CHENEY, Wash. — The trophy is back in Cheney as Eastern Washington football won back the Dam Cup tonight during the 2025 homecoming game. Eastern defeated Portland State, 35-27, at Roos Field for its first Big Sky win of the season behind a powerful running attack. EWU improves to 1-1 in the conference and 2-4 overall. Portland St. falls to 0-2 in the Big Sky and 0-6 overall.
"Nearly all our players are young, outside of the defensive line, everybody's young. We have who we have, and we expect those guys to play to the highest of their capabilities," head coach Aaron Best said. "We had the greatest week of practice from start to finish, in all three phases. I think that had a hand in the end result of these things."
The Eagles took the lead early, but the Vikings stayed close until the end. EWU led by seven at halftime, with Portland St. pulling within one during the third quarter. 14-straight points from Eastern gave them the advantage they needed in the second half.
The run game for Eastern drove the victory, piling up 333 yards on 41 carries (8.1 per attempt).
Nate Bell posted a career-best 175 yards on 17 carries - 10.3 average - and scored one touchdown. Marceese Yetts and Kevin Allen III formed a dynamic-duo in the backfield, each with 79 yards, both career-bests. Allen scored two touchdowns on six carries, with Yetts scored one touchdown on 13 carries.
"[Nate] has grown a ton. I'd like to allow him to grow more by protecting him more. He doesn't want to run first, but we allow him to have to run first or run after his first read," Best added. "That's where I'd like him to be able to grow. There are times when he's gonna have to be able to escape the pocket. He sees the role and he's played well in the role."
Scoring Summary
Eastern looked to open the home game with momentum and Marceese Yetts was effective early, rushing 4 times for 28 yards. Now in Portland St. territory, Nate Bell found a gap in the defense and raced 45 yards for the touchdown. EWU went up 7-0 in the game.
Portland St. responded on its next drive with a long 12-play, 75-yard drive that covered nearly 7 minutes. The Vikings punched it in for 2-yards out and tied the game at 7 with 4:01 on the clock.
Bell continued to find the seams on EWU's next drive, rushing 3 times for 35 yards. A trick play had Noah Cronquist throwing the ball 33 yards to Jaxon Branch. Kevin Allen III got the call in the redzone and powered in from 8 yards for score. Eastern was now up 14-7 with 59 seconds remaining in the quarter.
The Eagles' offense continued to move the ball with Bell leading the offense, rushing for 29 yards on 2 carries. At the Vikings 37-yard line, Marceese Yetts went right up the middle and scored the long touchdown. EWU now had a 21-7 lead with 4:40 remaining in the half.
The Vikings put together another long drive to answer the score, driving 75 yards in 9 plays. Eastern's lead was reduced to 21-14 and one minute left on the clock.
At the end of the half, Portland St. took advantage of an Eagle fumble in their own territory, converting a 38-yard field goal. Eastern's lead was 21-17 at half.
To begin the second half, the Vikings added another field goal, this time from 21 yards to reduce the EWU lead to 21-20.
After 13-straight points from Portland St., Eastern responded, led by a catch from Yetts who ran 43 yards into Viking territory. Two plays later, Bell found Landon Cooper for a 9-yard touchdown catch. Eastern now led 28-20 and 5:03 on the clock.
After the Eagle defense made a stop, the offense took over and began moving the ball again. Allen took the handoff from Bell and broke free for a 50-yard touchdown, his second of the day to put EWU up 35-20 and 3:10 on the clock.
Moving to the fourth quarter, Portland St. closed the gap with a 24-yard touchdown pass from John-Keawe Sagapolutele to Terence Loville. The Eagles led 35-27 and 9:56 left in the game.
Eag Notes
- Eastern Washington now has the advantage in the series history against Portland State, with a 23-22-1 edge. It was EWU's first win against the Vikings since 2021 (42-28 at home).
- Nate Bell posted his 7th rushing touchdown of the season and recorded his second 100+ yard rushing game of the season. He added 95 passing yards on 10-of-18(55.6%), with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
- Eastern put up 300+ yard rushing for the second time in 3 games.
- Kevin Allen III scored his first career touchdown in the first quarter and his second career score in the third. His 50 yard touchdown was a career-long rush.
- Marceese Yetts scored his 4th touchdown this season, and had 122 all-purpose yards. Adding to his 79 rushing yards, Yetts had 2 catches for 43 yards. He had a career-long, 37-yard run.
- The Eagle defense held the Vikings to 8-of-19(41.1%) on third-down conversions.
- Jaylon Jenkins snagged his second career interception, also his second this season. He finished with 5 tackles.
- Drew Carter notched his second career 10+ tackle game, finishing with a career-best 12, making 8 solo.
- Landon Cooper caught his second career touchdown, finishing with 3 receptions for 13 yards in the game.
- Myles Mayovsky and Read Sunn both set career-bests with 11 tackles, and 4 solo apiece.
- Jirah Leaupepetele notched a career game with 6 tackles. Ambrose Marsh and Jonathan Landry matched their career-bests with 6 and 5 tackles respectivly.
- Eastern won the game despite losing the turnover battle, 3-1.
Up Next
Eastern Washington has its bye next week but stays at home the following Saturday (Oct. 18) to host Idaho at 4 p.m.
2025 EWU football tickets are now on sale! Join Spokane County's team for all five home games at Roos Field in Cheney starting as low as $99. Group tickets, fundraising options and single game tickets are also available. For more info, visit goeags.com/fbtickets or contact the EWU Ticket Office at 509-359-6059 or tickets@ewu.edu.
Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access, and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.
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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