Sept. 27, 2008
Final Stats
Cheney, WA --- For three quarters, it sure looked like Idaho State was going to make a statement on the road, but after entering the fourth quarter tied at 31-31, injuries finally took their toll as Eastern Washington rolled up 221 yards in the final stanza to keep the Bengals winless, dropping ISU 45-31.
The #11 Eagles got all they could handle from Idaho State, as no team had a two score lead until the final five minutes of the game. Eastern Washington (2-2, 1-0 Big Sky) opened the scoring, and ISU answered every single score with one of their own. Matt Nichols threw the first of five touchdown passes in the first quarter to Aaron Boyce, who caught three on the day, for a 7-0 lead. ISU answered in the second when JD Ponciano, who saw a lot of playing time in the slot in place of Eddie Thompson who missed the game with an injured leg, took a left-handed shovel pass and went 53 yards untouched for a touchdown.
Nichols brought Eastern right back, but Hill threaded the needle to Jaron Taylor for a 14-yard touchdown to make it 14-14. Hill then was backed up in his own end zone, and had a screen pass picked off by Jason Belford for a short 7-yard touchdown. Down 21-14 at their own 5-yard line and facing 3rd-and-6 with just over a minute to go, offensive coordinator Mike Orthmann rolled the dice, rolling Hill out who hit Isaiah Burel for a first down. Two plays later, Hill's bomb to Jaron Taylor was true as Taylor outleapt a defender, and then cut back across the grain for a tying touchdown just 19 second before the half.
ISU then took their first lead of the season on Clint Knickrehm's 4-yard run to open the second half, but Eastern answered with Nichols' third touchdown strike, tying it at 28. Both teams then traded field goals to end the third quarter tied at 31.
The fourth however was all Eastern Washington. First, Brynsen Brown got past D.J. Clark on a double move for a 61-yard touchdown to make it 38-31. ISU was forced to punt, and it looked like Eastern was going to salt the game away, but Phillip Arias stripped Dale Morris at the goal line, and Clark recovered in the back of the end zone to keep ISU's hopes alive. Then, facing 3rd-and-3, Hill was in shotgun signaling to one of his receivers when ISU's center Ryan Head heard the snap call and hiked it. Hill however didn't call for it, and the ball rolled back 19 yards, killing any chance for a first down.
Eastern took the ensuing punt and got a final touchdown with 4:17 left on a swing pass to Alexis Alexander, bringing the score to 45-31.
It was a terrific effort for the Bengals, who played the game for most of it without six starters. Thompson didn't start, and Isaiah Burel left early in the third with a knee injury. A.J. Storms defensively didn't start at safety, and during the game ISU lost middle linebacker Brad Rife in the first quarter, and then corner Michael Wright and defensive end Micah Cloward early in the second. Down six starters, the mountain was just too tough for ISU to overcome on the road.
For ISU, Russel Hill was again outstanding, throwing for 312 yards on 24-of-36 passing with three touchdowns. Matt Nichols however, was better, with five touchdowns on 26-of-40 passing and 382 yards. Both QBs threw a pick as well. Jaron Taylor had a second straight 100-yard game, catching six passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns as nine Bengals caught passes. Aaron Boyce for Eastern had nine grabs for 135 yards and three scores, and Brynsen Brown had 104 yards and a touchdown on four catches. Ken Cornist led ISU on the ground with 71 yards on 11 carries.
The Bengals now return home to take on Montana State at 1:37 pm in Holt Arena on Altitude Sports for ISU's Hall of Fame Game. Montana State defeated South Dakota 37-18 to improve to 2-2 on the season as they are entering their conference opener.
NOTES: Hill now has five 300-yard games in his last seven games, and three in a row. He is now at 1,098 yards on the season ... the Bengals hit their first field goal of the season, a 48-yarder in the wind by Jarrett Huk ... Jon Vanderwielen had nine punts for a 45.4 average, with three more inside the 20. For the season he has a 44.6 average on 24 punts with no touchbacks and 8 inside the 20 ... Eastern Washington had 13 tackles for a loss and five sacks, while ISU didn't record any sacks or TFLs.
