MOSCOW, Idaho — There were plenty of fireworks in Moscow on Saturday night, but Eastern Washington football was not able to take advantage. Eastern fell to No. 11 Idaho, 38-28, as the Eagles dropped their second-straight game to a ranked conference foe. EWU is now 1-3 in the Big Sky and 2-6 overall.
"I think two things come to mind. I think the game plan offensively was really well put together against a really good defense. I don't think we gave up a sack against the top-sack team," head coach Aaron Best described. "We took some shots down field and guys up front did a great job. Coach [Hayden] Mace did a fabulous job getting those guys ready. We ran the ball in pockets really well. Tuna [Altahir] and Marceese Yetts had some big runs that got the juice following. Self-inflicted is the other part that comes to mind. Missing a field goal late in the second quarter, a long one, but we are capable of making that. Then leaving seven points on the board when we got inside the five. Idaho turned that into a long drive with points. We were off the field late in the game, but had a personal foul. Those were the three things that stuck out to me as self-inflicted."
Eastern kept the Vandals close in the first half, tailing by four at halftime. Efton Chism had nearly 100 yards receiving and Soren McKee made two field goals to provide the scoring.
The Eagles were shutout in the third quarter, and Idaho took advantage with 14-straight points between the third and fourth quarter.
A long drive engineered by Jared Taylor put EWU back in the redzone midway through the fourth. He found JP Murphy in the endzone on a quick hook route to get Eastern's first points of the second half. Following a successful two-point conversion, Eastern trailed by only 10.
Despite the effort, Idaho continued to score and closed out EWU in the game.
Chism finished with 114 yards on seven catches. Taylor rushed 13 times for 67 yards, with Tuna Altahir adding 67 yards on 13 carries as well. Michael Wortham delivered with his first kickoff return touchdown in the fourth quarter, going 100+ yards.
"We tried to flip the field a few times and did late with Mike [Wortham] to get us back within 10 and made the game interesting," Best added. "The team had a ton of guts and a ton of plays made on the road against a top-15 team. Idaho is well coached and physical. I thought, at times, we were the more physical team on offense. But we didn't do enough at the end of the day."
Scoring Summary
The Vandals scored first, pushing the ball 11 plays down the field in 75 yards, ending in a 4-yard touchdown pass.
Eastern's response started through Tuna Altahir, who powered through the Idaho defense for 19 yards on a third-down play. Kekoa Visperas then found Efton Chism III on a great move for 33 yards to put the ball on the Vandal 1-yard line. Visperas took the ball in and tied the game at 7 with 5:35 on the clock.
Idaho put together another touchdown drive, going 12 plays for 83 yards to take a 14-7 lead.
Looking to tie the game up again, Chism raced past the defender and Visperas hit him in stride for a 65 yard gain, a career-best for the senior. The Eagles could not get another first down, but Soren McKee took advantage with a 24-yard field goal. Eastern now trailed 14-10 at the 12:15 point.
The Vandals matched the Eastern score, with a 34-yard field goal of their own. The score was 17-10 with 4:25 left in the half.
EWU wanted another shot at points before the half and went to the ground to power the drive. Marceese Yetts carried 3 times for 26 yards to help move the chains. After the drive stalled in Idaho territory, McKee hit a 44-yard field goal, setting a new career-long for the redshirt-sophomore. The lead was trimmed to 17-13 with 1:24 on the clock. The game went to half with the same score.
Idaho built an 11-point lead in the 3rd quarter, scoring on a touchdown after driving 98 yards on 7 plays. The Vandals led 24-13 and 4:11 left in the third.
With a double-digit lead, Idaho added another touchdown to start the 4th quarter, scoring on a 3-yard rushing touchdown following a 10 play, 52-yard drive. The Vandal lead was now up to 31-13 and 14:25 remaining in the game.
The Eagles were not done in the game as Jared Taylor methodically moved the ball down the field, putting the team into scoring position. At the Idaho 3-yard line, Taylor found JP Murphy for the touchdown, his first career score. On the 2-point conversion, Taylor connected with Chism on the attempt, bringing the lead down to 31-21 with 8:18 left.
Eastern attempted an onside kick, but the Vandals were able to recover the ball. With a short field, Idaho scored from 47 yards out in 6 plays. The lead grew back to 38-21.
After nearly breaking a return the last two seasons, Michael Wortham finally returned a kickoff to the house, going 100-yards officially for the score. The deficit was back to 10 at 38-28 and 4:54 left in the game. Idaho ran the clock out and secured the victory.
Eag Notes
- McKel Broussard earned his first career interception in the second quarter, picking off Idaho's Jack Wagner.
- Efton Chism III recorded his 4th, 100 yard receiving game this season and 10th of his career. Chism's 65-yard catch in the second quarter was a career-long for Kekoa Visperas as well. The Monroe, Wash. native moves into 4th place on the all-time receiving yards list, passing Aaron Boyce. Chism also became only the second player in Eastern Washington history to catch 300 passes.
- Michael Wortham's kickoff return was the first for Eastern since 2019, when Dre'Sonte Dorton returned a kickoff 90 yards against Jacksonville State.
- Derek Ganter Jr. posted double-digit tackles for the second consecutive week, finishing with a career-best 15.
- Conner O'Farrell also had a career-best with 9 tackles. Myles Mayovsky joined the trend with 7 tackles for a career-best.
- Marceese Yetts set a new career-high with 51 rushing yards on 7 carries.
- Matthew Brown recorded the only sack of the game, his second of the season.
- Idaho had a 487 to 388 advantage in total yards.
- The teams tied in turnover margin, 1-1, as EWU had the interception, but lost a fumble.
Up Next
Eastern Washington returns to Cheney next week to host No. 3 Montana State on Saturday, Nov. 2 with kickoff at 1 p.m.
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.
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