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Football Barrett Henderson, Assistant Athletic Director

Football Game Notes: Week Ten

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LA GRANDE, Ore. -- The No. 21 Eastern Oregon University football team travels to Montana Western for a key late-season Frontier Conference matchup Saturday. The weekly notes are now available.

* Game 10: No. 21 Eastern Oregon (6-3, 6-2 Frontier) at Montana Western (2-6, 2-7)
* When: Saturday, Nov. 5, 1 p.m. MT
* Where: Vigilante Stadium, Dillon, Mont.
* Forecast: Partly Cloudy, Lows 30's, 10 percent chance of snow
* Live Stats: EOUSports.com      
* Live Video: EOUSports.com      
* Live Radio: KCMB 104.7 FM
* Series: Eastern leads the all-time series over the Bulldogs 16-5.

GAME TIME
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Mountain Time at Vigilante 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
* Eastern Oregon has won 16 of the 20 all-time meetings.
* Montana Western ended an EOU four-game win streak with a win in La Grande last season, 27-20.
* Last year's win in La Grande was the Bulldogs' lone victory of the season.
* The last five games at EOU between the schools have all been decided by 10 points or less.
* Five of the last six meetings in Dillon have been decided by 12 points or less, with four of the games decided by one possession.
* Last season's game at UMW, the Mountaineers held Western to 36 rushing yards.
* The Bulldog football program has an all-time record of 202-272-13, since 1924.
* Western has made three postseason appearances, last one in 2002.
* Montana Western last had a winning record in 2004 when it had a 7-4 record.

QUICK HITS
* Kevin Sampson is nine rushing yards away from breaking Tim Sicocan's 11-year Eastern Oregon school career record.
* Chris Ware has thrown 122 straight passes without an interception. His last interception came 17 passes into the Southern Oregon game.
* EOU won its sixth game in a season for only the 10th time in 82 years last week.
* The Mountaineers are searching for their seventh win this season. EOU has won seven games in a single season only three times in the program's 82 years.
* The current four-year EOU players have equaled the most wins in school history over a four-year span. Eastern has won 23 games the past four seasons.
* Eastern Oregon is 12th in the NAIA in first downs per game (22.2) and third in the nation in third down conversions (48 percent)
* Chris Ware is eighth in NAIA history in career total offensive yards. He is 13th in NAIA history in career passing yards.

NINE MORE FOR RECORD
Eastern running back, Kevin Sampson, is nine yards shy of breaking the school's rushing yards in a career record. The senior ran for 67 yards on Senior Day in La Grande and will have to break the record on the road. Sampson has rushed for 2,577 yards in just three seasons. The Seattle native became only the second Mountaineer to rush for 2,000 yards in a career. Tim Sicocan set the current school mark from 1997 to 2000. He ran for 2,585 yards on 535 carries. Sampson has made his mark in 512 carries.

THIRD DOWN AND BOUND
The Mountaineers climbed to the third in the NAIA in third down conversions after making nine of its 14 third down attempts last week. In a game that pitted two of the best third down offenses in the country, EOU was clearly the better team. MSU-Northern finished one for nine on its attempts. Eastern has converted 48 percent of the time on third down this season.The Mountaineers have made 61 of their 127 third down attempts in 2011. The EOU defense has held opponents to 44 percent on third down.

WIN NUMBER SIX
Eastern Oregon accomplished something it had only done nine times before in the 82-year history of the football program last week ... won its sixth game in a single season. The Mountaineers are the 10th team since 1929 to accomplish the feat with a win last Saturday. The last time EOU won six games in a season was just two years ago. The Mountaineers began 2009 with a 6-2 record after a Homecoming win over Montana Western. Eastern won six games each season from 2004 to 2006.

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN ON THE WAY?
The Mountaineers can grab win number seven Saturday. EOU has won seven games in a single season only three times in the program's 82-year existence. The last seven-win season came in 2009 when Eastern finished 7-4. The Mountaineers' sixth-win of the season guarantees them of a winning season for the 22nd time in school history. Eastern Oregon still has an outside shot at qualifying for the school's first ever postseason appearance in football. However, it will take two wins to finish the regular season at the very least.

SENIORITY RULES
The 13 Eastern Oregon student-athletes that were honored at Senior Day last Saturday in La Grande have seen plenty of success while at EOU. The Mountaineers accomplished quite a feat on Senior Day. EOU won its 23rd game over the past four seasons, equaling the best four-year span in school history. From 1978 to 1981, EOU totaled 23 wins and 15 losses. Eastern can pass that four-year win total this Saturday with a win in Dillon. Eastern Oregon is 23-19 over the past four years.

NO NEED TO RUSH
The Mountaineer defense has owned the Montana Western running offense in the recent meetings between the teams. EOU has held the Bulldogs to a combined 134 yards in two of the past two games. The Mountaineers stifled UMW last season in Dillon, holding Western to 36 yards on the ground. The Bulldogs then ran for 98 yards this season in La Grande. In contrast, Eastern Oregon ran for 236 and 163 in those two meetings. EOU has totaled 788 yards on the ground the past five meetings.

WARE NAMED POW
Eastern quarterback, Chris Ware, was named Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Week Monday. Ware, a senior, threw for 297 yards in a 41-14 victory over Montana State-Northern last Saturday in La Grande. Ware completed 21 of his 29 passes, with four touchdowns and no interceptions. The Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Week title is the seventh in Ware's career, and second this season. He received the award on Sept. 12, following the win at Carroll. He has thrown 122 passes since his last interception.

COMPUTER LOVE
The Mountaineers are getting some respect from a non-human ranking system this season. Eastern Oregon is currently No. 19 in the Massey Ratings system. EOU has spent much of the season at No. 2 in the poll, but got as high as the No. 1 spot after beating Carroll on the road. The Frontier Conference was previously listed as the toughest conference by the ratings in the NAIA. Carroll is No. 3 in the poll.

HERE WE COME
Eastern rose to No. 21 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll released Monday. The Mountaineers moved up four spots from their No. 25 ranking last week. Fellow Frontier Conference member, Carroll College, remained No. 3 in the country following its win at Montana Western.
Two teams dropped out of the Top 25: Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (No. 23) and Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (No. 24). The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents.
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