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Kai Quinn
Jordan Meyer
51
Montana Western UMW 3-1 , 3-1
54
Winner Eastern Oregon EOU 2-2 , 2-2
Montana Western UMW
3-1 , 3-1
51
Final
54
Eastern Oregon EOU
2-2 , 2-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT F
UMW Montana Western 0 6 7 28 10 51
EOU Eastern Oregon 13 14 14 0 13 54

Game Recap: Football | | Spencer Jones, EOU Sports Information Assistant

Mountaineers Survive Improbable Bulldog Comeback, Win Thriller 54-51 (3OT)

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon football team outlasted an unbelievable Montana Western comeback, winning 54-51 in triple overtime Saturday afternoon in a Frontier Conference matchup.

In a contest chock-full of sporadic stat lines, big plays, and momentum shifts, Mountaineer special teams was able to make the decisive play that officially ended this rollercoaster of a matchup, blocking UMW's potential game-tying field goal in triple overtime.

The Mountaineers (2-2) handed No. 22 Montana Western (3-1) their first loss of the season, but the Bulldogs didn't roll over facing a four possession deficit late in the game.

Montana Western never gave up and overcame a 41-13 deficit heading into the fourth quarter, and ended up tying the game, scoring 28 straight points, and sending the game to overtime. The Bulldogs tallied 21 points in a span of 90 seconds in the final quarter of play due to an interception returned for a touchdown by defensive back Damaen Bentley, and a strip recovered for a touchdown by linebacker Joe Caicedo.  

The Mounties and Bulldogs traded field goals in the first overtime, then swapped touchdowns in the second to make the score 51-51. In the third, kicker Nathan Harden drilled a 39-yard field goal to put the Mountaineers up 54-51, forcing the Bulldogs to match the field goal or lose the game. The Montana Western field goal attempt in triple overtime was blocked by defensive end Zach Lacey, securing the victory for the Blue and Gold.

Eastern Oregon was in control the first three quarters of play. The Mounties had struggles coming out of the halftime break this season, and entering Saturday were outscored 50-13 in the third quarter. However, EOU looked solid throughout the period, outscoring the Bulldogs 14-7.

Everything seemed perfect for Eastern Oregon, putting together their best three quarter stretch of 2018, taking a 41-13 lead into the final 15 minutes of play.

The fourth quarter was disastrous for the Mounties. Anything that could go wrong did go wrong, and every mistake by the EOU offense resulted in a touchdown by the Bulldog defensive unit that scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. These defensive scores combined with the Montana Western offense clicking allowed them to come all the way back from down 28 points, tying the game at 41 points each.

The Mountaineers had a chance to take the game in regulation after quarterback Kai Quinn found wide receiver Brenden Kelly along the left sideline for a 42-yard gain. The electric play set up a field goal attempt in the final seconds of the game for the Mountaineers, however the kick bounced off the left upright, sending the game into overtime.

Quinn produced the second most passing yards in the history of the program, accumulating 430 yards and 4 touchdowns throughout the day. His go-to receiver all game was Kelly, who tallied 10 catches for 229 yards and a score, which came from a 97-yard streak up the right sideline. The 229-yard effort is the second highest total for any receiver in the history of Eastern Oregon football, and the 97-yard score is the longest pass and catch in program history. Quinn also threw the most passes of any EOU QB (61), and completed the third most passes (31) that Eastern Oregon has ever seen.

Running back Victor Dias had a heavy workload as well. The junior gained 156 yards on 28 carries, running for an average of 5.4 yards per carry. Dias also found the end zone on the ground in the third quarter from seven yards out.

Harden tied the EOU record for most field goals attempted in a game with five, and set the record by making four of them.

Despite the high score, the defense played well. Linebacker Garrett Devos led the team with 11 tackles, a tackle for loss, and a sack. Eli Teuteu came in right behind Devos with 10 tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack. Seven pass rushers took down the quarterback for sacks in the matchup.

Defensive back Justin Hughes made a dynamic play on special teams early in the game, blocking a punt that set up a field goal for EOU. He also was responsible for forcing a fumble at the Mountaineer 3-yard line, which turned into the 97-yard touchdown pass on the following play.

Defensive back Garrett Yunker had a clutch interception late in the game that set up the field goal attempt that ultimately hit off the crossbar before overtime started. Overall, the defensive unit performed much better than a 51-point score line would suggest, forcing five turnovers and producing seven sacks.

At times the Mountaineers looked like they couldn't be stopped, and at others they were a turnover machine. Considering the dichotomous performance in regulation, the team showed maturity to recompose themselves and regain focus to win in triple overtime against the No. 22 team in the NAIA.

Eastern Oregon heads into a bye next week, then will hit the road to take on Montana State-Northern in a Frontier Conference battle October 6th at 6 p.m. MT.

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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