SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The first game of the season went through waves of action, but Eastern Washington football was not able to start 2025 with a win. Eastern fell to No. 4/5 Incarnate Word, 31-21 on Saturday night in San Antonio. EWU opens 0-1 on the season and the Cardinals improve to 1-1.
"There's a lot to be positive about in an outcome and a lot to take away from this," head coach Aaron Best said. "It wasn't just battling. We went toe-to-toe with a team that was angry from last week and we played well in pockets, just not well over the course of 60 minutes. Turnovers are a tell-tale story in this game and we want 15 in that situation all day long. There's a lot to be proud of. We're gonna win with these guys no doubt about it. This was a different team than we saw last year. We just didn't do enough to get over the hump, especially in that second half."
EWU lost the turnover battle, 2-1, throwing one interception and one fumble. Incarnate Word scored 14 points off turnovers and the Eagles scored 7.
The Cardinal's offense was moving the ball to begin the game, scoring 14 unanswered points to take the early lead into the second quarter. Eastern managed to block a Cardinal field goal to keep in between touchdowns to prevent a three-score lead.
EWU broke through with a 26-yard rush from Marceese Yetts to cut the deficit in half and five minutes into the second quarter.
Eastern then outscored the Cardinals 14-7 over the next five minutes to tie the game at 21. A late field goal from UIW gave them the 24-21 lead at half.
The third quarter settled into a defensive battle with no points scored by either team. The two teams combined for 48 rushing yards and 59 passing yards.
Eastern was driving in the fourth quarter, advancing to the Cardinal 31-yard line, but a fumble ended the drive for the Eagles.
UIW secured the lead with a five-minute drive with seven minutes remaining in the game, scoring a late touchdown to go up by 10 on the Eagles.
UIW had a 463 to 290 total yards advantage, throwing for 332 and rushing for 131. EWU put up 183 through the air and 107 on the ground. Jared Taylor finished the game 21-of-38(55.3%) for 183 yards.
Scoring Summary
Incarnate Word capitalized on an Eastern interception in its territory and then matched 80 yards on 13 plays for a 10-yard touchdown run. The Cardinals struck first and were up 7-0 and 6:22 on the clock.
With good field position, UIW started at their own 49 yard line and drove to the endzone, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run. The lead for the Cardinals grew to 14-0 with 13:15 remaining in the half.
Eastern's offense finally got going behind Marceese Yetts as he opened the Eagles drive with a 22 yard rush. Jared Taylor found Nate Bell on a broken play for a 16-yard reception and moved into UIW territory. Two plays later, Taylor ran to the right side and pitched the ball to Yetts. The redshirt-junior sprinted for 26 yards and dived into the endzone for the touchdown. EWU cut the lead down to 14-7 at the 9:55 point of the second quarter.
UIW wasted no time responding, answering the touchdown with a 75 yard strike on the first play of their drive. The Cardinals went back up by two scores, 21-7.
After UIW had forced an Eagle punt, the Cardinals muffed the return at their own 6-yard line and Eastern had the ball back. Taylor carried twice, scoring from 1 yard out and the deficit was reduced to 21-14 and 7:45 remaining.
Eastern defense forced a stop and gave the offense the ball back, looking to tie the game. They moved the ball into UIW territory on a 30 yard pass from Taylor to Jaxon Branch. On the next play, Taylor again found Yetts on the option run and he scampered for 24 yards for his second touchdown of the day. The Eagles tied the game at 21, with 4:24 remaining in the half.
The Cardinals closed the half with a methodical 15-play, 56-yard drive resulting in a 37 yard field goal. EWU went to the half trailing, 24-21.
UIW looked to burn the clock and compiled a 12-play, 74-yard drive to score their fourth touchdown of the game. They extended the lead to 31-21 and 2:48 remaining in the game.
Eag Notes
- Marceese Yetts combined for 122 all-purpose yards, with 59 rushing yards and 63 receiving. Both stats were career-highs for Yetts.
- Jaxon Branch made his Eagle debut, catching 3 passes for 43 yards.
- Drew Carter recorded a career-best 11 tackles. Carter also recovered his first fumble of his career. Dishawn Misa recorded his first career forced fumble as well, adding a career-best 6 tackles. Myles Mayovsky finished with 8 tackles for a new career-best. Ambrose Marsh tallied 4 tackles for a career-best.
- EWU committed only 3 penalties for 25 yards.
- Tylin Jackson notched his second career sack and finished with 5 tackles. Read Sunn posted his first sack as an Eagle, recording 4 total tackles.
- Eastern's offensive line did not allow a sack during the game.
- 11 Eagles made their first career starts, with offense starts coming from Jaxon Branch, Kyle Stahlecker, Mark Johnson, Malik Dotson, Gavin Allen, Aidan Corning and Landon Cooper. On the defense, Marsh, Read Sunn, Mayovsky and Jaden Radke got the call to start.
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.
FOLLOW THE EAGLES
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
