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EOU Football
Chris Duarte

Football Iain Dexter, EOU Sports Information Director

No. 11 EOU Drops Road Contest 28-20 at College of Idaho

Box Score

CALDWELL, Idaho. – The No. 11 Eastern Oregon football team was upset on the road, 28-20, at I-84 rival College of Idaho, Saturday afternoon at Simplot Stadium.
 
The College of Idaho (1-3, 1-2 Frontier) used a balanced offensive attack, passing and rushing for 220 yards each, amassing 440 yards of offense against EOU.
 
Trailing 28-13 with the 3:53 left in the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers (1-2, 1-2 Frontier) put together an eight play, 72-yard touchdown drive to cut the deficit to 28-20, taking just 1:41 off the clock. After the defense forced a three and out against the Coyotes, the EOU offense was put in a tough situation, needing to drive 91 yards in 24 seconds. Three incompletions and a fourth down sack ended the game.
 
Turnovers proved pivotal in the loss for the Mountaineers, who fumbled three times. The first fumble in the second quarter took away a scoring opportunity for the Blue and Gold, who had started the drive on the C of I half of the field.
 
In the third quarter, EOU fumbled once again in Yotes' territory after moving the ball 40 yards down the field. The final fumble proved to be the most costly, setting up C of I on the EOU 34-yard line. The Yotes eventually punched in their final touchdown, giving them a 28-13 lead.
 
The Coyotes opened the game with all the momentum, scoring touchdowns on their first two drives of the game. They went 65 yards on six plays on their opening drive, followed by an eight-play, 90-yard drive to take an early 14-0 lead.
 
The Mountaineers answered on their third possession of the game, as redshirt junior kicker Nathan Harden knocked through a career-long 45-yard field goal to make the score 14-3.
 
The No. 11 Mounties kept the pressure on in the second and third quarters, scoring 13 unanswered points. Just before the half, redshirt sophomore running back Victor Dias punched in a three-yard touchdown run with 34 seconds left. The score capped off one of the offenses' best drives of the game that went 77 yards on eight plays.
 
In the third quarter, EOU continued to chip away as Harden hit his second field goal, a 30 yarder, to cut the deficit to 14-13.
 
After a span of 36 minutes and 40 seconds without allowing any points by the Blue and Gold defense, the Coyotes drove 80 yards to up the lead to eight points with 12:49 left on the clock.
 
After the Yotes extended the lead to 15 points, the EOU comeback fell just short in the 28-20 loss.
 
The Mountaineers put up 348 yards of offense, including 200 passing yards by redshirt freshman Kai Quinn. Redshirt junior wide receiver Brenden Kelly had six catches for 83 yards and the fourth quarter, 28-yard touchdown grab. Dias rushed for 67 yards on 16 carries, while redshirt freshman running back John Lesser had 54 yards on 15 rushes.
 
Defensively, the Blue and Gold forced three turnovers of their own, including two interceptions. Sophomore defensive back Anfernee Cortez had his second interception in as many games on a Hail Mary by C of I to end the first half. Fellow sophomore defensive back Haziel Ledezma had a third quarter interception that resulted in an EOU field goal. Ledezma also led the team with 10 tackles, including nine solo.
 
NEXT UP:
The No. 11 Eastern Oregon football team stays on the road, visiting No. 5 Montana Tech on Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. Mountain Time in Butte, Montana.
 
For more information on Eastern Oregon football, follow @EOUAthletics or visit eousports.com.
 
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Contact: Iain Dexter; 541-962-3946; idexter@eou.edu
 
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Players Mentioned

Anfernee Cortez

#1 Anfernee Cortez

DB
5' 11"
Sophomore
Victor Dias

#44 Victor Dias

RB
5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
Nathan Harden

#17 Nathan Harden

P/K
6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
Brenden Kelly

#8 Brenden Kelly

WR
6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
Haziel Ledezma

#31 Haziel Ledezma

DB
6' 0"
Sophomore
John Lesser

#23 John Lesser

RB
5' 9"
Redshirt Freshman
Kai Quinn

#6 Kai Quinn

QB
6' 0"
Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

Anfernee Cortez

#1 Anfernee Cortez

5' 11"
Sophomore
DB
Victor Dias

#44 Victor Dias

5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
RB
Nathan Harden

#17 Nathan Harden

6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
P/K
Brenden Kelly

#8 Brenden Kelly

6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
WR
Haziel Ledezma

#31 Haziel Ledezma

6' 0"
Sophomore
DB
John Lesser

#23 John Lesser

5' 9"
Redshirt Freshman
RB
Kai Quinn

#6 Kai Quinn

6' 0"
Redshirt Freshman
QB