Box Score BOX SCORE POSTGAME NOTES POSTGAME QUOTES PHOTO GALLERY (Coming)
LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 9 Eastern Oregon University football team rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to defeat Montana Western, 45-39, in the season home opener.
The Mountaineers (4-0, 4-0 Frontier Conference) have won their first four games of the season for only the third time in the program's 82-year history. EOU is ranked at the second highest position in school history.
Eastern Oregon was led by
Kevin Sampson's 150 yards on the ground on 27 carries. The senior ran for a pair of touchdowns.
Chris Ware completed 20 of his 34 passes for 226 yards. The Rainier, Ore. native threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score. His rushing touchdown breaks the school record for rushing touchdowns in a career. It is Ware's 13th school record.
Zach McRae opened the scoring on the opening Bulldog drive. The quarterback ran in a six-yard score at the 11:21 mark of the first quarter. Seven minutes later, Kahi Perbera caught a 26-yard pass from McRae. After a 38-yard
Kedrick Starr kickoff return, Sampson broke a career-long 44-yard touchdown run for Eastern's first score.
The Mountaineers tied the game with a 26-yard Ware to
Gary Cole connection just into the second quarter. Auk Sribenjakul made a 41-yard field goal to give UMW the lead back with 11:14 left in the first half. Western then scored a pair of touchdowns to close the quarter, a Charlie Dotson nine-yard run and a TJ Leep 10-yard run. The Bulldogs entered the halftime break with a 30-14 advantage.
Ware had the lone score of the third quarter with a nine-yard run. The touchdown was the school record-breaking run. A minute into the fourth quarter,
Dillon Bedford caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Ware to cut the lead to 30-28. Thirty seconds later,
Watson Togiailua returned an interception 49 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
Western would regain the lead two minutes later with a Dotson one-yard run. The Mountaineers got their final lead at the 4:11 mark when
Luis Ortiz hit a 26-yard field goal. Sampson ran in a one-yard touchdown with 2:08 remaining in regulation to seal the victory. UMW made a 25-yard field goal with 53 seconds left.
The Bulldogs (0-4, 0-4) outgained EOU in total offensive yards, 422-389. The Mountaineers had a 163-98 rushing yard advantage. Western had a 30:26 to 28:21 time of possession advantage. UMW committed nine penalties for 152 yards, while Eastern had 50 yards on six penalties.
McRae finished 25 for 39 for 324 passing yards. He threw one touchdown and one interception. Casey Lamping caught five passes for 70 yards. Dotson gained 79 yards on the ground on 23 carries.
Jake Burroughs caught seven passes for 65 yards for Eastern. Sampson had 183 all-purpose yards.
Marc-Avery Airhart had 11 tackles, while
Matt Gayman finished with 10 tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss.
Wes Orr had a fumble recovery. The Mountaineers have gone 11 quarters without a turnover, including Ware's 88 passes without an interception.
Donte Green led Montana Western with a game-high 13 tackles. Keiter-Charles added 11 tackles. Four Bulldogs had pass breakups.
The Mountaineers avenge a home a loss to UMW last season when the Bulldogs entered the game 0-8. It was Western's lone win of the 2010 season.
Eastern hosts No. 17 Rocky Mountain College (3-2, 2-2) next Saturday at 1 p.m. The Battlin' Bears fell at home Saturday to Montana State-Northern, 35-32. No. 4 Carroll College won the other Frontier Conference game Saturday at Montana Tech, 26-0.
