The Eastern Washington University football team concluded Fall Camp today (Aug. 26) with its second and final scrimmage at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. The contest featured 77 plays and 412 yards of total offense, consisting of 338 yards through the air and another 74 on the ground.
 
The offense found the endzone twice thanks to a three-yard rushing touchdown by Simon Burkett and a one-yard rushing touchdown from Brandon Montoya. The two field goals came by way of a 23-yard attempt by Seth Harrison and a 27-yarder from Jackson Cleaver, totaling 20 points.
 
Cage Schenck had the game's lone interception on the final play of the scrimmage and there were six total sacks, two of which came from Sandrey Mitberg.
 
Of the three quarterbacks who saw action, Trey Turner was 11-for-19 and threw for 189 yards. Burkett completed eight of his 16 pass attempts for 113 yards, followed by Kekoa Visperas who was 5-for-9 with 36 yards, totaling 24-44-338 for the trio.
 
"Today was better, I thought it was pretty good. There was a lot of activity and the defense studded up a few different times, it was all three-downs for the most part until the last series. The defense had the advantage that way because it was all three-down territory," said head coach Aaron Best. "The energy was good and the nice thing about the energy is it wasn't all the starters out there providing the energy. You had guys that normally don't, or might not be in those positions being energetic, making plays. A couple too many penalties, but they overcame and I was excited about where we were at by the end of the scrimmage. Overall good, good enough but striving for more. All-in-all with a bunch of guys we had, I thought it was productive and now we are eight days away".
 
Harrison went 2-for-3 on field goal attempts, with the lone miss being on a 56-yard attempt into the wind. He got the offense on the board on the second drive of the scrimmage, capping a nine-play, 71-yard drive.
 
Two plays later, Burkett put the offense in the endzone for the first time with a three-yard rush to end a nine-play, 81-yard drive.
 
The second and final score of the game came on a one-yard rush from Montoya. The score was set up thanks to a 61-yard completion from Turner to Aiden Nellor, and the drive itself lasted seven-plays and 72-yards. Wyatt Hawkins made the extra point attempt.
 
Cleaver, who was 1-for-1 on both field goal attempts and extra point attempts, had the final score of the game on a 27-yard field goal through the uprights. The drive was 16 plays long and spanned 67 yards.
 
On the final play of the game, Schenck grabbed the game's lone interception. Schenck also finished the day with five tackles. True freshman Amani Pressley led the Eagles with seven stops, and Jaren Banks had six. Derek Tommasini and Trevor Thurman each had five tackles as well.
 
Nellor and Robert Mason III each had 61 receiving yards, with Mason's coming on three catches and Nellor had one. Josh Johnson (3-53), Malaki Roberson (3-46) and Nolan Ulm (3-31) also contributed. True freshman Nick Adimora rushed for 45 yards on six carries, followed by Montoya who had seven carries for 23 yards. Tuna Altahir compiled 21 yards on six carries.
 
"We're never where we want to be, but I think when you talk about the layout of the week, we had a good, crisp practice on Tuesday, the guys were off on Wednesday and we had our normal Friday walkthrough yesterday. So, it was kind of a normal setting going into a scrimmage setting, and without the starters, I thought those guys that weren't starters that did play in this scrimmage a lot really took the leadership role they had to," commented Best. "You have guys without pads that are on the sideline, so some of that manufactured energy, whether it be fake or non-fake, is still energy. I think our guys did a really good job, plays were made on both sides of the ball. A few miscues we could clean up, but all in all, I think it was productive. I thought we got what we needed out of it, not necessarily what we wanted out of it, but what we needed out of it, and now we flip the page to put our sights on Tennessee State tomorrow."
 
Following the scrimmage, Eastern Washington enters a typical game week for the program while it prepares for the home opener against Tennessee State. The Eagles clash with the Tigers on Sept. 3 at 1:02 p.m. at Roos Field. The game can be watched locally on SWX and only via ESPN+. Larry Weir and Paul Sorensen will have the call on 700-AM ESPN and 103.5 FM. Tickets are available at GoEags.com/tickets.
 
EWU Football: Fall Camp Scrimmage #2 Statistics, 8/26/22
 
Total Offense: Rushing 33-74, Receiving 24-338 (77 plays, 412 yards of total offense)
 
Scoring Plays: 2 Touchdowns, 2 Field Goals = 20 Points
 
Seth Harrison 23-yard field goal (9-play, 71-yard drive)
 
Simon Burkett 3-yard rushing touchdown (9-play, 81-yard drive) (Jackson Cleaver Kick)
 
Brandon Montoya 1-yard rushing touchdown (7-play, 72-yard drive) (Wyatt Hawkins Kick)
 
Jackson Cleaver 27-yard field goal (16-play, 67-yard drive)
 
Rushing: Nick Adimora (6-45), Brandon Montoya (7-23), Tuna Altahir (6-21), Silas Perreiah (2-6), Davante Smith (2-4), Kekoa Visperas (3- -1), Simon Burkett (4- -1), Team (1- -9) Trey Turner (2 - -14).
 
