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42
Idaho St. ISU 5-6 , 3-4
77
Winner Eastern Wash. EWU 4-7 , 3-4
Idaho St. ISU
5-6 , 3-4
42
Final
77
Eastern Wash. EWU
4-7 , 3-4
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ISU Idaho St. 14 14 7 7 42
EWU Eastern Wash. 21 28 7 21 77
Taylor TD vs. ISU '242024 1116 Idaho State at EWU
Bridget Mayfield

Game Recap: Football |

Eagles break points, rushing record to route Bengals

Eastern Washington had a historic day against Idaho State to celebrate Senior Day

CHENEY, Wash. — The final home game of the 2024 season was one for the record books as Eastern Washington football as they sent its senior class off in style. Eastern defeated Idaho State, 77-42, on Saturday night at Roos Field, scoring the most points in program history against a Division I team. EWU is now 3-4 in the Big Sky and 4-7 overall this season.

After trading touchdowns in the first quarter, Eastern scored 28 points in the second to break the game open with a 49-28 lead. 

EWU's scoring rate slowed slightly in the second half, but still produced 28 points to earn the route. The Eagle defense held the Bengals to 14 points in the second half. 

"This was an awesome game to watch. I think the offensive staff did a magnificent job putting the game plan together. We executed it to the fullest," head coach Aaron Best said "There's not too many records for Eastern to break and those will go down as some of the biggest ones in history. It was 49-28 at half and it was a three possession game and they were getting the ball after half, which was an odd feeling. We talk about winning the middle eight [minutes]. They scored near the end of the second quarter, but we scored right after them. We then stopped them to start the third quarter and scored again right after."

The record-breaking points was powered by a record breaking rushing effort as the Eagles amassed 478 yards on 52 carries. The team scored 10 rushing touchdowns, three more than the previous program record. 

Eastern accumulated 704 yards of total offense, the first time the team has recorded 700-plus yards since the team had 754 yards against Western Illinois (9/18/21). It was also the most yards since the team broke the program record with 837 yards against Idaho (10/16/21)

Jared Taylor raced past his career-best in rushing yards, finishing with 163 on 18 carries. Taylor also set a career-best with three rushing touchdowns. 

Michael Wortham rushed for a career-best 109 yards on only five carries and two touchdowns, matching his career-best.

Kekoa Visperas threw for 206 yards, with one touchdown throw, and rushed for 48 yards and three touchdowns - a career-best. He was a perfect 14-of-14 on passes, setting a program record for completion percentage (min. 10 attempts). 

Efton Chism III led the team with 12 catches for 157 yards and one touchdown.

"Going into halftime up 21; the game wasn't out of hand even though the scoreboard said three possessions," Best added. "We found holes in their offense and defense. They're not a high pressure team on defense and they try to keep everything in front of them. I challenged the offense to be more explosive and they rose to the occasion."

Scoring Summary

On senior day, Eastern started the scoring on the opening drive. Keka Visperas found Efton Chism III for a 23 yard gain into Bengal territory. Tuna Altahir moved the Eagles into the redzone with an 11 yard rush. Then it was Visperas calling his own number and he ran it from 7 yards out. Eastern went up 7-0. 

ISU was quick to respond, going 75 yards in 6 plays in 2:10, ending with a 14-yard touchdown pass. The game was tied with 9:24 on the clock .

With the answer, EWU pushed the ball down the field, getting a 14 yard rush from Malik Dotson and an 11 yard run from Jared Taylor. Out of the backfield, Dotson took the pass and powered 34 yards down the field to the Bengal 11 yard line. One play later, Michael Wortham ran the ball in from the QB spot for a 9 yard score.

Following a fourth-down stop from the Eagle defense, the offense looked to build a lead and continued to run the ball effectively, opening with a 14 yard rush from Taylor. A pass interference call on ISU put Eastern into Bengal territory. Wortham raced through the middle of the line and broke off a 25-yard run for the touchdown. EWU was now up 21-7. 

The Bengals had a very quick response as former Eagle Justice Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for the score. Eastern still led, 21-14 and 1:22 left in the quarter. 

Visperas opened the next drive aggressively, starting with a 15 yard completion to Dotson. Visperas then found his number one option, Chism, for 36 yards. Fittingly, Visperas locked in on Chism for a 12 yard TD pass. Eastern's lead grew to 28-14. 

EWU had a short field on its next drive, following an interception from Samarai Anderson. Taylor powered through the line for 20 yards, setting up another redzone opportunity. After another rush from Taylor moved the ball closer, Visperas ran the ball in for his second score of the game. The Eagles were up 35-14 at the 10:04 mark of the quarter. 

The Bengals put together an 11 play, 75 yard drive to match the Eagle score, with a 19 yard TD reception to cap off the drive. 

On the next Eagle drive, Eastern continued a balanced offensive attack. On a trick play, Wortham completed a pass to Taylor for 20 yards and put the ball on the ISU 10 yard line. It was Dotson on the next play, who carried the ball up the middle for the touchdown. EWU pushed the lead back to 21 at 42-21 with 2:44 left in the half. 

ISU struck right back with a 41-yard touchdown pass, part of a 7 play, 76 yard drive. The score was 42-28 and 1:05 on the clock.

Ignoring the clock, Visperas directed the Eagles down the field, finding Chism twice for 31 yards. Visperas, yet again, carried the ball inside the 10 yard line for his third score of the game. Eastern went into the half leading 49-28. 

Out of halftime, Eastern didn't miss a step on offense as Taylor continued his career-game on the ground. He put the Eagles in the redzone again with a 31 yard rush. Taylor would scamper for a 12-yard touchdown in EWU's 7th rushing touchdown of the game. The lead was now 56-28. 

