POCATELLO, Idaho - The Idaho State University football team fell to Eastern Washington University 46-42 in Holt Arena. Eastern Washington rallied from a 42-31 deficit to score the game-winning touchdown with 25 seconds left.
In what was a close contest the entire way, Idaho State had 502 yards of total offense and the Eagles finished with 596.
Tyler Vander Waal threw for 409 yards on 22-36 with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Tanner Conner had five receptions for 122 yards and one touchdown.
Jalen Henderson caught the ball nine times for 168 yards, while
Xavier Guillory had three receptions for 58 yards and one touchdown.
Malakai Rango rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns to lead the rushing attack.
The Bengal defense played EWU tough. Conner Wills led the defensive line with 15 tackles.
Zach Wright had 13 while Oshea Truijillo had 12 tackles.
Idaho State fell behind 10-0 in the first six minutes of the game.
The Bengals then rallied to score 21 straight points to lead 21-10 with 12:49 left in the second quarter.
Conner caught a 45-yard pass from Vander Waal to score the first touchdown for the Bengals with 7:01 left in the first quarter. Guillory gave the Bengals the 14-10 lead on a 19-yard touchdown reception with 3:54 left in the quarter.
Rango extended the lead to 21-10 later in the quarter on a 14-yard run.
The Bengals led at halftime 21-17 after an interception by
Quantraill Morris-Walker would stop EWU from scoring with seconds remaining.
In the second half, Eastern Washington reclaimed the lead 24-21 but the Bengals were quick to answer. Vander Waal rushed for a one-yard ouchdown to put the Bengals back ahead 28-24.
The lead would change six times in the second half. Eastern countered with touchdown to lead 31-28 with 3:22 left in the third quarter.
The Bengals then scored two touchdown, one from Vander Waal and the other from Rango on a 19-yard run with 8:41 left in the game to take the 42-31 lead.
The Eagles would score the final two touchdowns of the game to earn the victory in the final seconds.
Idaho State will travel to California for its next match against UC Davis on Saturday, March 27.
