CHENEY, Wash.  — The 2025 season goes into full gear this weekend for Eastern Washington football as Big Sky games begin for the team. Eastern travels to Bozeman, Mont. to play Montana State on Saturday (Sep. 27) for a 1 p.m. Pacific Time kickoff, 2 p.m. Mountain Time.
The game will be broadcast on Scripps Sports and streamed live on ESPN+. Eagle fans can listen to the matchup live on 700 ESPN and the Varsity App with the voices of the Eagles, Larry Weir and Paul Sorensen.

Last Time Out
Eastern Washington hosted Western Illinois for its home opener of the 2025 season. EWU found its rhythm on offense, defeating the Leathernecks, 52-31. The Eagles opened the scoring with Nate Bell finding Jaxon Branch for a 35-yard touchdown. Following a field goal from WIU, Eastern struck again, this time Bell found Landon Cooper who raced 64 yards for the touchdown. The Leathernecks countered with their own touchdown, but the Eagle offense responded again. On a reverse to the right, Wesley Garrett outran the defenders for 67 yards. Following another WIU touchdown, Bell organized another drive and ran the ball in from 2 yards out to take a 27-17 lead into halftime. Eastern came out in the second half and outscored WIU 25-14, as Bell rushed for 2 more touchdowns. Bell finished with 416 yards of offense and 5 total touchdowns. Noah Cronquist put up 230 all-purpose yards, setting up the offense with 178 return yards. 

Back Again Against the Bobcats
Eastern Washington and Montana State will face off for the 47th time this Saturday, 5th most matchups against one opponent in EWU history. The Bobcats have controlled the series as of late, winning the last 4 matchups. The two teams met in Cheney last season, with MSU winning 42-28. After trailing by double-digits at halftime, Eastern tied the game at 28 in the 3rd quarter. The Bobcats quickly responded as Tommy Mallott ripped off a 76 yard touchdown run on their first play of the drive. MSU added another score late in the 4th quarter to secure the win. Jared Taylor threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 61 yards on the ground. Michael Wortham had the game's highlight with a 75 yard touchdown run. Derek Ganter Jr. led the team in tackles with 11. 

Impact off the Field
Nolan Ulm makes just as crucial of an impact off the field as he is involved with numerous charities including Mamas for Mamas that supports single mothers, Helping Captives that supports victims of human trafficking and Touchdowns for Dollars that benefits the local YMCA. Ulm also runs his own youth football camp, named Make it Happen, in his hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia. On Tuesday, Ulm was named to the AFCA Good Works team, one of 10 FCS players to earn the honor that recognizes student-athletes' success and dedication on-and-off the field. He was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell award this week. Ulm looks to be only the second Eagle to be a finalist for the Campbell Trophy, with Spencer Blackburn earning the honor in the 2019 season.

Ulm has one more season on the Red and looks to go out with a statement. Ulm has 1181 career receiving yards, with 100 receptions and 10 touchdowns. During the 2023 season, Ulm had career-bests with 45 receptions and 564 yards, while matching his career-best with 4 touchdowns. Going into his final year, Ulm was listed as the No. 9 Canadian-born prospect by CFL Scouting Bureau. The redshirt-senior had 2 receptions for 16 yards in week 3, and has 10 catches for 79 yards in 2025. He has appeared in 48 games, making 22 starts.

Ground Game Returns in Force
Eastern rushed for 358 yards against Western Illinois, the most this season. It was the 3 time in 7 games that the Eagles have rushed for 300+ yards, dating back to last season. The last time was Nov. 16, 2024 against Idaho State when the team put up a program-record 478 rushing yards. Nate Bell recorded his first 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 144 yards on 18 carries, scoring 3 touchdowns, all career-bests. 

First Time for Everything
In the win over Western Illinois, multiple Eagles posted their first touchdowns. Jaxon Branch caught a 35-yard touchdown for his first collegiate score, while Landon Cooper found the endzone for the first time on a 64-yard touchdown catch, including 36 yards after catch. Wesley Garrett took a break from catching passes and raced 67 yards on a reverse play for his first TD. In his second start at QB, Nate Bell threw for 272 yards and his first career touchdown passes with 2 total for the game. In addition, Hunter McKee connected for his first career extra point. On the defensive side, Dre Greeley snatched his first career interception, returning it 46 yards and setting up a Marceese Yetts touchdown on the next play. 

All Gas, All-Purpose
Noah Cronquist contributed across the board against the Leathernecks, racking up 230 all-purpose yards. The redshirt-senior had 4 punt returns for 98 yards and 2 kick returns for 80 yards, adding a career-long 52 yard catch to his yards haul. Cronquist posted both a career-long punt return (40 yards) and a career-long kick return (60 yards). The big plays from Cronquist set up 3 of Eastern's 7 touchdowns in the game. Cronquist is second in the Big Sky in both kick return average (25.6) and punt return average (15.3). He leads EWU with 190 receiving yards on 14 receptions.

Mayovsky the Mike
Myles Mayovsky has embraced the role at middle linebacker, racking up 24 total tackles, with 15 solo in 4 starts. He is tied for second on the team with 3.0 tackles for loss and 3 pass breakups. Against WIU, Mayovsky delivered his first career sack and had 4 total tackles. Mayovsky set a career-best with 8 tackles in the season opener against Incarnate Word, then matched the total against Northern Iowa. The redshirt-junior has played in 27 games as an Eagle, with 71 total tackles, 33 solo and 5.5 for a loss.

Breakups Galore
EWU tallied 9 pass breakups against Western Illinois, the most since Nov. 27, 2021 against Northern Iowa in the first round of the FCS Playoffs. Ambrose Marsh led the team with 3 breakups against the Leathernecks. This season, Jaylon Jenkins leads the Big Sky with 6 pass breakups, getting 2 against WIU.
 

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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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