CHENEY, Wash. — The Eastern Washington Eagles turned in their most complete performance of the season in soggy conditions at Roos Field on Saturday, rolling over the visiting Cal Poly Mustangs, 48-13. Eastern finished with 374 yards of total offense, including 205 on the ground, gashing the Mustangs for big play after big play as they improved to 4-5 on the season (3-3 in conference).
Michael Wortham returned the opening kickoff to the Cal Poly 14 and RB Tuna Altahir scored his first touchdown on the next play to set the tone for the day.
"(Wortham) is an explosive player. It's fun, and we talked about it all week… (starting) with a big return, and we did that. So we kind of spoke it into existence," said head coach Aaron Best. "Coach (Zach) Bruce has done a good job with that unit and it helps when you have (number) 13 back there."
Defensive end Da'Marcus Johnson forced a fumble on the Mustangs' first possession, sacking University of Washington transfer Sam Huard and swiping the ball loose at the Cal Poly 30 yard line to set up Eastern's next score. Justice Jackson danced inside before breaking it out left to find nothing but red turf, jogging to the endzone from 19 yards out to make it a 14-0 game.
"I'm proud of (us) fighting our tails off in that first 30 minutes… I thought our defense was very stout," Best continued. "We got going in the second quarter, playing complimentary football, tackling people and turning them over (while) not turning ourselves over, which certainly helps."
EWU continued pouring it on in the second, scoring three touchdowns punctuated by an interception return for a score by defensive back Cage Schenck, marking the Woodinville native's second interception of the year and Eastern's third pick-six. DT Isaiah Perez forced the errant lateral with a heavy hit on Huard, pushing the lead to 35-2 with 8:53 left in the frame.
Altahir scored his second of the day, this time on a short pass from Kekoa Visperas, and Soren McKee converted a short field goal to make it a 45-9 game at half. The team's previous high for points in a full game was 41 (at Idaho State).
The rain rarely let up all afternoon and was noticeably heavier in moments, especially early in each half. Eastern managed to not turn the ball over while earning three takeaways, securing another fumble recovery late to add to the Johnson strip sack and Schenck INT.
"At the end of the day you try to look at things holistically, the weather was awful but we fought through that first 30 minutes especially, and that was enough… (they were) not easy elements to play in, but I think we handled it well... I'm proud of our guys for coming out on top and playing energetic. We tend to do that a little bit more on the red (turf). We did that today."
Altahir finished with 12 carries for a season-high 104 yards and 2 touchdowns on the day, his second career game over the century mark (153 vs. Northern Colorado in 2022). He added 36 yards and another touchdown receiving for his first three-touchdown performance. Jackson turned in 100 total yards on 13 touches (11 rushes, 2 receptions). Efton Chism III led all receivers with 5 catches for 62 yards as Visperas was rarely forced to pass, going 15-for-25 for 169 yards and 2 TD.
Defensively, EWU interior lineman Matt Brown led the way with 7 tackles, his second-straight week leading the team in total tackles (10 at Portland State last week). S Zane Thornton and LB Derek Tommasini each had 6, while DE Johnson, LB Conner O'Farrell and true freshman safety Derek Ganter Jr. each turned in 5. Both teams finished with one sack, with Cal Poly's coming late against true freshman Nate Bell, who saw his first action on the field.
In a statistical oddity, Cal Poly was credited with three safeties in the game, two of which can surely be attributed to the wet conditions. Two punt snaps went over P Nick Kokich's head for the automatic result, while the third was a designed retreat by Kokich to give up the two points in exchange for field position.
The Eagles have little time to rest as they'll head to Bozeman next week to face 6th-ranked Montana State on Nov. 11. The 7-2 Bobcats beat Northern Arizona at home on Saturday, 45-21.
Eastern's next home game is Nov. 18 vs. Northern Arizona. It will be Senior Day at Roos Field in Cheney. Tickets for that game and all EWU Athletics events are available at goeags.com/tickets or via the EWU Athletics Ticket Office at 509-359-6059.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
FOLLOW THE EAGLES
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
