. . . starting quarterback in street clothes, Montana still proceeded to punish Eastern Washington with a series of yard-churning, clock-eating drives. Running back Marcus Knight did most of the damage, running through and around the Eagles for 126 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. Backup quarterback Cam Humphrey – filling in for injured leader Dalton Sneed – won his first career start in the form of a game manager (20 of 29 for 176 yards, touchdown) who wasn’t afraid to push forward when the pocket collapsed.
Those efforts – coupled with EWU’s latest series of crippling offensive lulls – were enough for the 10th-ranked Grizzlies to dispatch the Eagles 34-17 on Saturday at a raucous Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
EWU dropped to 3-5 (2-2 Big Sky) for the first time since 2006. Two months ago, it was the league favorite many expected to make a another deep Football Championship Subdivision playoff run after reaching the 2018 national title game. Instead, the Eagles, who are 0-5 on the road, likely cemented their second postseason absence in head coach Aaron Best’s three seasons. “I’m not really thinking about (postseason chances). I am taking it on a week-by-week basis,” said EWU safety Dehonta Hayes, who had a team-high 10 tackles. “If I think about it now, it will affect how I play.”In a make-or-break game for EWU, the Eagles’ once-explosive offense went bone dry in the second half.
EWU jumped out a 14-3 lead in the second quarter, an effort led by quarterback Eric Barriere, who completed 10 of his 16 first-half passes for 194 yards and a touchdown. But Montana unsettled the Eagles’ offense in the second half, when Barriere completed 12 of 25 passes for 70 yards and EWU was held to a field goal. “We played really well in the first half,” Best said. “Didn’t score enough points against a good football team.” EWU often hurt itself.
Keali'i Ah Yat on the off-season & upcoming youth camp