With the annual Red-White football game coming up on April 26, The Easterner looks back at some of the past games of this millennium.

The Red-White spring game that was played at Woodward Stadium on May 13, 2000 was the first spring football scrimmage of the millennium. During this year, former head football coach Paul Wulff took a different approach during Eastern’s traditional Red-White spring game.

Wulff had a player draft, where the coaching staff chose rosters to determine teams for the spring game. According to the EWU athletics article, Wulff had ultimately the final decision in choosing the final roster.

“I think it will be pretty equal,” Wulff said. “We’ll do our best to balance the teams and then see how they perform. The real question is how efficient we will be.”

In the 2000 game, the red team won 19-7. Junior quarterback, at the time, Chris Samms led the red team to a victory by completing 14-of-23 passes in 221 yards, along with two touchdowns.

In 2001, it was a dramatic affair. The white team came back from a large deficit of 24 points to win 27-24. Senior Fred Salanoa, who was the starting quarterback at the time, went 8-of-11 in 96 yards, while also scoring one touchdown.

A 51-yard field goal was made by kicker Troy Griggs with 1 1/2 minutes left in the game to win. “We were a little emotional, but we came out and executed good on both sides of the ball,” Wulff said after the game in 2001. “We scored enough points and that’s a good sign and encouraging to see.”

The tough competition went from one year to the next as the Eagles played another competitive game in 2002. The red team won 34-24 by using their defense to secure the win. A last minute field goal was blocked by the red team at the end of the game.

In 2003, it was a low scoring affair as the white team won 13-10. Quarterbacks sophomore Erik Meyer and redshirt freshman Skyler Allen played well during the game. Meyer threw for 118 yards finishing 10-of-15, while Allen finished 7-of-14 for 63 yards along with a 33-yard touchdown pass.

During spring 2004, the Eastern football team had hopes of a championship season. The red team was victorious over the white team, 13-0. The Eagles’ offensive squads had 292 yards overall.

The football team had many veteran players in 2005 during the spring game. Although the final score was not recorded this year, there were a few glaring statistics. Backup quarterback at the time Chris Peerboom passed for 141 yards, and Ryan Cole led all rushers in the game with seven carries in 36 yards.

In 2006, the red team beat the white team 3-0; the starting defense limited the No. 1 offense to only 73 yards. A lot of athletes were not able to participate that year due to injury. In 2007, it was a lopsided affair when the white team dominated the red team, 28-3. The white team consisted of all starters on both defense and offense.

It was a closer game in the following year when the red team defeated the white team 34-20 in 2008. The red team was impressive as they completed 343 yards for the game.

In 2009, it was a football game without a final score. Although former senior quarterback Matt Nichols did impress by completing 221 yards of passes along with three touchdowns. “We played at a pace that I liked on offense,” current head coach Beau Baldwin said. “We needed to step that up and play a little faster.”

The 2010 spring game was a big blowout as the red team had a convincing win of 20-0 over the white team. The red team finished with 276 yards, while the white team only had 157. “I worried about some of the sloppiness whenever you break up units,” Baldwin said after the 2010 game. “Early on there was a little bit of that.”

In 2011 the red team won yet again with a 28-14 victory. Overall for the game, both offensive squads combined for 507 yards. Former senior running back Darriell Beaumonte rushed for 110 yards for the white team.

In 2012, the red squad defeated the white team for the third year in a row with a narrow 33-27 win. “It was really choppy, especially offensively,” Baldwin said. “But sometimes the good thing is that the defense is helping create some of that choppiness.”

2013 was yet again one of those years where scoring was not recorded for the game. However impressive stats were shown last year as quarterbacks junior Vernon Adams, Anthony Vitto and sophomore Jordan West combined for 256 yards and four touchdowns.

Most of the Red-White games have been competitive historically with a lot of results, especially during the last decade. This year’s red vs. white game will take place at Roos field and will end Eagle Week festivities.