CHENEY, Washington — The magic at Roos Field was just too short for Eastern Washington football on Saturday night, as they lost 35-32 in overtime to Drake. Eastern had the lead in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs were able to rally to tie the game and force overtime. EWU converted their chance in overtime with a field goal, but Drake scored a touchdown to tie the game.

“I think it’s easy to come out of a game where you’ve played pretty well collectively and think next week it’s going to be a carbon copy. It’s the game of football. If you think it’s going to be the same every quarter or series, you’re wrong. It’s how you deal with that adversity,” said head coach Aaron Best explained. “Every loss is tough, home or away. We had a chance to go 2-0 on our own turf for the first time in a while, but it didn’t work out that way. I want to see what kind of fire mentality it creates, because every team is different. I want to see how we react after a loss, because that’s in our rear-view mirror now. We see how we reacted after a win and it wasn’t what we expected. We’ll find out quickly on Monday what the mentality is, because it’s a short week, because we travel on Thursday.”

The two teams were evenly matched, with seven lead changes in four quarters and an overtime period.

The Eagles rushed for a total of 206 yards on 47 attempts in the game, which equates to 4.4 yards per attempt. Tuna Altahir led the team with 12 carries for 94 yards and one touchdown.

Michael Wortham He collected 132 all-purpose yards against the Bulldogs and threw for three touchdowns. He had 132 return yards, while carrying the ball 11 times for 46 yards and two scores. He threw a touchdown pass to Efton Chismus III in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs’ offense was powered by their passing game, totaling 393 yards through the air and two touchdowns.

The teams combined for 21 penalties for 190 yards.

Summary of the score

The Eagles continued the trend of the 2024 season with an opening drive touchdown. EWU was persistent with a 13-play, 75-yard drive with Altahir running the ball in from a yard out. The drive lasted 5:37 minutes.

Drake tied the game in the second quarter with a 1-yard run from Luke Woodson. The Bulldog drive went 8 plays, 86 yards and lasted 4:06.

With 4:06 left in the first half, Drake took the lead with a 47-yard field goal.

Now trailing, Eastern’s offense went to work as Kekoa fish completed an 18-yard pass to Mile Williams and Altahir went for an 11-yard run. It was Chism III who again played a big role for the Eagles with a 35 catch on a perfect strike by Visperas to put EWU at the 1-yard line. Chism then capped the drive with a touchdown catch, this time by Wortham lining up at quarterback with 1:42 left in the half.

The Bulldogs managed to reach Eagle territory and kicked a 44-yard field goal. EWU led 14-13 at halftime.

Drake opened the second half with a quick 3-play, 76-yard drive to take the lead. A pass from Luke Bailey to Trey Radocha went 63 yards. Bailey hit Parker Olthoff for a 3-yard touchdown on the next play. They now had a 20-14 lead over Eastern.

Unfazed, EWU methodically moved down the field as Visperas went 5-for-5 to get the team into the red zone. It was Wortham’s time again as he took the direct snap and drove 14 yards to the Drake 2-yard line. Wortham called his number again and scored to retake the lead for the Eagles. Eastern led 21-20 with 7:42 left in the quarter.

From the third to the fourth quarter, Drake mounted a 12-play drive that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run. The drive covered 81 yards in 2:41 and put the Bulldogs ahead 26-21 with 12:19 left in the game.

It was Eastern’s turn to respond and they drove the running game down the field. Wortham carried three times on the drive for 14 yards and capped it off with a 6-yard touchdown. Visperas added on the 2-point conversion and the Eagles were back up 29-26.

The Bulldogs had one last push left in them, driving 51 yards on 7 plays to get into field goal range. They converted the 41 yard attempt and the game was tied at 29 with 4:29 left in the game.

Eastern was able to mount a drive and get into Drake territory, but a fumble ended the drive. The EWU defense held and the Bulldogs missed a field goal attempt to tie the game and send it to overtime.

In overtime, the Eagles had possession of the ball but were unable to gain a first down. Soren McKee scored from 36 meters to give EWU the lead: 32-29.

Drake now got his chance on offense, starting with an 11-yard run. After a couple of incompletions, Bailey found a diving Radocha in the back of the endzone for the game-winning touchdown. Drake earned the away win, 35-32 over Eastern.

Eag notes

• Eastern Washington recorded over 200 rushing yards for the second straight game.
• Michael Wortham now has eight career rushing touchdowns and his second career passing touchdown.
• Tuna Altahir scored his 11th career rushing touchdown and 14th overall as an Eagle.
• Landon Ogles punted four times for an average of 43.5 yards per attempt. He threw three punts inside the Drake 20-yard line.
• Malik Dotson set personal bests with 46 rushing yards and 48 receiving yards.
• The temperature at kickoff was 95 degrees, making it the hottest home game in program history. The previous hottest temperature was 93 degrees in Spokane vs. Portland State in September 1988. In Cheney, the hottest temperature the Eagles have ever played in was 89 degrees in September 2011.

Next
Eastern Washington plays Southeastern Louisiana next Saturday, September 14, in Hammond, Louisiana. Kickoff is at 4:00 PM Pacific Time and 6:00 PM Central Time.

Season tickets for the 2024 football season are now available! Ticket packages can be purchased online through your Paciolan account, by phone at 509-359-6059, or by emailing [email protected].

ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as educational opportunities for the most athletically talented students and to enhance student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with similar enrollments and academic goals.

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