CHENEY, Wash. — It's homecoming week for Eastern Washington football and the Eagles have momentum after a road, upset win. Eastern hosts No. 6 UC Davis on Saturday (Oct. 19), with kickoff at 4 p.m. for the university's 101st homecoming celebration.
Purchase tickets to the game online by clicking the link HERE. Following the game, there will be a live fireworks show for the fans at Roos Field.
The game will be broadcast live on SWX and streamed on ESPN+. Listen to all the action live on 700 ESPN and the Varsity App with the voices of the Eagles, Larry Weir and Paul Sorensen.
Last Time Out
Eastern Washington emerged from the road trip with its first Big Sky win of the season, knocking off No. 18/20 Sacramento State, 35-28. The Hornets had the lead at halftime, 21-14. The turning point of the game came in the third quarter, starting with a 4-yard TD catch by Tuna Altahir to tie the game at 21. On the ensuing kickoff, the Eagles recovered Jackson Cleaver's onside kick to get another possession. Jared Taylor capped off the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to give Eastern its first lead of the game in the third quarter. Taylor helped extend the Eagle lead near the end of the game, carrying 5 times for 51 yards. He raced for his second touchdown of the game from 23 yards out to build a 14-advantage. Sac. St. scored late to pull within 7, but EWU managed to recover the Hornets onside kick attempt to clinch the game.
Altahir finished the game with 102 yards, with Taylor adding 98. Alphonse Oywak grabbed his first career interception in the third quarter of the game. He finished with 3 tackles as well.
Cheers to 50
Head coach Aaron Best earned his 50th career victory after defeating Sacramento State, 35-28, this past Saturday. The win makes Best the 5th head coach in program history to achieve the milestone, joining Paul Wulff, Beau Baldwin, W.B. "Red" Reese and Dick Zornes. Best is in his 8th season as head coach and helped EWU improve to 13-1 all time against the Hornets in Sacramento. The win was also Best's 11th win over a ranked team in his tenure.
Perfect against the Aggies
Eastern Washington carries a perfect 11-0 record against UC Davis in program history, going 6-0 in Cheney and 5-0 on the road. The two teams met last season in Davis with Eastern upsetting the No. 15 Aggies, 27-24. Michael Wortham scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter with 13:08 on the clock. After Davis drove down into the redzone with under four minutes to play in the game, Isaiah Perez blocked the Aggies' field goal attempt to keep the lead safe.
Offense Revved Up
After 6 games, Eastern is averaging 33.0 points per game to rank 3rd in the Big Sky. They average 434.2 yards of total offense, placing them 4th in the conference. EWU's 213.3 rushing yards per game is good for 3rd in the league, while the passing offense ranks 6th with 220.8 yards per game. This season, the Eagles have scored 27 touchdowns and made 3 field goals, with 25 extra points.
Chism Keeps Going
Against Sac. St., Efton Chism III caught 7 passes for 67 yards to lead the Eagles. He improved his career mark to 6.0 receptions per game, and continues to hold 2nd on the program's all-time list. The senior has 3121 career receiving yards, good for 6th in program history. Chism also holds 6th on the all-time touchdown reception list with 31 total. The Monroe, Wash. native is currently in the Big Sky with 580 receiving yards, and leads with 54 receptions and 7 touchdowns. Chism leads the FCS with 9.0 receptions per game, while being ranked 10th in yards and 3rd in receiving touchdowns.
Avoiding the Mistakes
After committing 17 penalties for 220 yards in the first two games of the season, EWU committed only 10 for 110 yards in the past four games. They have moved up to fourth in the conference for fewest penalty yardage, accumulating 320 total penalty yards.
Winning in Turnovers
The turnover battle is key in any game and Eastern Washington knows this first hand. Since 2010, EWU is 73-6 when winning the turnover margin. EWU won the turnover battle against Sac. St., 1-0, with the interception from Oywak.
Secondary Production
Eastern secondary is developing into a strong unit, led by sophomore safety Derek Ganter Jr., redshirt-junior corner DaJean Wells, redshirt-junior Kentrell Williams Jr. and redshirt-junior Alphonse Oywak. Ganter Jr. leads the team with 41.0 total tackles, including 27 solo, putting the sophomore in a tie 14th on the Big Sky tackle leaderboard. He had 3 tackles and one pass breakup against Sac. St. Wells leads the conference with 10 pass breakups this season, adding 23.0 total tackles - 17 solo. The redshirt-junior recorded 4 tackles against the Hornets. Williams Jr. added to his interception against Nevada with a career-high 9 tackles, getting 5 solo. He is second on the team with 26.0 tackles, recording eight-or-more tackles twice this season, and recorded 2 against Sac. St. Oywak is 7th on the team with 18.0 tackles, getting 9 solo.
Season tickets for the 2024 football season are now available. Ticket packages can be purchased online via your Paciolan account, over the phone at 509-359-6059, or by emailing tickets@ewu.edu.
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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