At Eastern Washington University’s 100th Homecoming game on Saturday night, the shorthanded Eagles played a nearly flawless game and secured their first victory over the Weber State Wildcats since 2015.

Eastern entered the game missing two of their three running backs, Justice Jackson and Malik Dotson. This gave Tuna Altahir, a redshirt sophomore starter, the opportunity for more offensive touches.

Altahir carried the ball 13 times for 61 yards and a one-yard rushing touchdown, which concluded an 18-play drive to put the Eagles up 14-3 early in the second quarter.

Head coach Aaron Best relied on his trio of athletic quarterbacks to aid Altahir in the backfield to manage a critical 197 rushing yards. 

Not only did EWU show their continued openness to a fluid offensive style, but they also established that they would run the ball in any way possible. 

Efton Chism III took a snap as the holder for what seemed to be a Soren McKee field goal try. Instead, Chism III jumped up from his stance and rushed towards the end zone, faking out the defense and setting the Eagles up for an Altahir score at the goal line. 

Junior quarterbacks Jared Taylor and Micahel Wortham took direct snaps and handoff options throughout the game. Taylor was the lead rusher for the Eagles, carrying the ball 17 times for 79 yards. Wortham rushed for 40 yards on eight touches and had the game’s longest kick return of 37 yards. 

There was even a play with all three quarterbacks lined up side-by-side in the backfield.

To conclude Eastern’s second 18-play drive, Taylor scored the deciding touchdown with under two minutes left in the final quarter, extending the Eagles lead to eight. 

Redshirt sophomore Kekoa Visperas — who also ran for a touchdown — was the only Eastern quarterback to throw the ball. He threw for 228 yards and a touchdown pass. 

Altahir caught a career-high four receptions for 64 yards and a second touchdown. Four Eagles had three or more catches, and four had five or more rushes in the balanced offensive attack. 

The victory over the Wildcats secured the Eagles’ fourth straight game without turning the ball over. Eastern’s defense showed up when it mattered most in a game that saw no turnovers. The Eagles forced six tackles for loss and two sacks.

After giving up over 47-yard pass to Haze Hadley in the game’s final minute, the Eagles’ defense saw its most critical stand from the secondary. 

During a fourth-and-8 play on the Eastern’s 16-yard line, true freshman Derek Ganter Jr. — who hadn’t played in a game this season – made the game-ending pass breakup on a pass intended for Hayden Meacham. 

The Wildcats’ Treyshun Hurry had a game-high 115 receiving yards —84 yards in the first half—  but was restricted to just 31 in the second half after being covered by Eastern’s preseason All-Big Sky cornerback Marlon Jones Jr. 

The fourth-down stop allowed the Eagles (3-4, 2-2) to sneak away with a 31-23 win over the Wildcats (3-5, 1-4) in front of over 7,500 fans at Roos Field in Cheney. The win puts Eastern sixth in Big Sky rankings.

EWU heads to Portland next for a Week 8 game against the Portland State Vikings (3-4, 2-2). 

The Vikings will play the Eagles after suffering a 38-24 loss to Idaho State (3-4, 2-2) earlier Saturday. The Eagles lost to ISU 42-41 in Week 7.