The Bengals pushed to stay in the game, slowly moving the ball 70 yards in 13 plays. They scored on a 6-yard touchdown and the score was 56-35 and 1:23 left in the 3rd. 

Like the whole, Eastern had a response to the ISU score. They put together a 6-play, 75 yard drive, with Taylor running the ball for his second score of the game. They now led 63-35.

Going for an even 70, Wortham raced for a 65 yard run for another scoring opportunity. Taylor made it a hat trick with his third rushing touchdown from 11 yards out. It was 70-35 with 7:12 on the clock. 

ISU made a last effort, scoring a touchdown on a 12 play, 70 yard drive. EWU was up 70-42 and 3:01 left in the game.

The Eagles had to make it one more score in the game and they turned to senior running back Brandon Montoya. The Wishram, Wash. native twice on the final drive for 17 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown. 

Eag Notes
  • Eastern Washington's 77 points is the most against a division I team in program history, surpassing the 74 points scored against Portland State (11/16/18). It is the third most points scored ever in program history. The Eagles scored 114 against Spokane U (11/24/14) and 84 against North Stars (10/30/08). They scored 49 points in the 1st half, tying for the second most points in a half all time. Eastern crossed the 50-point threshold for the first time since 2021 against Idaho (71). 
  • EWU's 478 rushing yards topped the 454 against Cal State Northridge (9/25/99). The 10 rushing touchdowns passed the program's record of 7 scored in the same game against Northridge. 
  • Michael Wortham broke the school record for kickoff return yards in a season with 983, passing Vernon Williams (973).
  • Eastern was 15-for-15 on passing the ball (Visperas, 14-14; Taylor 1-1), breaking the program record of 90.0 percent set against Montana State (11/9/23). Visperas broke the record held by Erik Meyer, who completed 19-of-21(90.5) passes against Northern Arizona (10/9/04).
  • Eastern scored touchdowns on all 11 of its drives. They were 10-of-10 on redzone opportunities.
  • Efton Chism III posted his 11th career 100-plus game. He caught his 38th career touchdown pass. He passed Brandon Kaufman for third on the all-time receiving yard list and has 3733 total for his career. 
  • Eastern improved to 74-7 since 2010 when winning the turnover margin, earning a plus-1 margin today.
  • Samarai Anderson earned his first career interception in the second quarter. 
  • Malik Dotson combined for over 100 yards of total offense. He rushed 6 times for 62 yards and caught 2 passes for 49 yards.
  • Brock Harrison earned his 4th sack of the season and has 10.5 in his career. 
  • Brandon Montoya scored his first career touchdown in his final home game. 

Up Next
Eastern Washington concludes the 2024 season next Saturday (Nov. 23) as they travel to play Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Ariz., with kickoff at 12 p.m. Pacific Time.
 

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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Scoring Summary

Scoring Summary
Scoring Play Visiting Team Score Home Team Score
1st Quarter ISU EWU
EWU
11:34 - EWU - Visperas,Kekoa 7 yd run (McKee,Soren kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:26
0 7
ISU
09:24 - ISU - Fredricksen,Christian 14 yd pass from Tracy,Kobe (Panikowski,Gabe kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:10
7 7
EWU
06:28 - EWU - Wortham,Michael 9 yd run (McKee,Soren kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:56
7 14
EWU
01:39 - EWU - Wortham,Michael 25 yd run (McKee,Soren kick), 5 plays, 62 yards, TOP 02:00
7 21
ISU
01:22 - ISU - Jackson,Justice 85 yd kickoff return (Panikowski,Gabe kick)
14 21
2nd Quarter ISU EWU
EWU
12:07 - EWU - Chism III,Efton 12 yd pass from Visperas,Kekoa (McKee,Soren kick) 8 plays, 79 yards, TOP 04:09
14 28
EWU
10:04 - EWU - Visperas,Kekoa 3 yd run (McKee,Soren kick), 3 plays, 32 yards, TOP 01:19
14 35
ISU
05:26 - ISU - Nunnally,Tsion 19 yd pass from Tracy,Kobe (Panikowski,Gabe kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:38
21 35
EWU
02:44 - EWU - Dotson,Malik 10 yd run (McKee,Soren kick), 6 plays, 57 yards, TOP 02:35
21 42
ISU
01:05 - ISU - Fredricksen,Christian 41 yd pass from Tracy,Kobe (Panikowski,Gabe kick) 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 01:32
28 42
EWU
00:30 - EWU - Visperas,Kekoa 7 yd run (McKee,Soren kick), 5 plays, 49 yards, TOP 00:28
28 49
3rd Quarter ISU EWU
EWU
08:20 - EWU - Taylor,Jared 12 yd run (McKee,Soren kick), 10 plays, 79 yards, TOP 05:32
28 56
ISU
01:23 - ISU - Brown,Raiden 6 yd pass from Tracy,Kobe (Panikowski,Gabe kick) 13 plays, 70 yards, TOP 06:49
35 56
4th Quarter ISU EWU
EWU
13:32 - EWU - Taylor,Jared 4 yd run (McKee,Soren kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:45
35 63
EWU
07:12 - EWU - Taylor,Jared 11 yd run (McKee,Soren kick), 4 plays, 85 yards, TOP 02:16
35 70
ISU
03:01 - ISU - Brooks,Dason 1 yd run (Panikowski,Gabe kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:06
42 70
EWU
00:58 - EWU - Montoya,Brandon 7 yd run (McKee,Soren kick), 5 plays, 46 yards, TOP 02:01
42 77

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