Saturday was a time for situations; next Saturday will be for bragging rights
Concluding its third week of spring football practices, the Eastern Washington University offense managed 367 yards and just three scores against the Eagle defense in the team's second full scrimmage on Saturday (April 21) at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
Senior quarterback Gage Gubrud led the offense to a pair of long scoring drives in the 94-play session, but those were the only scores in 11 possessions that didn't start on the defensive end of the field. There were nine quick-whistle sacks by the defense among the 57 running plays and just 35 passes attempted in windy conditions at "The Inferno." The gusts were so severe that Eastern kickers missed three field goal attempts and an extra point.
"We got sun, but we didn't ask for wind," said head coach Aaron Best, whose last two scrimmages were in steady rain. "Obviously, wind is a quarterback's nightmare. But we did have better conditions and it was nice seeing a few more people out here watching the scrimmage. Again, when you have elements working against you, on both sides of the ball, you will have some wins and some losses. We don't want to be one-sided and have a ton of wins on one side, because if that happened we will probably have more questions than answers."
Gubrud completed 9-of-16 passes for 99 yards and rushed for another 20 yards, including a 34-yard rush to set-up a touchdown. That was a 12-play, 71-yard drive capped by a 2-yard run by junior Tamarick Pierce, and then later Gubrud led an eight-play, 74-yard drive that ended on a 13-yard TD run by junior Dennis Merritt.
On a short 22-yard red-zone scoring drive, sophomore backup quarterback Eric Barriere passed 15 yards to senior Zach Eagle for a score. Eagle led all receivers with five catches for 92 yards, and junior Antoine Custer Jr. rushed nine times for 52. Merritt was the team's workhorse, carrying 18 times for 45 yards.
"At the end of the day, the energy was okay," said Best. "We weren't real crisp, especially the offense. The second team offense needs to stay on the field and be more consistent in those situations where you get those opportunities. I thought there were a lot of good plays. On first-and-goal the defense gave up zero points on a drive late in the first half. Those are the things where the red zone defense is looking good."
Defensively, senior linebacker Kurt Calhoun and junior defensive lineman Darnell Hogan each had a pair of sacks, and freshman redshirt defensive back Anthany Smith had an interception and broke-up a pass. Junior safety Dehonta Hayes led all tacklers with 10, and also broke-up a pair of passes. Junior linebacker Jack Sendelbach had nine tackles with a sack.
Eastern began practices on April 3, and Saturday's scrimmage focused on putting the Eagles in situations they'll face in games next fall. Next week's Red-White Game will feature a true game-like atmosphere, with a draft of teams taking place on Monday.
"A lot of times we try to do those situations in practice and not on Saturday's, but we know we have to get to them," added Best. "The players just want to play. We try to do a lot of our situational football when we're practicing when no one's out here and when the TV cameras aren't out here."
Eastern has 56 returning letterwinners returning, including an offensive unit with nine starters back. The Eastern defense has eight returning starters, including letter winners at two other positions with considerable starting experience. Seven offensive players and five defensive players have previously earned All-Big Sky accolades.
Eastern closed the season 7-4 overall and in a tie for third in the Big Sky Conference with a 6-2 record. It's the 11th-straight season the Eagles have finished 5-3 or better in the Big Sky. The Eagles also secured their record 11th-straight winning season and 20th in the last 22 years.
The Eagles have three more practices this week before the Red-White Game wraps up spring practice. That game takes place on Saturday, April 28 at 2 p.m. at Roos Field.
Scrimmage Statistics
Scoring Plays
Tamarick Pierce 2 run (Roldan Alcobendas kick)
Dennis Merritt 13 run (kick failed)
Zach Eagle 15 pass from Eric Barriere (Andre Slyter kick)
Rushing: Antoine Custer Jr. 9-52, Dennis Merritt 18-45 1 TD, Tamarick Pierce 6-20 1 TD, Gage Gubrud 8-20, Alex Motonaga 3-11, Eric Barriere 10-2, Dre' Sonte Dorton 1-minus-6, Gunner Talkington 2-minus-10, Totals 57-134 2 TD.
Passing: Gage Gubrud 9-of-16 99 yards, Eric Barriere 4-of-10 59 yards 1 TD, Alex Motonaga 2-of-3 47 yards, Gunner Talkington 3-of-6 28 yards 1 int, Totals 18-of-35 233 yards 1 TD 1 Int.
Receiving: Zach Eagle 5-92 1 TD, Andrew Boston 3-39, Terence Grady 2-26, Dre' Sonte Dorton 2-19, Nsimba Webster 2-17, Jayson Williams 2-17, Marques Hampton Jr. 1-12, Talolo Limu-Jones 1-11, Totals 18-233
Tackles Leaders: Dehonta Hayes 10, Jack Sendelbach 9, Kurt Calhoun 6, Chris Ojoh 6, Ketner Kupp 5, Debore'ae McClain 5, Calin Criner 4, Andrew Katzenberger 4, Cale Lindsay 4.
Interceptions: Anthany Smith.
Passes Broken Up: Dehonta Hayes 2, Brandon Montgomery 1, Anthany Smith 1.
Sacks: Kurt Calhoun 2, Darnell Hogan 2, Jay-Tee Tiuli 1, Nick Foerstel 1, Cale Lindsay 1, Jack Sendelbach 1, Jim Townsend 1.
Forced Fumble: None.
Fumble Recovery: None.