Receiving: Aiden Nellor (1-61), Robert Mason III (3-61), Josh Johnson (3-53), Malaki Roberson (3-46), Nolan Ulm (3-31), Chris Johnson (1-24), Nick Adimora (2-21), Isaiah Howard (3-16), Anthony Stell Jr. (2-13), Wesley Garrett (1-8), Davante Smith (1-2), Jett Carpenter (1-2).
 
Passing: Trey Turner (11-19-189), Simon Burkett (8-16-113, 1 INT, 1 Rushing TD), Kekoa Visperas (5-9-36). (Totaled 24-44-338).
 
Total Tackles: Amani Pressley 7, Jaren Banks 6, Cage Schenck 5, Derek Tommasini 5, Trevor Thurman 5, Kentrell Williams Jr. 4, Conner O'Farrell 4, Shane Aleaga 4, Chad Vidican 4, Ben Voigtlaender 3, Collin Fujimoto-Young 3, Darrien Sampson 3, Emmanuel Osuoha 3, Sandrey Mitberg 3, Alphonse Oywak 2, Armani Orange 2, Sherwin King Jr. 2, Sean Skladany 2, Jacob Newsom 2, Soli Paleso'o 1, Mitchell Johnson 1, Tre Weed 1, LeAndre Gaines 1, Marlon Jones Jr. 1, Ely Doyle 1, Bryce Brown-Johnson 1, Joseph Obeto 1, Matthew Brown 1, Warren Hardin 1
 
Sacks (6): Sandrey Mitberg 2, Tre Weed 1, Mitchell Johnson ½, Darrien Sampson ½, Collin Fujimoto-Young 1, Matthew Brown 1
 
Interceptions (1): Cage Schenck 1
 
Quarterback Hurries (5): Joseph Obeto 1, Shane Aleaga 1, Collin Fujimoto-Young 1, Warren Hardin 1, Jacob Newsom 1
 
Pass Breakups (3): Joseph Obeto 1, Kentrell Williams Jr. 1, Amani Pressley 1
 
Tackles for Loss (2): Emmanuel Osuoha 1, Chad Vidican 1
 
Comments from Head Coach Aaron Best:
 
On Gunner Talkington: "Gunner is a one and we wanted to evaluate a couple of those other guys just to see where we are going into Tennessee State and the depth chart is ever changing. Gunner was playing really consistent in the spring and even more consistent this fall. He manages the offense and understands what we are asking and doing what his capabilities are so we are excited about throwing him out there next Saturday. He doesn't take anything for granted, he works hard at his craft and again, he came from a walk on in 2017 to a full scholarship and a starter in 2022, so we've got another good story on our team. Has a lot of twists and turns along the way but he is excited for the opportunity and he will be just fine."
 
On Players Who Stood Out: "I will tell you Malaki Roberson caught a couple balls in traffic pretty well and that's what you have to do and those windows are even tighter coming Saturdays against an opponent. So, seeing Malaki catch a few balls and Nolan Ulm doing his thing catching a few balls, Chris Johnson got into the act a little bit. Isaiah Howard caught a couple balls and there is always going to be opportunities to catch balls because we are going to throw the ball and get those guys opportunities to make plays after the catch. But just the consistency overall, I didn't think there were too many drops in and throughout the game. Again, they were coming from Kekoa Visperas, Trey Turner and Simon Burkett, so it was fun to see that there was a lot of production given the fact that Gunner wasn't even suited up with, still, stable receivers that could make plays."
 
On Using Running Backs this Season: "Well, I think we're going to rely on Aaron Prier, our running backs coach, a lot to kind of get a feel how their prep is, where their body is, what kind of personnel we may get in. It may be a week where we may use a lot of two running back sets and less tight end sets. Week in and week out, we have the personnel to be able to get in and out of formations and personnel. There are six or seven guys that are highly competitive in that group, and the best thing about that group is that, not only are they capable, but the best thing about it is that they root for each other, so they're all excited when someone makes a play for the entire group. That's infectious, that's a good infectious piece where a guy is excited about another guy in his position making plays. Those guys know we're going to use those guys, probably all those guys, at some point throughout the season because it is a long season, whether it be on special teams or offense."
 
On the Defense: "Its looked good. We peeled back a little bit of the install last week just to give those guys a better flow, let them kind of play and react to what they're seeing. This defense, year in and year out here in Cheney, sees probably more personnel and more formations than any school at our level in the land. They're kind of force-fed a little bit. There's a bunch of new guys, not just high school guys but also a few transfers who are, you know, they saw maybe two personnel groupings and eight formations their entire camp where they were, now all of the sudden they'll see three personnel groupings and eight formations in a practice. So those are learning curves, but some of the best learning happens when they're forced to learn. They've done a good job with that, and obviously that'll be whittled down as we go forward with the teams we face. The more they get, the more we're able to coach, and the more coaching that they accept and absorb, the better off we'll be as we face the 11 opponents on our schedule."