RENO, Nev. — Eastern Washington football had a difficult road matchup on Saturday afternoon, taking on Nevada from the Mountain West. The Wolf Pack defeated Eastern, 49-16 at Mackay Stadium.
Nevada was up by 18 at halftime and cruised to the 33-point win in the second half.
The Wolf Pack limited Eastern to 178 passing yards.
Their rush offense racked up 320 rushing yards in the game, with 214 passing yards to complement the ground attack. The Wolf Pack rushers averaged 7.1 yards per attempt to wear down the EWU offense with 45 total attempts.
The teams were even in turnovers with one interception each.
Eastern put up 170 yards on the ground with Jared Taylor leading the team with 73 yards on 12 carries. Malik Dotson added 67 yards on 11 carries. Efton Chism III led the Eagle receiving core with 11 catches for 85 yards, his second 10-plus reception game this season.
Scoring Summary
Nevada's offense was efficient to start the game, organizing scoring drives on its first two possessions. The Wolf Pack had a 9-yard touchdown run and a 4-yard touchdown pass to take a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Eastern countered with a 15-play drive that went 74 yards and ended with a 19 yard field goal from Soren McKee. Malik Dotson rushed four times for 26 yards and Noah Cronquist had a shifty 12 yard catch to set up the field goal. EWU trailed 14-3.
The Wolf Pack quickly drove 75 yards to score its third touchdown and open a 21-3 lead as the first half came to a close.
Nevada opened the second half with a 10-play, 75 yard drive that pushed the Wolf Pack lead to 28-3. As the third quarter expired, Nevada delivered a 24 touchdown strike to extend the lead to 35-3.
EWU got its offense going to start the fourth quarter, as Jared Taylor took a carry 27 yards and into Nevada territory. Taylor added another 19 yard rush to move into the redzone on the Wolf Pack 7 yard line. Dotson then capped off the drive with a 2 yard touchdown run. Eastern attempted the two-point conversion, but was unsuccessful. The Eagles trailed 35-9.
The response from Nevada arrived swiftly as they moved 75 yards in 2:44 to match the EWU touchdown. The Wolf Pack led 42-9.
The Eagles utilized their three-quarterback system on the next drive, as Kekoa Visperas threw a pass out to Michael Wortham, who looked down field and found Noah Cronquist for a 42 yard touchdown. Cronquist's touchdown made the score 42-16.
Despite not giving up, Nevada ran in for another score with a 3-yard touchdown to make the score 49-16.
Eag Notes
- Brock Harrison recorded his first sack of the season and now has 7.5 in his Eastern career.
- Kentrell Williams Jr. intercepted his third career pass at the end of the second quarter. It was Williams Jr. 's second interception this season.
- Malik Dotson scored his third career touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game.
- Michael Wortham threw his third career touchdown pass to Noah Cronquist. It was Cronquist's second straight game with a touchdown catch.
Up Next
Eastern Washington is back at Roos Field next week to host No. 9 Montana, with kickoff at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
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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