The Eastern Washington University football team wrapped up Fall Camp today (Aug. 25) with its second and final scrimmage of the preseason. With most of Eastern's starters and veterans sitting out, several players earned the chance to see action in the 80-play scrimmage at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
 
In all, the offense racked up 383 total yards, including 209 through the air. The defense shined too with two interceptions and five sacks to highlight the day.

"A couple of young players stepped up today. Obviously, Cage Schenck and Tuna Altahir had a lot of reps in these situations because we held most of our starters out to get to game week. All in all, I think defense won the day," said head coach Aaron Best.

For the second-straight scrimmage, Ahmani Williams led the way with six tackles along with Steven Flowers. Williams helped the defense score two points when he teamed up with Jacob Newsom for a tackle near the endzone that resulted in a safety.
 
Shane Aleaga and Armani Orange each had four tackles. Cage Schenck broke up three passes, recorded a quarterback hurry and had an interception. Demetrius Crosby Jr. recorded the other interception for the Eagles.
 
Offensively, Eastern Washington scored four touchdowns to go with three field goals for a total of 37 points. Seth Harrison recorded a 38 and a 45-yard field goal, while Wyatt Hawkins also connected on a 38-yarder.
 
The first touchdown of the day came on a 21-yard pass from Simon Burkett to Jakobie James. Burkett was 4-of-11 with 60 total yards to go with one touchdown and an interception.
 
Later in the scrimmage, Nolan Ulm caught an 11-yard pass from Gunner Talkington for the second touchdown of the game. The final touchdown came on a 31-yard pass from freshman Kekoa Visperas to Josh Johnson.

"Gunner Talkington and Simon Burkett have had really, really, good camps. It's been nice to see. Gunner has played steady for the better part of two and a half years and Simon took a really big stride this camp. Having the ability to watch Trey Turner, Ryan Kelley, and Kekoa Visperas step up and get reps is nice because we're not trying to find out who our quarterback is; we know who that is," added Best.

Talkington was 6-of-14 with 69 yards and a touchdown. Visperas was 2-for-4 for 41 yards and a touchdown. Trey Turner (4-of-9, 30) and Ryan Kelley (2-of-9, 9) also saw action.
 
True freshman Tuna Altahir led the Eagles in rushing yards for the second-straight scrimmage, racking up 64 yards on nine carries. Davante Smith followed with 48 yards on six carries. Efton Chism III recorded five catches for 55 yards to lead the team in receiving.
 
It's now on to UNLV prep for the Eagles, who will face the Rebels for their season opener on Sept. 2 at 7:06 p.m. at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev. The game will be broadcast on Stadium and can be heard on 700-AM ESPN.

"Having not been in camp for two years, a true training camp, this has been probably the most energetic camp I can remember in a long time. We have two senior classes and two freshmen classes, so they kind of balance each other out. From an energy and a passion standpoint, we've had less hiccups this camp in totality than we have in, I can't remember how long," concluded Best. "It has been good. The weather has coped with us a little bit, so that has helped. The players have really taken it upon themselves, knowing that they haven't been in camp for a while, to get their minds and bodies in shape for when we tee it up on Thursday next week."

Scrimmage Statistics:
Total Offense: Rushing 33-174, Passing 47-209, Totals 80 plays, 383 yards.
 
Scoring Plays (4 touchdowns, 3 field goals = 37 points; 2 for defense on safety)
Seth Harrison 38-yard field goal
Jakobie James 21-yard pass from Simon Burkett (Jackson Cleaver kick)
Wyatt Hawkins 38-yard field goal
Safety – Davante Smith tackled in end zone by Ahmani Williams and Jacob Newsom
Nolan Ulm 11-yard pass from Gunner Talkington (Cleaver kick)
Josh Johnson 31-yard pass from Kekoa Visperas (Wyatt Hawkins kick)
Harrison 45-yard field goal
 
Rushing: Tuna Altahir 9-64, Davante Smith 6-48, Dennis Merritt 3-31, Justice Jackson 3-22, Gunner Talkington 3-16, Micah Smith 1-3, Trey Turner 2-minus-1, Kekoa Visperas 2-minus-1, Ryan Kelley 3-minus-2, Simon Burkett 1-minus-6, Totals 33-174.
 
Passing: Gunner Talkington 6-of-14-69-1TD, Simon Burkett 4-of-11-60-1TD-2INT, Kekoa Visperas 2-of-4-41-1TD, Trey Turner 4-of-9-30, Ryan Kelley 2-of-9-9, Totals 18-47-209-3TD.
 
