CHENEY, Wash. — Consider the red defended.
Playing in front of their home fans for the first time this season, the Eastern Washington Eagles returned to their high-flying ways on Saturday afternoon at Roos Field, taking down the 19th-ranked Southeastern Louisiana Lions, 40-29. Quarterback Kekoa Visperas threw for a new career-best 349 yards, dotting in two touchdowns through the air as the Eags earned their first win of the year, and first win over an FCS-ranked opponent since 2021.
It was a back-and-forth, punch-for-punch affair on the red turf in Cheney as the scoring margin was never more than 7 points until a late interception for a touchdown by EWU cornerback Marlon Jones Jr. — his first career pick-six — sealed the win with under 90 seconds left.
"Defense played outstanding," said head coach Aaron Best. "Outside of a few explosive plays, I don't know that we were caught out of position very much. We made the biggest plays at the end when we needed to."
Southeastern got off to quick start, returning the opening kickoff 56 yards to give the Lions a short field. They converted four plays later as quarterback Zach Clement rushed to the right edge for a 7-yard touchdown, quieting the energized home crowd.
The Eagles responded with a methodical, 15-play march down the field that ended in a Visperas pass to wideout Efton Chism III on a crossing route in the back of the endzone. The score, Chism's second of the season, was emblematic of the Eastern offense on the day. In their six scoring possessions — two field goals and four touchdowns — EWU averaged 10.2 plays. They finished the game with 92 plays to SLU's 59, with 34:18 of possession time to SLU's 25:42, outgaining the Lions 530 to 293.
"It was a controlled effort as far as time of possession on offense. I'd like to see more touchdowns in the red zone area… (but) I thought in all three phases, we were victorious today."
Wideout Nolan Ulm had an outstanding first half, setting a new career high with 9 receptions, all in the first 30 minutes of play, including Eastern's second touchdown of the day on a 5-yard dart from Visperas with a defensive lineman bearing down on him.
After a second score by SLU tight end Bauer Sharp made it 21-20 for the visitors at the end of the third, Eastern pounded the ball 85 yards on 10 plays, capped by a dogged second effort to find the endzone by Justice Jackson, marking the tailback's second-straight game with a score.
SLU refused to back down, however, rallying for the lead again with 5:39 left in the fourth when Clement found redshirt senior tight end Jacob Logan for a 19-yard touchdown. A successful two-point conversion made it a 29-26 lead for the Lions.
"We could've done more, but (Southeastern) is a good football team. That's going to happen. You're not just going to pull away," added Best.
Backs against the wall, Visperas showed veteran poise in just his fourth career start, throwing for 47 yards and rushing for 13 to get the Eagles down to the one-yard line. Starting running back Tuna Altahir punched it in to give Eastern a four-point advantage with 1:34 left on the clock.
The Lions' first play of the next possession was disastrous as Clement's pass to the left hash went high, where a waiting Jones Jr. caught it and returned 34 yards for the game-clinching points. It was the Preseason All-Big Sky selection's first interception of the season (7th career).
Visperas finished 33-for-47 with 349 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT, adding 19 net yards rushing. Jackson led Eagle running backs with 92 yards on 12 attempts, scoring once. Altahir added 41 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Chism led receivers with 103 yards and 1 TD on 9 receptions, tying a career high in catches.
Transfer linebackers Ben Allen and Adam Cohen led the defense with 8 tackles apiece. Safety Kentrell Williams posted 7 solo tackles. Eastern sacked the quarterback twice — LB Jaren Banks had 1.5.
Soren McKee finished 2-for-3 kicking on the day, with makes from 26 and 39 while a 28-yarder in the first quarter got blocked. All-Big Sky punter Nick Kokich had a quiet day, taking just one snap to pin SLU inside their own five yard line.
Eastern's last win over a ranked FCS opponent came in 2021, when they knocked off #6 UC Davis, 38-20 on the road. The Eagles will return to that stadium next week to face the Aggies — ranked 16th in the the Week 3 polls — with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23.
Eastern's next home game is Saturday, September 30 vs. Idaho. It will be Welcome Weekend at Roos Field in Cheney as we welcome students and faculty back to campus. Tickets for Sept. 30 and all EWU Athletics events are available at goeags.com/tickets or vis 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.
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