Eagles can't pull off upset at No. 3 Montana

MISSOULA, MT. -- Eastern Washington tied the score with a late touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, but Montana responded with a touchdown drive of its own Saturday (Oct. 17) as the No. 3 ranked and unbeaten Montana Grizzlies edged the No. 21 Eagles 41-34 in a Big Sky Conference football showdown at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Mont.

After falling behind by 14 points in the third quarter, Eastern rallied to knot the score at 27 and 34, with the last tie coming with just 4:58 left. But the Grizzlies went on an 11-play, 55-yard drive to score the winning points with 1:18 remaining.

The Grizzlies are now 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the league thus far, while the Eagles suffered their first Big Sky setback a week ago when they lost to defending co-champion Weber State 31-13. Eastern is now 3-2 in the league and 4-3 overall as the Eagles and Grizzlies played for the eighth time in the last 14 meetings with both teams ranked in the Sports Network NCAA Football Championship poll.

"I'm proud of our team," said Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin. "I know we'll go back and look and find that it's not perfect and we made mistakes. But I was proud of everyone for fighting and scrapping right down to the end. It hurts when you lose, but I don't question one bit our overall effort. We could have easily packed it in when we got down by two scores. But we found a way to come back."

Penalties (10 for 104 yards) and four failed fourth-down attempts also hurt the Eagles, who had 489 yards of total offense to Montana's 353.

"We felt like we could do some things against them and we played sound," said Baldwin. "But nothing came easy -- they are a great team and their record is what it is for a reason. We knew we were going to have to make plays at the end. They made one more play than we did and I give them credit -- my hat is off to them. But I'm proud of the way our players fought in a tough environment."

Senior quarterback Matt Nichols completed 32-of-49 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns. In the process, he broke EWU's career total offense record after breaking the career passing record a week earlier. He is now has 11,261 yards of total offense, 10,627 career passing yards and 76 touchdowns in his 42-game career. The previous record for total offense was 10,942 held by the quarterback he replaced, Erik Meyer (2002-05).

Seniors Aaron Boyce and Tony Davis combined for 15 catches for 173 yards, with Boyce catching seven for 114 yards and a touchdown, and Davis finishing with eight grabs for 59 yards. Boyce, however, was lost late in the game with an injury to his left Achilles tendon.

Sophomore running back Taiwan Jones also had a productive day, rushing 17 times for 145 yards. He had 241 yards of all-purpose yards, including 78 on kickoff returns and 18 more on three receptions.

Junior linebacker J.C. Sherritt, ranked third in FCS in tackles with an average of 14.0 per game (total of 84), added 17 against the Grizzlies. He had a school-record 24 a week earlier in a loss to Weber State. Sophomore safety Matt Johnson added 14 stops against the Grizzlies and senior linebacker Makai Borden had 12.

Eastern jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead when Nichols directed Eastern on a seven-play, 70-yard drive on EWU's first possession. He passed 13 yards to Nathan Overbay for the touchdown, which was the play that gave Nichols EWU's total offense record.

Interestingly, the next two plays for Nichols were for minus yards to put him second again behind Meyer, but a 20-yard pass completion to Boyce gave Nichols the record for good.

After a safety following a bad snap on an Eagle punt attempt, EWU took a 10-2 advantage on a 39-yard field goal by Mike Jarrett.

Eastern led 10-5 in the second quarter when it was driving for another score, with Nichols 10-of-11 for 80 yards at that point. But the momentum turned with his incompletion on a fourth down at the UM 31, which followed a five-yard procedure penalty when Eastern faced a more manageable fourth-and-1 situation.

Montana followed with a pair of touchdowns to take a 20-10 lead, and Eastern closed out the scoring in the first half with a 48-yard field goal by Jarrett -- his second-longest of the year.

The Grizzlies took a 27-13 advantage in the third quarter on a touchdown drive following another failed attempt on fourth down by the Eagles. However, Nichols directed the Eagles on a pair of scoring drives to knot the score at 27.

The first was an eight-play, 85-yard march that ended with Nichols' 14-yard TD pass to Ashton Gant, who was cleared to play just two days prior because of a nagging high ankle sprain. The second was a four-play, 65-yard drive capped by a 50-yard touchdown pass from Nichols to Boyce.

Montana took the lead back on an 82-yard punt return, but Eastern responded with a 12-play, 74-yard drive to knot the game at 34. A 1-yard touchdown run by Jones tied the score with 4:58 to play.

But Montana spoiled EWU's upset chances with a drive lasting 3:32, capped by a 1-yard run by Chase Reynolds. Nichols completed two passes on the ensuing drive, but the Eagles turned the ball over on downs at their own 49-yard line.