EWU Grounds Bobcats
10/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
The weather was fine, but Montana State’s misery against Eastern Washington continued on Saturday.
Playing in good weather conditions for the first time in four games, the Bobcats missed a lot of chances and Eastern not many, as the Eagles won their fifth straight game against MSU 35-13 in sunny Woodward Stadium.
One of the nation’s top passing teams, Eastern Washington established dominance on the ground. Eastern rushed for 183 net yards, and limited the Bobcats to just 22 rushing yards. The Eagles also threw for 292, and EWU’s 475 total yards is the most this season against MSU.
“I thought it was a great tactic on their part,” Bobcat coach Rob Ash said of Eastern’s ground game, particularly early. “With all the passing stats they had, they came out and ran the ball extremely well.”
After battling on even terms throughout the first half – EWU led 14-10 at the intermission – Montana State marched to the Eastern Washington five on the first drive of the second half. Three straight negative-yardage plays later, Michael Sweeney converted a 38-yard field goal that brought the Bobcats within a point.
At that crucial juncture, Eastern staged two impressive scoring drives. First, Matt Nichols completed a short swing pass to Aaron Boyce that the sophomore took 53 yards after a missed tackle. That play set up a 20-yard pass to Matt Martin for a touchdown. Cory Carpenter replaced Jack Rolovich, who re-injured a shoulder, on the next possession, and the Bobcats went three-and-out on the next possession, and Eastern marched down the field and scored on a two-yard run by Dale Morris to take a 28-13 lead.
Montana State’s offense showed life after the kickoff, moving to the Eastern 28, but a missed pass to Jamelle Banks and a third-down sack ended MSU’s scoring hopes.
“Jamelle Banks was wide open, and we missed him,” Ash said. “I thought that missed opportunity was one of the key times in the game.”
The first half evolved as a defensive struggle, hinging on a big pass play for each side. Matt Nicholls completed a 47-yarder to Shane Eller to set up a five-yard reception by A.J. Jimerson from Nicholls. The Bobcats answered with a 60-yard pass from Jack Rolovich to Josh Lewis. Eastern took a 14-10 lead that it would hold at the intermission on a 13-yard pass to A.J. McAndrews from Alex Smart, who took on drive while Nicholls was shaken up.
Neither team got much going in the first half. Eastern limited the Bobcats to 14 rushing yards, although Rolovich rang up 200 yards in the air. The Eagles rushed for 108 yards, and threw for 119. MSU held the ball for just over 15 minutes, due largely to a 4-for-10 effort on third downs.
The loss is MSU's first of the season in conference play, and drops the Bobcats to 4-2 overall.
Playing in good weather conditions for the first time in four games, the Bobcats missed a lot of chances and Eastern not many, as the Eagles won their fifth straight game against MSU 35-13 in sunny Woodward Stadium.
One of the nation’s top passing teams, Eastern Washington established dominance on the ground. Eastern rushed for 183 net yards, and limited the Bobcats to just 22 rushing yards. The Eagles also threw for 292, and EWU’s 475 total yards is the most this season against MSU.
“I thought it was a great tactic on their part,” Bobcat coach Rob Ash said of Eastern’s ground game, particularly early. “With all the passing stats they had, they came out and ran the ball extremely well.”
After battling on even terms throughout the first half – EWU led 14-10 at the intermission – Montana State marched to the Eastern Washington five on the first drive of the second half. Three straight negative-yardage plays later, Michael Sweeney converted a 38-yard field goal that brought the Bobcats within a point.
At that crucial juncture, Eastern staged two impressive scoring drives. First, Matt Nichols completed a short swing pass to Aaron Boyce that the sophomore took 53 yards after a missed tackle. That play set up a 20-yard pass to Matt Martin for a touchdown. Cory Carpenter replaced Jack Rolovich, who re-injured a shoulder, on the next possession, and the Bobcats went three-and-out on the next possession, and Eastern marched down the field and scored on a two-yard run by Dale Morris to take a 28-13 lead.
Montana State’s offense showed life after the kickoff, moving to the Eastern 28, but a missed pass to Jamelle Banks and a third-down sack ended MSU’s scoring hopes.
“Jamelle Banks was wide open, and we missed him,” Ash said. “I thought that missed opportunity was one of the key times in the game.”
The first half evolved as a defensive struggle, hinging on a big pass play for each side. Matt Nicholls completed a 47-yarder to Shane Eller to set up a five-yard reception by A.J. Jimerson from Nicholls. The Bobcats answered with a 60-yard pass from Jack Rolovich to Josh Lewis. Eastern took a 14-10 lead that it would hold at the intermission on a 13-yard pass to A.J. McAndrews from Alex Smart, who took on drive while Nicholls was shaken up.
Neither team got much going in the first half. Eastern limited the Bobcats to 14 rushing yards, although Rolovich rang up 200 yards in the air. The Eagles rushed for 108 yards, and threw for 119. MSU held the ball for just over 15 minutes, due largely to a 4-for-10 effort on third downs.
The loss is MSU's first of the season in conference play, and drops the Bobcats to 4-2 overall.
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