a lot of guts in there. We just didn't score enough points. We controlled the game for about 57 minutes, but 57 minutes isn't the entirety of a ballgame. We will get better and this game will not define us. We went on the road and played a game with a half-hour delayed start, and we played our butts off. We played really, really well, but we didn't play well enough."
 
On Offensive Explosion Versus Lindenwood: "The game came in three phases. We started fast and were relentless on offense, defense and special teams. We had a lull, but then we got on the gas again. We have some things to correct, but we came out ready to play. Points and yards are what the fans come to watch and see. We've become accustomed to those sorts of numbers, and maybe have been too fortunate and too spoiled over the years here at Eastern. It's nice to score 59 points, especially at home, but it came against a very, very good Division II opponent who traveled halfway across the country to get here. And they were in the game until the fourth quarter and they were in it for a reason. We had a nine or 10 minute lapse in that second quarter. Momentum certainly shifted, but I never felt like our momentum was totally gone. It was just a matter when we would get it back. And we certainly did that in the third and fourth quarters."
 
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 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."