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16_FB_Richards
Bobby Morgan
52
Winner Eastern Oregon EOU 3-2 , 3-2
31
Montana St.-Northern MSUN 1-4 , 1-3
Winner
Eastern Oregon EOU
3-2 , 3-2
52
Final
31
Montana St.-Northern MSUN
1-4 , 1-3
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
EOU Eastern Oregon 21 7 14 10 52
MSUN Montana St.-Northern 3 7 7 14 31

Game Recap: Football | | Seth Dahle, Sports Information Director

Balanced Offense Powers No. 16 EOU Football Past MSU-Northern, 52-31

HAVRE, Mont. – Led by a veteran quarterback in senior Zach Bartlow, the No. 16 EOU football team tallied a season-high 548 yards of total offense on the way to toppling MSU-Northern, 52-31, on Saturday night at Blue Pony Stadium.
 
Bartlow went 19-for-27 passing for 325 yards and four touchdowns, and he also added 43 yards on the ground and one rushing touchdown to move into sole possession of second place all-time in program history for career rushing TDs.
 
EOU's receivers had a field day, as the Blue and Gold (3-2, 3-2 Frontier) issued a balanced air attack led by junior wide receiver Joshua Richards' four catches for 96 yards. Meanwhile, junior wide receivers Brenden Kelly and Calvin Connors combined for seven snags and 118 yards.
 
On the ground, the Blue and Gold was just as solid, as it bounced back from a dismal 32-yard performance against Montana Tech with 218 rushing yards. Senior running back Alfred Gross recorded 56 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, and senior running back AJ Prom added 54 rushing yards.
 
Sophomore kicker Nathan Harden drilled a 37-yard field goal and was a perfect 7-for-7 on PATs, while senior linebacker Tucker Stanley mustered 11 tackles (four solo). EOU's defensive line also garnered four sacks from junior Travis Jones, sophomore Nick De Alba, and senior Austin Brown.
 
THE RUNDOWN
While the Mountaineers were looking to rebound from two-straight defeats, MSU-Northern (1-4, 1-4 Frontier) aimed to knock off another top-25 opponent, as the Lights entered with an upset victory over then-ranked No. 21 Carroll.
 
EOU put the pressure on the Lights early, scoring on its first two drives of the contest to go up, 14-0. After MSU-Northern got on the board with a field goal, the Mountaineers responded with a 4-play, 37-yard drive into the end zone, as Bartlow found Gross for the touchdown to cap the opening quarter.
 
Gross hauled in another tally to put the Blue and Gold up by 25 (28-3), but MSU-Northern fired back with 14 straight to make it a ball game (28-17) with 9:12 left in the third.
 
Bartlow completed touchdown passes to Richards and senior wide receiver TJ Esekielu to regain the momentum and extend EOU's margin to 25 (42-17), and following a 37-yarder by Harden, Gross took a handoff for another six to grant the Mountaineers their largest lead (52-24) of the game with 7:59 remaining in the contest.
 
EOU's defense held MSU-Northern to only 291 yards of total offense – a season-best effort by the Blue and Gold.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
52 – Points scored by EOU, the highest tally in 2016.
14-6 – The Mountaineers' all-time record vs. MSU-Northern.
50 – Career wins for head coach Tim Camp.

UP NEXT
EOU travels to Ashland, Ore., for a showdown with No. 9 Southern Oregon on Oct. 15. Kickoff at Raider Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
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