BOX SCORE

LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon University upset No. 21 Montana Tech at the EOU Homecoming, 31-28, Saturday.

Ked Starr returned a punt for a touchdown with 1:58 remaining in regulation to help the Mountaineers (4-3) (4-2) win their fourth consecutive game.

Kevin Sampson finished with his fourth 100-yard game on the ground in a row. The junior carried 24 times for 100 yards. Chris Ware finished 21 of 40 for 216 yards with two rushing touchdowns and one through the air. Ware collected his 10th school record in the win. Ware topped Chuck Nyby's pass attempt record of 992 attempts in a career. Ware needs eight ,ore completions to break Nyby's completions in a career school record as well.

“I am very proud of this football program and how resilient they are,” Eastern head coach Tim Camp said. “The coaches and the players were determined to win this game against a very talented Montana Tech football club.”

Eastern was held under 200 yards on the ground for the first time in the last four games. The Mountaineers were held to 188 yards on the ground, five yards shy of their Frontier Conference leading 193 yards per game. EOU finished with 404 total offensive yards, while Tech had 503.

The Orediggers (4-3) (4-2) lost for the second time in the last three games and fell into a second place tie with Eastern Oregon in the conference behind No. 2 Carroll College. After the Mountaineers began the season 0-3, they have won four consecutive contests and travel to Carroll next week in the Victory Sports Network National Game of the Week.

Montana Tech gained 161 yards on the ground led by Matt Komac's 93 yards on 13 carries. Komac threw for 342 yards and completed 30 of his 46 passes. He had a pair of touchdowns through the air and threw two interceptions. His 93 rushing yards and 342 passing yards were season highs.

J.T. McIntyre caught four Komac passes for 92 yards and Shayne Shaules had seven catches for 86 yards. Kirk Miller led EOU with seven catches for 62 yards. Sampson added 42 yards on five receptions. Starr had a game-high 180 all-purpose yards. The top two kick return and punt return players in the conference squared off Saturday with Starr and the Orediggers' Trent Thomas on the same field. Thomas finished with 105 all-purpose yards to lead Tech.

The teams combined for nine turnovers in the game as each team lost three fumbles, while Eastern had two interceptions and Montana Tech had one. Howard McDonald forced two Oredigger fumbles and finished with 12 tackles. Marc-Avery Airhart had a game-high 15 tackles. Marcus Johnson and Trent Panasuk each had 11 tackles for Montana Tech.

Thomas opened the scoring with 2:45 remaining in the first quarter on a 15-yard run. The Mountaineers tied the score on a Ware to Gary Cole five-yard touchdown pass at the 7:33 mark of the second quarter. Eastern began a high-scoring second half with a pair of Ware touchdown runs. The junior ran in from five yards away and 23 yards out.

Shaules caught a 20-yard pass from Komac to begin a 21-3 Montana Tech run. Drew Savage would score next on a four-yard run, tying the score at 21. Nick Knell connected on a 34-yard field goal on the ensuing Mountaineer possession. McIntyre caught a 23-yard pass from Komac to complete an eight-play, 76-yard drive for Montana Tech.

Eastern failed to score on its next drive which ended with 2:32 remaining in regulation. The EOU defense forced a three-and-out, and combined with uses of three timeouts, got the ball back with a Tech punt just 34 seconds later. Starr caught a Brian Nickel punt on the EOU 32-yard-line and returned it 68 yards for the winning touchdown with 1:58 left in the game.

With Eastern leading 31-28, Komac marched the Orediggers from their own 24-yard-line to the Eastern Oregon 27-yard-line, and in field goal range. On first-and-ten at the EOU 27-yard-line, Max Hannah intercepted a Komac pass at the 18-yard-line with 16 seconds remaining in the game to seal the victory.

The Homecoming attendance at Community Stadium was the largest for an Eastern Oregon football game in the last four years. The atmosphere, thrilling outcome, and fourth straight Mountaineer victory has EOU fans excited for the trip to Helena, Mont., for a matchup with the nation's second ranked team next Saturday.

Gary Henderson and Barrett Henderson will provide the call for Eastern fans on KCMB 104.7 FM. The game will also be broadcast with a live video stream on VictorySportsNetwork.com. Fans can expect a release from Victory Sports Network about the matchup Monday on EOUSports.com and a preview of the game to follow Thursday. The kickoff in Helena is scheduled for 1 p.m. Mountain Time, Noon Pacific Time.