CHENEY, Wash. — There is a long history of battles between Eastern Washington and Montana, with Saturday night's matchup being no different. The No. 8/9 Grizzlies managed to outlast the Eagles at Roos Field, 52-49, and avoid the upset. EWU falls to 0-1 in the Big Sky and 1-4 overall, while Montana is 4-1 with a 1-0 mark in conference.
"We were clicking in the fourth quarter. [Montana] was the eighth-ranked team in the country for a reason. We exposed some things we thought we could, offensively, against that defense," head coach Aaron Best explained. "I think the protection, for the better part of the night, was really done well. We did well enough to give ourselves a chance, but we just didn't get it done. From this past Monday on, we wanted the guys to leave everything out there and they did that. There was a ton of guts and a ton of belief."
The game started with four lead changes before Montana built some separation, going into halftime with a 31-14 lead.
After falling behind by 17 in the third quarter, Eastern rapidly closed the gap in the fourth quarter, scoring two-straight touchdowns to cut the lead to three. Kekoa Visperas found Efton Chism III for the first score, then an onside kick recovery allowed the Eagles another opportunity. Visperas ran the ball in for himself on the next drive, part of a 7 play, 53-yard effort.
The two teams traded touchdowns as the clock ran down in the fourth quarter. The Eagle defense could not make the stop and Montana held on for the three-point win.
Visperas accounted for 6 touchdowns against Montana with 4 passing and 2 rushing. He finished 22-for-38 for 265 yards, while rushing 11 times for 69 yards.
Chism ended his night with 8 catches for 107 yards, matching his career-best with 3 touchdown receptions. It was Chism's 8th career 100 yard receiving game.
"The stadium was electric and it felt like the good old days a little bit, with some back-and-forth banter between the fan bases," Best added. "There was juice going and a lot of belief. We just fell short and ran out of time. At some point, we have to rely on the guys and you can't just rely on one unit."
Scoring Summary
After Eastern missed a 40-yard field goal, Montana moved into the redzone with a 55-yard catch-and-run from Junior Bergen. The Grizzlies then converted on a 29-yard field goal to go up 3-0.
The EWU offense responded as Vispers completed passes to Malik Dotson and Michael Wortham to move the ball down the field. On the two-yard line, Visperas called his own number and ran in for the touchdown. Eastern now led, 7-3.
It was Montana's turn to respond, and they moved the ball down the field in 6 plays over 75 yards, scoring on a 29-yard pass. The Grizzlies retook the lead, 10-7 with 2:23 left in the first quarter.
The Eagles were up to the challenge, as Visperas completed two passes to Noah Cronquist for 22 yards to get the momentum back. Jared Taylor was in as the signal caller and found Chism for 23 yards on the pass and EWU was into the redzone. Two plays later, Visperas fired a pass to Chism for the 7-yard touchdown. Eastern was back in front, 14-10.
The game was settling into a shoot-out as Montana went on a 8 play, 75-yard drive to strike for the Grizzlies' second touchdown of the game, an 8-yard rush. Montana had the lead, 17-14 at the 9:56 point of the second quarter. With under 5 minutes in the half, Grizzlies quarterback Logan Fife found Bergen again for 47-yards and his second touchdown. The lead grew to 24-14.
Montana added one more touchdown with 12 seconds remaining in the half, going 89 yards in 11 plays to lead 31-14 at half.
After Eastern's defense stopped the Grizzlies on their first possession of the second half, the offense went to the ground game to get back in the game. Taylor took the ball and sprinted for 48 yards, a career-long run, for a touchdown and earned the scored EWU needed. They trailed 31-21 and 8:37 on the clock.
Despite the effort, Montana had the answer on the next drive. Eli Gillman darted for a 69 yards and pushed the Grizzlies' lead to 38-21.
The Eagles were not going to go quietly, as the Visperas hit Wortham for 24 yards. Visperas next found Austin York for a big play of 41 yards to the Montana 6-yard line. On the next play, Visperas found Chism again for the touchdown and the lead had been cut down to 38-28.
Sensing the momentum shift, Eastern recovered an onside kick, as Jackson Cleaver recovered his own attempt to steal a possession. EWU moved the ball down the field on the ground, getting 10 yard rushes from Tuna Altahir and Dotson. In the redzone, Visperas again carried the ball himself for a 7-yard touchdown. The Eagles had brought the lead down to a one possession at 38-35 and 10:59 on the clock.
Montana stemmed the tide with a 11 play, 75 yard drive to get some separation at 45-35. Following the drive, there was 5:11 left in the game.
Eastern not going away, Visperas hit Chism with a 50-yard, down the middle, touchdown pass. Chism had to shimmy and shake for the last 12-yards into the endzone to close the gap to 45-42.
Montana went the distance, moving the ball 75-yards in six plays to create some distance at 52-42, leaving 2:34 left for the Eagles.
The Eagles had one last effort, with Visperas connecting with Cole Pruett for a 16-yard touchdown pass with :52 left on the clock.
The effort was there for the Eagles, but the Grizzlies were able to run out the clock and secure the win.
Eag Notes
- Efton Chism III eclipsed 3000 receiving yards for his career and now has 3054 total. He passed Tony Brooks for sixth on the all-time receiving yards list. Chism is also the seventh Eagle to record 3000 career yards. His three touchdowns give him 31 for his career, passing Aaron Boyce for 6th on the all-time list.
- Eastern Washington topped 551 yards of total offense and 250 or more rushing yards for the second time this season. The Eagles previously had the offensive stat lines against Monmouth.
- Cage Schenck and Trevor Thurman combined to record the pair's first sack of their Eastern career in the first quarter.
- Adam Cohen also recorded his first career sack as an Eagle.
- Derek Ganter Jr. recorded 8 tackles for the third consecutive game.
- EWU was 5-of-6 on redzone opportunities.
Up Next
Eastern Washington will have a bye week in Week 6, but returns to the road to play Sacramento State on Saturday, October 12 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. The Hornets are currently ranked No. 10 in both the Coaches' and Stats Perform Top 25.
