Eastern moves to 2-0 in the Big Sky Conference
October 9, 2014
In an up-and-down game, the Eagles were able to leave Roos Field with a victory over Idaho State University, 56-53.
“I tip my hat to Idaho State for what they did. They have come a long way, and they did a great job battling. We obviously have to find some things to clean up,” said head coach Beau Baldwin. I know that was the team that beat Sacramento State by 20, and I am not shocked by how good they were out here on the field. But there are just a few things we have to clean up going forward.”
With a score 28-17 late in the second quarter, defensive lineman Dylan Zylstra blocked a punt and recovered the ball for a touchdown.
“Man, was that exciting to see everyone swarming around me. It felt good and then looking at the score, as a defensive guy, [having] impact on it,” said Zylstra.
Leading by 18 late in the second quarter, the Eagles were poised to go into halftime in control of the game.
But, as they did the whole game, ISU rallied, taking back momentum after Eastern was penalized for a late hit and roughing the passer on the same play.
“I thought there was a lot of great effort. We just found situations where we were not playing as smart as we can. That is why I find it a challenge,” said Baldwin. “We have to play smart, and there were times that we shot ourselves in the foot.”
The Bengals would score twice in the next four minutes and entered halftime trailing, 35-31.
The Eagles’ defence started the second half stopping the Bengals on their first possession. On the next possession safety Jordan Tonani intercepted ISU quarterback, Justin Arias.
Cooper Kupp, grasps the football during the Oct. 4 game against Idaho State University.
“The guy ran an adjuster and I just jumped it,” said Tonani.
After holding ISU to just seven points in the third quarter, the Eagles allowed two scores in the fourth maintaining a close game.
Up by just four points, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. led the Eagle offense down the field eventually connecting with wideout Cooper Kupp for a touchdown. It was the third time in the game the duo connected for a score.
On that pass, Adams, who battled through a foot sprain most of the game, became the Big Sky Conference all-time leader in touchdown passes with a total of 99.
“He was playing through a lot of pain. It was one of those deals where he was battling through that, and didn’t have all his stuff in the second half movement-wise. He still was finding ways to get first downs. He gutted it out, and he made a lot of plays,” said Baldwin
The win moved the Eagles to 2-0 in the Big Sky and 4-1 overall. The team will head back on the road this week traveling to Southern Utah University for a matchup on Oct. 11.
