Nov. 11, 2006
Final Stats
Cheney, WA --- Eastern Washington got a pair of touchdowns from Nicholas Ramos, one rushing and one receiving, as the Eagles won for the first time at home all year, defeating Idaho State 40-6 and extending ISU's losing streak to five games, their longest streak since 1999.
The Bengals were fortunate to be down only 16-0 late in the first half, as ISU suffered three fumbles on their first four drives on a field that had been drenched by a few days worth of rain.
First, ISU quarterback Matt Gutierrez lost the handle when he tried to pump fake, and Eastern converted that into a 7-0 lead on a 28 yard crossing pattern from Matt Nichols and Nicholas Ramos.
On after an exchange of punts, Josh Barnett fumbled and lost the ball at ISU own 7-yard line, but Eastern was stopped inches from the goal line on fourth down. Eastern still capitalized when Greg Peach sacked Gutierrez in the end zone for a fumble, but ISU recovered for a safety and a 9-0 lead.
Eastern went up 16-0 after a 10-play 58-yard drive that was all on the ground. ISU eventually answered when Akilah Lacey stole a ball out of the hands of DeNique Ford for a 20-yard touchdown, but Brandon Jones' kick on the torn-up field was low and hit the crossbar, keeping it at 16-6 with 1:11 left.
The bright spot for the day was the play of redshirt freshman Clint Knickrehm, who led the team with 51 yards rushing, getting that on just 10 carries. Combined with his 80 yards on kickoff returns, he totaled 131 all-purpose yards.
The third quarter was all Eastern, as they outgained ISU 110-6, and scored three times, sandwiching a pair of long runs around a 28-yard Brett Bergstrom field goal. The first run was a 20-yard reverse, and the second was a broken play as Matt Nichols was flushed out of the pocket on an all-out blitz, and he raced untouched 35-yards down the ISU sideline for a back-breaking touchdown and a 33-6 lead.
The Eagles added one more score, getting a two-yard pass from backup quarterback Chris Peerboom to Tim Calhoun with 13:27 left in the game.
Idaho State (2-8, 1-6) couldn't muster any sort of offense, gaining just 179 yards for the game, and only 65 yards total in the second half. Matt Gutierrez, who was replaced in the first quarter for a series, was 7-of-14 passing for 87 yards with a touchdown, but he threw two picks and was just two for his last nine, with the two interceptions sprinkled in.
Luke Butler played three series, going 1-for-3 for no yards passing. Idaho State suffered four turnovers on the day, losing the two first quarter fumbles, and the Bengals picked up one takeaway, an amazing grab by safety Terrence Calloway near the end of the first half.
ISU did pick up another blocked kick, as Erik Stoll got a piece of a Ryan Donckers punt.
NOTES: Josh Barnett finished with 41 yards, giving him 997 yards rushing on the season ... ISU's four turnovers tied their season-high, as they had four against Portland State ... ISU is now -22 in turnovers over the last 20 games, and they have 51 turnovers over that timeframe ... the six points were the fewest scored by the Bengals against a I-AA team in the Larry Lewis era, and the fewest since September 19, 1998, when ISU lost to Weber State 6-3, the only game in Holt Arena history without a touchdown ... ISU has just 487 yards of offense in the last three games since Eddie Thompson got hurt.
