Box Score

BOX SCORE

DILLON, Mont. – The No. 21 Eastern Oregon University football team eased to a 54-13 victory at Montana Western Saturday.

The Mountaineers (7-3, 7-2 Frontier Conference) led 47-0 at halftime, their largest halftime lead under Tim Camp. Kevin Sampson broke the school's career rushing record on his first carry. The senior needed nine yards entering the game to break Tim Sicocan's 11-year record. Sampson ran for 59 yards on his first carry for the record.

Sampson finished the game with 160 yards on nine carries, all in the first half. Sean Hurlbut ran for a career-high 82 yards on 12 carries.

Chris Ware led Eastern through the air with 201 yards. The senior completed 15 of his 19 passes all in the first half. Ware threw five first half touchdowns and no interceptions. The Rainier, Ore. native has thrown 141 consecutive passes without an interception dating back to 17 passes into the Southern Oregon game.

Gary Cole led EOU with three catches. The senior had 23 yards receiving. Justin Udy caught a pair of passes for 51 yards.

After Sampson's 59-yard run to open the game, Ware found Sampson three plays later for the first score on a four-yard pass at the 11:40 mark of the first quarter.

Three plays into Western's second possession, Jeff Logan had his pass intercepted by Nick Magrone and returned for a 41-yard touchdown. Magrone' third interception of the season came with 10:36 to play in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Eastern's Kedrick Starr recovered it. Five plays later, Ware found Cole on a 14-yard touchdown connection with 8:41 left in the first quarter.

The Mountaineers next points came with 3:07 left in the opening quarter. Ware completed a 34-yard touchdown pass to AC Songco. It was Songco's first collegiate touchdown.

Eastern Oregon opened the second quarter with a 76-yard touchdown run from Sampson. It was the first 70-plus yard run for Eastern since Ian O'Brien's 70-yard scamper against Montana Tech on Sept. 29, 2007. On their next drive, the Mountaineers got a 13-yard touchdown connection from Ware to Dillon Bedford with 8:55 left in the second quarter.

An 11-play drive was capped off by a 27-yard touchdown pass from Ware to Hurlbut with 1:17 remaining in the first half. Ryan Watson then intercepted a Logan pass to end the half on the ensuing Bulldog possession.

Matt Orthmann scored the Mountaineers' next points. Orthmann carried in a four-yard score with 6:41 left in the third quarter.

Logan found TJ Leep on a two-yard pass for Montana Western's first score with 2:26 remaining the third quarter. The final score of the game came with 27 seconds left in regulation. Logan connected with Charlie Dotson for a seven-yard score.

Logan finished 12 of 25 for 134 yards. He threw two touchdowns and two interceptions. Dotson had 67 yards on 20 carries. And, Rashad Peniston caught five passes for 101 yards.

EOU ran for 314 yards in the game, while the Bulldogs (2-8, 2-7) had 64 yards on the ground. Eastern finished with 547 total yards of offense, compared to Western's 198. The Mountaineers committed five penalties for 83 yards, and UMW had three penalties for 18 yards.

Kasey Griffiths led Western with a game-high 12 tackles. Trent Mallory picked up a fumble for the Bulldogs as well. The Mountaineers finished with four sacks and were led by Howard McDonald's six tackles.

The Mountaineers travel to Rocky Mountain College next Saturday for their final game of the regular season. RMC beat Eastern earlier this season in La Grande, 51-17. The Battlin' Bears (5-5, 4-5) fell at Montana State-Northern Friday, 24-0. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. Mountain Time. Live video and stats will be available on EOUSports.com.