CHENEY, Wash. — The magic at Roos Field came up just short for Eastern Washington football on Saturday night, as they fell to Drake, 35-32 in overtime. Eastern had the lead in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs managed to rally to tie and force overtime. EWU converted a field goal in their opportunity in overtime, but Drake was able to score a touchdown to clinch the game.

"I think it's easy to come out of a game that you played pretty well, collectively, and think it's going to be carbon copied next week. It is the game of football. If you think it's going to go the same every quarter or series, you're going to mistake yourself. It is how you roll with that adversity," head coach Aaron Best explained. "Any loss is tough, either home or away. We had a chance at 2-0 on our home turf for the first time in a while, but it didn't work out that way. I want to see what kind of fire-mentality it creates because every team is different. I want to see how we respond after a loss, since it's now in our rear view mirror. We see how we responded after a win and it wasn't what we anticipated. We will find out quickly on Monday what the mentality is because it's a short week with us traveling on Thursday." 

The two teams battled back and forth, with seven lead changes through four quarters and an overtime period. 

The Eagles rushed for 206 yards on 47 carries in the game - 4.4 per attempt. Tuna Altahir led the team with 12 carries for 94 yards and one touchdown. 

Michael Wortham amassed 189 all-purpose yards against the Bulldogs and accounted for three touchdowns. He had 132 return yards, while carrying the ball 11 times for 46 yards and two scores. He threw a touchdown pass to Efton Chism III in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs's offense was driven by their passing game, totaling 393 yards through the air and two touchdowns. 

The teams combined for 21 penalties for 190 yards. 

Scoring Summary

The Eagles continued the trend of the 2024 season with an opening drive touchdown. EWU was persistent with a 13-play, 75 yard drive as Altahir ran the ball in from a yard out. The drive encompassed 5:37 minutes. 

Drake tied the game in the second quarter on a 1-yard run from Luke Woodson. The Bulldog drive went 8 plays, 86 yards and lasted 4:06 minutes. 

With 4:06 left in the half, Drake took the lead on a 47-yard field goal. 

Now trailing, Eastern's offense went to work as Kekoa Visperas completed a 18-yard pass to Miles Williams and Altahir powered for an 11 yard run. It was Chism III who came up big for Eagles again with a 35 catch on a perfect strike from Visperas to put EWU on the 1-yard line. Chism then cashed the drive in with a touchdown catch, this time from Wortham who lined up at quarterback. There was 1:42 left on the clock in the half.

The Bulldogs managed to move into Eagle territory and connected on a 44 yard field goal. EWU led 14-13 at the half. 

Drake opened the second half with a quick 3-play, 76 yard drive to take the lead. A pass from Luke Bailey to Trey Radocha went for 63 yards. Bailey hit Parker Olthoff for a 3-yard touchdown on the next play. They now had a 20-14 lead over Eastern. 

Unfazed, EWU methodically moved down the field, as Visperas went 5-for-5 to move the team into the redzone. It was Wortham's time again as he took the direct snap and powered 14 yards to the Drake 2 yard line. Wortham called his number again and scored to retake the lead for the Eagles. Eastern was up 21-20 and 7:42 left in the quarter.  

Moving from the third to the fourth quarter, Drake put together a 12 play drive that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run. The drive covered 81 yards in 2:41 minutes to put the Bulldogs up 26-21 and 12:19 left in the game.

It was Eastern's turn to respond and they rode the running game down the field. Wortham carried three times on the drive for 14 yards, finishing it off with a 6-yard touchdown. Visperas added on the 2-point conversion and the Eagles were back in front 29-26.

The Bulldogs had one last push in them as they drove 51 yards on 7 plays to get into field goal range. They converted the 41 yard attempt and the game was tied at 29 with 4:29 left in the game.

Eastern managed to put a drive together and get into Drake territory, but a fumble ended the drive. The EWU defense held and the Bulldogs missed a field goal attempt to keep the game even and send it to overtime.

Opening up overtime, the Eagles had possession, but could not earn a first down. Soren McKee connected from 36 yards out to get EWU the lead, 32-29. 

Now Drake had its opportunity on offense, starting with an 11 yard run. After a pair of incompletions, Bailey found a diving Radocha in the back of the endzone for the game-winning touchdown. Drake earned the road win, 35-32 over Eastern.

Eag Notes

• Eastern Washington recorded 200-plus rushing yards for the second consecutive game.
• Michael Wortham now has seven career rushing touchdowns and recorded his second career passing touchdown. 
• Tuna Altahir scored his 11th career rushing touchdown and 14 total as an Eagle.
• Landon Ogles punted four times for an average of 43.5 yards per attempt. He dropped three punts inside the Drake 20 yard line. 
• Malik Dotson set career-highs with 46 rushing yards and 48 receiving yards. 
• The temperature at kickoff was 95 degrees, making it the hottest home game in program history. The previous hottest temperature was 93 degrees in Spokane vs. Portland State in September of 1988. In Cheney, the hottest the Eagles have played at was 89 degrees in September of 2011 against Montana State. 

Up Next
Eastern Washington travels to play Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond, La. next Saturday, September 14, with kickoff at 4 p.m. Pacific Time, 6 p.m. Central Time. 
 

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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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