The Eastern Eagles used a balanced offensive attack to help first-time starter Jordan West earn a win over Southern Utah University, 43-20.

West threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns, but it was the running gain that carried the Eagles’, offense. The team rushed for 280 yards against just 79 yards by SUU, according to goeags.com.

“We had guys stepping up all over the place, whether it was offense, defense or special teams. Players that are younger and haven’t played a lot of football for us stepped up,” said head coach Beau Baldwin. “Jalen [Moore] hasn’t played a ton of football, but he was out there scrapping and fighting.”

The team headed into the game missing multiple starters including quarterback Vernon Adams, who broke two bones in his foot playing against Idaho State on Oct. 4.

In his first career start, West targeted a familiar face; fellow sophomore and practice mate wide receiver Kendrick Bourne.

“Usually in practice, I go behind Shaq Hill and Cooper Kupp. So me and Jordan West have good timing, because in practices he goes second behind Vern and I go third,” said Bourne.

The two players connected five times, totaling 90 yards and two touchdowns.

Mario Brown and Moore joined Bourne as the offensive leaders. Both running backs rushed for over 100 yards, setting career marks.

The Eagles defense had a bounce-back game after giving up 50 points in four of their last five contests. The team pressured SUU all game and eventually forced opposing quarterback Ammon Olsen out of the game with an injury. Freshman cornerback Victor Gamboa added two interceptions for the Eagles.

“[Gamboa] became a starter, but he’s still a redshirt freshman making big plays,” said Baldwin.

The Eagles victory was their sixth of the season and it showed their ability to win without their top playmakers on the field.

“The list goes on and, in terms of the players who stepped up, it was just a mentality. There was something about their mentality during the week and down here. We lost Vernon [Adams], but we lost a lot of other players too,” said Baldwin. “When you lose a player like Vernon you want to see how your players respond. They just picked each other up and went from there.