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Football Barrett Henderson, Assistant Athletic Director

Football Game Notes: Week Seven

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LA GRANDE, Ore. -- The No. 23 Eastern Oregon University football team welcomes Montana Tech Saturday for 2011 Homecoming. The weekly notes are now available.

* Game 7: Eastern Oregon (4-2, 4-1 Frontier) at Montana Tech (1-5, 0-5 Frontier)
* When: Saturday, Oct. 15, 1 p.m.
* Where: Community Stadium, La Grande, Ore.
* Forecast: Mid 50's and 40 percent chance of precipitation.
* Live Stats: EOUSports.com      
* Live Video: EOUSports.com      
* Live Radio: KCMB 104.7 FM
* Series: Montana Tech holds an 11-7 all-time advantage.

GAME TIME
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Community Stadium with a live video stream on EOUSports.com. A live radio broadcast will also be available on KCMB 104.7 FM in La Grande and Baker City.

THE SERIES
* Montana Tech leads the all-time series 11-7.
* The Orediggers have a 5-4 advantage over Eastern in La Grande.
* Tech has lost three of its last four games in Community Stadium.
* The last meeting between the teams was earlier this season in Butte when EOU won 31-15.
* Eastern won the last meeting in La Grande in 2010, 31-28, on EOU's Homecoming.
* The winner in five of the last six meetings has scored at least 28 points..
* Three of the last six meetings have been decided by a combined eight points.
* The last six meetings have been split between the teams.
* Tech has a 6-4 advantage over EOU in the last 10 meetings.

QUICK HITS
* Eastern has won its last four Homecoming games dating back to 2006.
* After Chris Ware is five rushing attempts from breaking his 14th school record, the most rushing attempts in a career.
* Ware is 20 yards from eighth in NAIA history in career total offensive yards. He is 13th in NAIA history in career passing yards.
* Ware is 118 passing yards away from 10,000 for his career.
* Eastern Oregon is third in the NAIA in first downs per game (24.7) and fourth in the nation in third down conversions (47.7 percent)
* Kevin Sampson is third in the NAIA total rushing and rushing yards per game.
* Eastern Oregon is fourth in the country in Punt Yards per Attempt (43.1)
* The Mountaineers are 12th in the NAIA in scoring offense per game (36.0)
* EOU is 13-1 under Tim Camp when it scores 40 or more points.
* The Mountaineers are two conference wins away from being .500 all-time in the Frontier.

WARE MOVES ON TO THE NEXT ONE
Eastern Oregon quarterback, Chris Ware, passed the school's rushing touchdowns in a career record this season. The senior has scored 22 rushing touchdowns in his career, breaking Damien Johnson's seven-year-old record at EOU. Ware currently holds 13 school records. The Rainier, Ore. native has a chance to break record number 14. He is five rushing attempts from topping Tim Sicocan's 11-year-old school record. Ware has a total of 531 rushing attempts in his four seasons at EOU.

A NEW FRONTIER
After Carroll College has won the past 11 Frontier Conference titles, Eastern Oregon is poised to challenge the Saints in 2011. EOU sits atop the conference standings with a head-to-head advantage over Carroll at the halfway point of conference play. The Mountaineers currently own the first tiebreaker over Carroll due to Eastern's win in Helena over the Saints. Both teams are 4-1 at the halfway point of conference play, with the second round of play to begin next week. EOU welcomes Carroll to La Grande on Oct. 22.

HOW DOES THE TIEBREAKER WORK?
With both teams having a 4-1 record in conference play, Carroll and Eastern Oregon may have to use the conference tiebreaker rule, if EOU and Carroll each finish with the same amount of conference losses at the end of the season. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition, which Eastern can claim if it were to win on Oct. 22. The second tiebreaker is fewest defensive points allowed in conference play. The Saints at the moment has a 97 to 213 point advantage in that category.

NIGHT AND DAY
Eastern Oregon has looked quite different on the last three games, compared to its first three games of the season. The Mountaineers are 16 for 47 (34 percent) on third downs in the past three games, compared to 25 for 39 (64 percent) the first three games. Eastern averaged 454 yards of offense the first three games to 362 the past three. EOU gave up an average of 359 yards the first three game, while the last three it has been an average of 451 yards. The Mountaineers average score in the first three games was 40-25, the last three has been 32-45.

HAVE TO GET OFF TO A GOOD START
The Mountaineers trail in time of possession by an average of 17:41 to 12:19 in the last three games in the first half, while the second half EOU has an average advantage of 19:27 to 10:52. This season EOU has been outscored 131-102 in the first half, but outscored opponents, 115-82, in the second half. Eastern is 2-2 this season when trailing at halftime and 7-12 under Camp when trailing at the half. EOU is 1-2 this year when trailing after the third quarter and 5-14 under Camp. Eastern 13-3 when leading after three quarters under Camp.

NOT A BAD START
EOU has started two seasons, 4-0, including the school's best start in 1980, when Eastern won the first six games of the season. Eastern has won four straight games during a season six times since beginning football in 1929. The Mountaineers have posted three straight wins only 17 times in 82 years. The Mountaineers started the season 3-0 for only the fourth time in the program's 82-year history. Eastern has the opportunity to win its fifth game of the season after only seven games this Saturday.

SEATTLE'S BEST
Eastern runningback, Kevin Sampson, is in the top 10 in several statistical categories. He is third in the NAIA in rushing yards per game (113.7), and  total rushing (683). Sampson is sixth in eighth in all-purpose yards (733). He is eighth in total scoring (54) and total scoring from touchdowns (54). The senior is 11th in scoring per game (9.6). He is 12th in the nation in all-purpose yards per game (148.2). The Seattle, Wash. native is 233 rushing yards away from breaking Tim Sicocan's 11-year Eastern Oregon school career record.

THIRD DOWN? NO PROBLEM
The Mountaineers are taking care of business on third down so far this season. Eastern Oregon is currently fourth in the country on third down, converting 47 percent of the time. EOU has made first downs on 41 of its 86 third down attempts. The Mountaineers are 22nd in the nation on fourth down conversions as well. Eastern has made 21 of its 21 attempts on fourth down this season.

GONE CAMPING
Eastern has found winning territory under its head coach Tim Camp. The Mountaineers won their 20th Frontier Conference game under Camp this season. Only Don Turner from 1978 to 1981 reached 20 overall wins faster than Camp in Eastern's coaching history. With the exception of Carroll, EOU has a winning record against every conference opponent under Camp. Eastern is 4-7 against Top 25 teams under Camp. Eastern has won four of the seven meetings against Montana Tech under Camp.

HOMECOMING 2011
Eastern Oregon has won the past four homecoming games dating back to a 34-0 loss to Carroll on Oct. 14, 2006. EOU faced Montana Tech last season on Homecoming when Eastern won a thrilling 31-28 victory in front of one of the largest crowds in EOU history. A golf tournament, parade and bonfire kickoff the 2011 Homecoming festivities. Cross Country, soccer, softball, women's basketball and men's basketball all compete Saturday along with football. ASEOU also hosts an outdoor concert Saturday night on the EOU campus.
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