CHENEY, Wash. — The last time the Eastern Washington Eagles took the field they lost by a single point in a game they gave up three fake punt conversions. Now, they're saying "Halloween's over. The tricks are done."
"It's something that is addressed and we will continue to make mistakes. Hopefully, they're not as glorified as those," said EWU head coach Aaron Best.
"Every team that we face will try to steal a possession based on the offense that we present at Eastern with Eric Barriere. They're trying to posses the ball longer because your best offense is probably keeping three (Barriere) off the field," said Best.
This week a tough matchup against a Montana State team that is also 7-1. However, the Eagles had an extra week of preparation coming off a bye.
"Got through eight games before we got to reach our bye week. It's a tough season, you know what I'm saying, so us getting that bye week right before our final three games heading into what we believe is going to be playoff season," said wide receiver Andrew Boston. "So, it's definitely a nice time for us to get it."
"I think the first thing that comes to mind is getting a win after two weeks of enduring a loss is the number one thing," said Best. "Two teams are playing 7-1 ball going into this game, so, it'll be fun. It'll be challenging. And we gotta beat the best to be the best."
Saturday will be senior day and the Eagles are hoping to send off Eric Barriere and crew in style.
"It's almost like you're surrogate father, you know, sending your kid off to college. In this case, kind of you know, two road games. There'll be probably some some eyes that are welled up a little bit. But, once that kickoff goes, we'll be in good shape," said Best.
"It's just crazy that.. you know, that time has gone by so fast. I mean, I'm sure it's gonna.. it's gonna hit me at some point, you know my last time playing on the red," said Boston.
Of course, Barriere and the rest of the senior class could play on the red again. That will just come down to securing home field advantage in the playoffs.
