SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The season came to end for Eastern Washington football on Saturday, as they played Cal Poly for the final game. Eastern fell to the Mustangs, 43-34, ending the 2025 schedule for the Eagles. EWU finishes the season 4-4 in the Big Sky and 5-7 overall.
"We knew it wasn't going to be a pretty game, but we made it a contest until about four minutes left. It's frustrating, but we had those momentum-building plays that were called back. We just have to play a little bit cleaner game. This team still battled," head coach Aaron Best said. "Our special teams units played really well and our defense played exceptionally well in the second half. Offensively, they gave us a chance. We just couldn't put all the pieces together at the right time to be able to get going and out front. We took that four-point lead in the third quarter and had a little bit of momentum. [Cal Poly] converted the third-and-15. I think that was a little bit of a backbreaker. We wanted to make this as difficult as we could. We dug ourselves in a few holes and then climbed out of them. Everybody who played gave everything they had out there today."
The game was an offensive track meet, with the teams combining for 818 yards of total offense. EWU had 318 yards of offense while the Mustangs put up 500.
Cal Poly opened with a two-possession lead in the first quarter, but Eastern stayed close throughout the game. EWU tied the game in the third quarter and took the lead late in the quarter.
The Mustangs would score 13-straight points to go ahead for good in the game.
Making his first collegiate start, Kaden Rolfsness rushed for 71 yards on 19 carries, scoring three touchdowns. Rolfsness completed 23-of-43(53.4%) of his passes for 236 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Scoring Summary
Following an Eastern interception, Cal Poly scored on its first offensive play, a 31-yard touchdown to go up 7-0.
On their next drive, the Mustangs moved 53 yards in 12 plays to score their second touchdown and were up 14-0 quickly.
The Eagles' defense stepped up and forced a fumble to set up on the Cal Poly 22 yard line. Two plays later, Kaden Rolfsness scrambled right and found an opening from 7 yards out to score his first career touchdown. EWU was on the board, down 14-7.
Cal Poly quickly responded, scoring on another touchdown on a 4-play, 75 yard drive. The Eagles trailed 21-7 with 2:51 on the clock.
Noah Cronquist nearly had his first career kickoff return touchdown but was run down after going 92 yards. Inside the 10-yard line, Rolfsness would score after 3 rush attempts, finally breaking through from the 1-yard line. Eastern cut the lead down to 21-14 and 1:25 remaining in the quarter.
The Mustangs grinded out a 10-play drive, covering 32 yards that resulted in a 32-yard field goal. EWU trailed 24-14 with 9:22 remaining in the half.
Rolfsness was finding the rhythm at QB, as he directed the offense down the field to respond. He completed 2 passes to Wesley Garrett for 29 yards. Assisted by a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty, Rolfsness fired the ball to Jaxon Branch, but ricocheted off his hand and into Noah Cronquist's, who scored from 12 yards out. The deficit was down to a possession as Eastern trailed 24-21 and 4:51 on the clock.
Cal Poly managed to get points at the end of the half, converting a 48-yard field goal and extending the lead to 27-21.
EWU had the quick response as Cole Pruett set the team up with the ball at midfield. An 18-yard completion from Rolfsness to Nolan Ulm put them in field goal ranks. Soren McKee then set up with a 50-yard attempt and converted with room to spare. Going into halftime, the Eagles trailed 27-24.
In the third quarter, Rolfsness went to work to get points on the board, completing a pair of passes to move the sticks. Under pressure, Rolfsness found Garrett, who made a one handed catch and ran 25 yards with it. After the drive stalled, McKee converted a 32-yard field goal to tie the game at 27 at the 8:09 point of the quarter.
The Mustangs answered with their own field goal, driving 57 yards in 8 plays. They then converted a 44-yard field goal attempt to take a 30-27 lead.
Looking to take the lead, Rolfsness found Marceese Yetts for a 24 yard completion. Rolfsness powered up the middle for a 14-yard gain to move into the redzone. One play later, Rolfsness scampered 13 yards and scored his third touchdown of the game. They took the lead 34-30.
The lead was short-lived for EWU, as Cal Poly drove 75 yards in 11 plays, ending in a 16-yard touchdown throw. Eastern was now trailing 37-34 and 13:50 minutes on the clock in the fourth quarter.
Cal Poly added to its lead on their next drive, scoring off of a 33-yard run, part of a 5-play, 56-yard drive. They now lead Eastern, 43-34 and 7:06 remaining in the game.
Eag Notes
- Isaiah Perez broke the Eastern Washington record with his 4th blocked kick of the season, swatting an extra point attempt in the fourth quarter. Perez had a career-best 2.5 sacks in the game, finishing with 6 tackles. It is the most sacks by an Eagle since Albert Havili had 2.5 against Fordham in 2017.
- Kaden Rolfsness rushed for his first career touchdowns, along with throwing for his first career touchdown. Rolfsness recorded the second 3 rushing touchdown game this season for Eastern, as Nate Bell scored 3 against Western Illinois.
- Isaac Redford made his second career interception. Redford also recorded his first sack with a stat line of 0.5. He matched his career-best with 7 tackles.
- DaJean Wells recorded his first career interception in his final game as an Eagle.
- Trevor Thurman matched his career mark with a 0.5 sack. He matched his career-best with 7 tackles.
- Noah Cronquist caught his 3rd career touchdown. He finished with 4 receptions for 24 yards. Cronquist set a career-long 92-yard return. It was the longest return for Eastern since Michael Wortham had a 100-yard touchdown return against Idaho last season.
- Jaden Radke recorded his first career sack and finished with 2 tackles in the game.
- Read Sunn forced his second career fumble, while Josiah Goode recovered his first career fumble. Sunn was tied for the team-high with 9 tackles. Myles Mayovsky also recorded 9 in the game. Samarai Anderson notched a career-best 8 tackles in the game.
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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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