LA GRANDE, Ore. – Welcome to the record books Eastern Oregon. The No. 19 Mountaineers won its sixth game of the season Saturday over Montana Western, 40-30.
EOU won its sixth game of the season for only the ninth time in program history. The Mountaineers held off a phenomenal second half rally from the Bulldogs. Eastern jumped out to a 40-10 lead early in the second half, before UMW went on a 20-0 run over the final 24 minutes of the game.
Eastern broke 10 school records in Saturday's victory. Chris Ware broke four individual records in the game. The sophomore quarterback broke Chuck Nyby's nine-year record for touchdowns in a career. Ware has thrown for 46 touchdowns in two seasons with the Mountaineers. He also broke Greg Stevens 18-year-old record of passing yards in a season. Ware has thrown for 2,560 yards this season. He broke his own record for total offensive yards in a season he set in 2008. The sophomore has 2,816 total offensive yards in two seasons.
Thomas Akers set a new school record for point after touchdowns made in a season. The senior broke the record he set in 2008. Rodell Razor passed Bryan Suerath's 26 pass break-ups in a career. Razor now has 27 after his two break-ups Saturday.
Ware finished the day throwing for 279 yards, completing 19 of his 31 attempts. He had one interception and four touchdowns, three passing and one rushing. That ties Chuck Nyby's touchdown responsible for in a career record set in 2000 with 58 touchdowns.
Jordyn Jackson caught seven passes for 88 yards with a touchdown, and Mike Corral had five catches for 89 yards with a touchdown. Rick Copsey caught two passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Sampson led the Mountaineers on the ground with nine carries for 39 yards.
EOU gained 143 yards on the ground, while Montana Western had 103. UMW's Micah Mamiya threw for 321 yards, completing 36 of his 65 passes. He finished with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. Craig Cornelius caught 13 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. Charlie Dotson led the Bulldogs on the ground with eight carries for 56 yards and two touchdowns.
Eastern's Kasidy Gooch had a game-high 13 tackles. Ullises Trejo and Corey Dunn each had 11 tackles. Razor and Josh Gray each had an interception for the Mountaineers.
Western finished with 29 first downs and EOU had 18. The Bulldogs had 424 yards of total offense, compared to Eastern Oregon's 428. Time of possession was very even with the Mountaineers having the ball for 29:22, and UMW had the ball for 30:38.
Eastern stays at home and hosts Montana Tech next Saturday, Oct. 24, at Community Stadium. Carroll College defeated the OreDiggers Saturday, 23-3, in Helena, Mont. Rocky Mountain College won its first conference game Saturday with a 52-27 rout over Montana State-Northern.
