HAVRE, Mont. – Eastern Oregon University football fell to Montana State-Northern, 45-27, on Saturday afternoon. The loss dropped the Mountaineers to 0-3 on the season.

Early in the contest, EOU had the best scoring chance. After Eastern Oregon blocked a Montana State-Northern punt the Mountaineers took over at the Lights 22 yard line. However, after a holding call the Mountaineers faced a second and 15. On second down Dominique Blackman missed a wide receiver in the end zone and he was sacked on third down. EOU went for it on fourth down but only gained four yards and turned it over on downs.

After the missed scoring chance by EOU, MSU-Northern was the first team to score in the game. With 5:08 left in the first quarter, Derek Lear passed for a 33 yard touchdown pass, to take a 7-0 lead. The Lights extended their lead on its next position to take a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.

Eastern Oregon answered back on its first position of the second quarter. Blackman found Justin Hernandez on third down to convert for a first down. It looked like the drive would stall as the Mountaineers did not do anything on the first three plays after the big play. However, Blackman found Hernandez on a fourth and eight for a 20 yard play to put EOU down to the two yard line. EOU was pushed back 15 yards after an unsportsmanlike conduct but it did not slow EOU down. Blackman put EOU on the board with a 10 yard touchdown with 11:34 left in the second quarter.

The Lights answered back on its next two positions to extend its lead to 21 points, 28-7 with 34 seconds left in the first half. Eastern Oregon had a different idea, as EOU took control of the ball at midfield. Zach Bartlow came in and went 3-for-4 passing on the drive and found Hernandez for a touchdown with four seconds left in the second quarter to trim the Lights lead to, 28-14, going into halftime.

Eastern Oregon found themselves down 38-14 after the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Eastern Oregon faced a fourth down and four. Blackman rolled to the left and the Lights looked like they had EOU stopped for a turnover on downs. However, Blackman threw the ball back across the field and EOU picked up the first down and took the Mountaineers down to the 11 yard line. TJ Esekielu capped the drive off with a two yard touchdown run to trim MSU-Northern's lead to 38-20. The Mountaineers went for the two point conversion but did not convert.

EOU scored on its last position of the game when Ray Walser came in and drove the Mountaineers down the field to score with eight seconds left on the clock. Walser, EOU's fourth quarterback of the day, found Alexander Miles for a touchdown.

Eastern Oregon returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 21 when Southern Oregon University Raiders come to La Grande. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.