CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington football was on Roos Field Wednesday afternoon for the team's final scrimmage before the 2024 season begins. The majority of Eastern's starters did not dress, giving the depth of the team a chance to get live reps. 

"It's never as bad and never as good as we see in person. We'll see it better on film, head coach Aaron Best explained. "The defense came out for the first two-thirds of the scrimmage and did what they needed to do. They showed a little bit more energy. We're playing a lot of young guys on offense, but that's not an excuse for a lack of execution. The number one priority is coming out healthy and we accomplished that goal." 

The defense shut out the offense during the hour-and-fifteen minute scrimmage

Sophomore defensive tackle Jirah Leaupepetele recorded eight tackles and had four sacks(unofficial). 

"It feels good to be out there and the most important thing is dominating. We treat everything like a gameday," Leaupepetele described. "The new guys we added, I feel like brought in a lot of talent and depth to our defense. It helps to build off of what we have already. Coach Johnson just has energy that he brings out everyday. He talks about how the defensive line is like the heartbeat of the defense and the team. He wants us to come out with energy everyday; that's his emphasis." 

Redshirt-sophomore and defensive back Drew Carter, picked off two passes on the day, adding a pair of tackles. 

Five Eagles notched three tackles during the scrimmage including Ambrose Marsh (Fr.-DB), Yemoni Howell (R-Fr.-DE), Waylon Romero (Fr.-DL), Justis La'ulu (R-So.-DT) and Ethan Williamson (R-So.-DT).  

In total, 28 different Eagles recorded a tackle on Wednesday. 

A pair of true freshmen carried the load in the backfield, with Marceese Yetts rushing eight times for 24 yards and Kevin Allen III rushing five times for 16 yards. 

Nate Bell led five series, completing 5-of-10 passes for 51 yards. 

Best talked about the shift in focus with fall camp now concluded,

"We're going straight from camp to preparation [for Monmouth]. We've been practicing for three-and-a-half weeks.Like everybody, it's nice to now face an opponent that isn't your friend or locker mate. There's a ton of prep. It's fun to hand out a scouting report and work a game plan against an opponent, not fine-tuning what they're doing against their teammates. We're here and we'll be back practicing on Friday."

Eastern Washington hosts its 2024 season opener at Roos Field in eight days against Monmouth with kickoff at 6 p.m. The Eagles were picked to finish sixth in the preseason media poll and eighth in the coaches' poll. 
 

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The Eagles open the 2024 regular season on Aug. 29 vs. Monmouth! 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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