Receiving: Efton Chism III 5-55, Nathaniel Smith 2-18, Malaki Roberson 2-14, Isaiah Howard 2-12, Josh Johnson 1-31-1TD, Micah Smith 1-26, Jakobie James 1-21-1TD, Woodley Downard 1-13, Nolan Ulm 1-11-1TD, Davante Smith 1-5, Messiah Jones 1-3, Totals 18-209-3TD.
 
Total Tackles: Ahmani Williams 6, Steven Flowers 6, Shane Aleaga 4, Armani Orange 4, Trevor Thurman 3, Sean Skladany 3, Jacob Newsom 3, Gabriel Johnson 3, Caleb Davis 2, Ronald Davis III 2, Emilio Veater 2, Soli Paleso'o 2, Demetrius Crosby Jr. 3, DaJean Wells 2, LeAndre Gaines 2, Cale Lindsay 2, Chad Vidican 2, Joseph Obeto 2, Kameron Lane 2, Darrien Sampson 1, Cage Schenck 1, Marlon Jones Jr. 1, Keshaun King 1, Mitchell Johnson 1, Daniel Taumoepeau 1, Jacobe Lee 1, Ben Roe 1.
 
Interceptions: Demetrius Crosby Jr. 1, Cage Schenck 1.
 
Sacks: Sean Skladany 1 1/2, Gabriel Johnson 1, Emilio Veater 1, Soli Paleso'o 1/2, Steven Flowers 1/2, Shane Aleaga 1/2, Totals 5.
 
Tackles For Loss: Ahmani Williams 1, Jacob Newsom 1.
 
Passes Broken Up: Cage Schenck 3, Tre Weed 1, Keshaun King, 1, Desmian Licon 1, DaJean Wells 1, Totals 7.
 
Quarterback Hurries: Marlon Jones Jr. 1, Cage Schenck 1, Cale Lindsay 1, Chad Vidican 1, Sean Skladany 1, Gabriel Johnson 1, Soli Paleso'o 1, Caleb Davis 1, Jacob Newsom 1, Totals 9.
 
More from Head Coach Aaron Best:
On Takeaway from Scrimmages vs. Film Sessions: "When you're looking at it in real time, seeing the reads of the quarterback and seeing guys catch the ball like Josh Johnson and going to the end zone, even though they may not exactly be what you scripted, it's a kind of an end results play at the time. When players have interceptions, you applaud on one side and then kind of ask questions on the other side as a head coach. I think there was enough good work in. I don't think we endured an injury that was costly in this one, and that's always kind of the 'hold your breath' moment when you talk about getting into an 80, 90, 95-play scrimmage. I think the starters were active on the sidelines, maybe too active in some ways. We're two and a half weeks into camp, our guys have done a good job up to this point, and we're ready to prepare for another team."

On Cleaning Up Penalties: "There were less mental mistakes today penalty-wise and more physical. We can live with the physical ones. The mental ones, the ones in your control, are the ones you want to stay away from. We endured a few in the special teams department because we're not really playing with our number one special teams unit. In a game, it is so different because you're not looking at scripts, you're not looking at yard lines, you just see the flow of the game take place. You're really dealing with one team on the field; whether it's offense, defense, or special teams, as opposed to two. On the same sideline with 105 guys, it gets a little stuffy, too, but all in all I think our guys did a really good job."

On Putting a Stamp on Fall Camp: "It's fun to do what you do, but it's time to get to the next chapter and phase of things. We'll look at the tape tomorrow morning of this, we'll start prepping film-wise on Friday for UNLV, and then we'll get to practice on Saturday. It's in the books, and we're all excited. It's kind of one of those moments of 'Okay, we're done, now we get a new challenge in front of us, and they actually do keep score.'"

Thoughts on Tuna Altahir: "He'll be a dude by the time his career is done. He got thrown into the mix just like Davante (Smith) really early. We had a couple of running backs not able to take reps early, so they were thrown the playbook. Our playbook is not thin, and so those guys have had to do extra work and got a ton of reps in the first week of camp but in a weird way. Because they were force-fed those reps, they're better at these moments when they get on the stage and scrimmages. It can be a good and bad, but Tuna shined today. Coach (Aaron) Prier has done a great job getting those guys ready, and we had no choice that first week. Both of those young running backs took it upon themselves to learn it and still make mistakes but not make the same ones over and over. They've been a great surprise thus far."