CHENEY, Wash. — It was homecoming for Eastern Washington football on Saturday night, but the team fell short of its goal under lights on Saturday. Eastern fell to No. 6 UC Davis, 48-38, at Roos Field, despite scoring 29 points in the second half. EWU drops to 1-2 in the Big Sky and 2-5 overall, while the Aggies improve to 4-0 in conference and 7-1 this season.
"We're capable of putting things together, in spurts. But it's kind of scary that it's only in spurts and we have to reach for those spurts during the game," head coach Aaron Best explained. "The guys battled and did some good things. We'll look at it on film, but there were too many explosive plays. I thought we gave up too much in the run game, especially late. We knew they were going to run, and they were better running it against us. That was a reverse from last week. We could not get off the field, with them getting 26 first downs. We do play really well in pockets and it's fun to watch and be a part of. You feel that emotion on both sides of the ball. But until we get over that two-quarter stretch, we'll be battling an uphill battle."
UC Davis took control of the game in the second quarter, scoring 28 points after Eastern led by 3 after the first quarter. EWU trailed 28-9 at halftime.
The Eagles' offense found rhythm in the second half, but the Aggies offense matched them score-for-score. Eastern pulled to within seven of UC Davis at 31-24 and 14:19 left in the game.
The Aggies offense responded with 14-straight points to provide enough separation from EWU to get the victory.
Efton Chism III set a career-best with 15 catches, while racking up 170 yards, three shy of his career-best. He added one touchdown as well.
Kekoa Visperas completed 30-of-42 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns. Visperas also led the team with 57 rushing yards and two touchdowns, on 14 carries.
Scoring Summary
Eastern broke the scoreless tie at the five-minute mark of the first quarter as Soren McKee converted a 25-yard field goal. The drive lasted 10 plays and 56 yards. The field goal was set up by a 24 yard pass from Kekoa Visperas to Michael Wortham, along with a 14 yard rush by Visperas.
The Aggies hit back in the second quarter, as Lan Larison broke free for a 53 yard run and UC Davis had a 7-3 lead with 11:59 left in the half. They scored again at the 8:11 mark on a 40 yard run to go up 14-3.
Down by 11, Eastern turned to their All-American Efton Chism III for the answer and the senior took the pass from Visperas for 61 yards. The catch-and-run was Chism's longest career reception. The Eagles cut the deficit to 14-9 and 6:30 on the clock.
UC Davis waited no time with the response, marching 73 yards on five plays in little over a minute. The Aggies capped off the drive with a 26 yard touchdown throw and the lead was 21-9.
Near the end of the half, UC Davis added to its advantage with another quick score, going 70 yards in 5 plays over 1:18 minutes. EWU trailed 28-9 at halftime.
Looking to get back in the game, Eastern organized a drive on their first possession of the second half. Visperas found Wesley Garrett for 38 yards and into Aggies' territory. After moving to the UC Davis 1-yard line, Visperas connected with Garrett again for the touchdown. Eastern cut into the lead and trailed 28-15.
The Aggies pushed the ball down the field on the ensuing drive and connected on a 46 yard field goal to add to their lead, 31-15.
EWU looked to further reduce the deficit as Visperas took command in the pocket. He found Chism twice for 35 yards, while connecting with JP Murphy for a 23 yard gain. After getting the ball to the 2-yard line, Visperas called his own number for the score. Eastern trailed 31-21 with 3:44 left in the quarter.
Starting the fourth quarter, the Eagles again moved the ball into the Aggies' territory with a 12 yard catch from Chism, along with getting help from a 10 yard penalty. Jackson Cleaver then came on and hit a 45 yard kick to cut the lead down to a score, a career-best for the redshirt-junior.
Not to be outdone, UC Davis used a 7 play, 75 yard drive to score the team's first touchdown of the second half and go up 38-24 with 12:33 left in the game.
The Aggies began to try and pull away, scoring again on their next possession with a 90 yard touchdown catch by Samuel Gbatu, Jr. The lead grew to 45-24 with 10:50 left in the game.
Following a turnover by UC Davis on a muffed punt, Eastern had the ball on the Aggies 26 yard line. An 18 yard catch by Chism put EWU first and goal on the UC Davis 1 yard line. Jared Taylor got the call and ran the ball in for the touchdown, cutting the lead to 45-31 at 7:54.
UC Davis tacked on a 37 yard field goal with 4:39 left and the Aggies were up 48-31.
Wortham sparked the Eagles on the next drive with a 79 yard return. Visperas raced for a 19- yard touchdown two plays later to pull the game back to within 10.
Aggies held on to its lead and won the game, 48-38.
Eag Notes
- Efton Chism III posted his 8th career 100 yard receiving game. He now has 3,291 yards, passing Kendrick Bourne for 5th on the program's all-time list. With his 32nd career touchdown catch, Chism tied Shaq Hill for 5th all-time. He is now up to 295 career receptions.
- Kekoa Visperas posted his 4th career 300 yard passing yard game.
- Derek Ganter Jr. career-high 11 tackles and also recorded his first career sack against the Aggies.
- The Eagles had a season-best 3 sacks against UC Davis, as Brock Harrison and Matthew Brown joined Ganter Jr. in getting the to the quarterback
- Wesley Garrett scored his first career touchdown, adding career-bests, 7 catches for 76 yards. He also earned his first career fumble recovery, the Eagles first fumble recovery of the season.
- The Eagles won the turnover battle 1-0 over the Aggies.
- UC Davis outgained Eastern 549 to 402 in total yards.
Up Next
Eastern has a short road trip next week as they head south to play No. 13/14 Idaho on Saturday, Oct. 26 with kickoff at 6 p.m. Pacific Time.
Season and single game 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.
FOLLOW THE EAGLES
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
