After a mistake riddled trip to Houston, Texas in week five of the season, the Eagles were looking to find their groove again in the friendly confines of Roos Field, facing an opponent who has been outscored 254-72 in their first five games.

The Eagles did exactly that as they cruised to a 41-19 victory over the Weber State Wildcats on Oct. 5.

Last week against Sam Houston State, the defense, or lack thereof, was the story of the game. EWU could not stop any of Sam Houston’s running backs on the ground and gave up big plays through the air, tallying 556 yards in the game.

It was a completely different story for this game. The Eastern defense was able to hold the Wildcats to only 240 yards of total offense and 109 yards rushing.

Throughout the entire game against Sam Houston, the EWU starting linebackers combined for only 15 tackles and the starting secondary had 29. A tell-tell sign that runners were ripping off huge gains and getting into the second level. Against Weber State, the starting linebackers had 22 tackles by the half.

The offense was also able to get back on track. Vernon Adams who has thrown for 300 plus yards in back to back losses, did not have the volume of yards fans have become accustomed to, but he made the most of his opportunities early in the game.

In the first quarter Adams hit freshman receiver Cooper Kupp for scores of 50 and 27. Kupp has seven touchdowns on just 17 catches this season – a touchdown for every 2.4 catches so far this season. He is also averaging 24.0 yards per catch. He entered the game ranked seventh in FCS with five touchdown catches.

Adams who threw 16-23 for 194 yards and found the end zone five times; four through the air and one with his legs.

Eastern was, however, able to double Weber State in offensive yardage, 493-248. They got most of the yardage on the ground. Eastern rumbled their way to 279 yards rushing on 44 attempts. Eastern committed to the run and was able to reap the benefits.

“I just think that we just have to keep feeding it [to the running backs]. I was really happy with our balance in Sam Houston. I wanted to make sure I stayed with that balance [tonight]. Toledo is the one game that I go back to as a coach. I wish I had balanced it out more in the second and third quarter [with the passing and running game].” said EWU head football coach Beau Baldwin. “I want to continue to keep that balance, and the more balance we have the better chance we have for big plays.”

Another player, like Adams, who was able to make the most of his opportunities, was junior running back Mario Brown.

Brown, who made his mark during the 2010 national championship run, broke out to the tune of 10 carries, 98 yards and a receiving touchdown. His third best rushing performance of his career. Brown broke off a career long 37 yard rush to also add to his record breaking day.

Running backs Quincy Forte (7 for 51 yards), Demetrius Bronson (10 for 42 yards, one touchdown) and Jalen Moore (6 for 27 yards) also contributed to the rushing effort.

“The running back group is just a great group of guys. Every one of those players has played as a starter at some point, with the exception of maybe Jalen [Moore], but Jalen is showing that he can do good things. They are a tough group and they are competitive.” said Baldwin. “The players have been handling things so well in practice. Today was one of those good games. I just feel so confident with whoever is in the ball game. They all bring different things to the table.”

Next week the Eagles are back on the road to face North Dakota in the Alerus Center in Grand Fork, N.D., on Oct. 12. Weber State looks to end their losing streak against Cal Poly.