HAVRE, Mont. – Eastern Oregon University Football closed out the regular season Saturday afternoon with a 21-6 road win over the Montana State University-Northern Lights. With the win, the Mountaineers finish the spring season with an overall record of 3-1 with the same mark in Frontier Conference play.
 
How it Happened
• Helping the Mountaineers take down the Lights (0-4, 0-4 Frontier) was 414 yards of total offense, while their defense held MSU-Northern to just 206. EOU also managed to convert 9-15 third down situations and held the Lights to just 2-12 in the same category.
• Also helping the EOU secure the win was the defensive run game that held the Lights to -4 yards for the afternoon. On the flip side, Eastern posted 285 yards in the ground game and averaged 5.6 yards per carry.
• The game was scoreless after the first quarter as both squads had their defenses dialed up. The scoreless bout held through the majority of the second quarter until the Mountaineers scored just before halftime to take a slim 7-0 lead into the break.
• The lone score of the first half of action came on the merit of senior running back John Lesser. He ended a 10-play 67 yard drive that lasted just over three and a half minutes with a four yard touchdown run. Zachary Cahill made it a seven-point EOU lead with the PAT.
• The game remained in the Mountaineers favor at 7-0 until the fourth quarter when they tacked two more touchdowns to lead 21-0. The Lights lone score of the game also came in the fourth on a touchdown pass but a missed PAT held MSU-Northern to six points for the afternoon.
• The lead grew to 14-0 for Eastern in the early going of the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers drove 67 yards down the field in seven plays to score their second touchdown of the game. The drive ended when Kai Quinn found Saige Wilkerson on a 24 yard pass for the score.
• The final touchdown of the day for the Mountaineers came with just over 6:30 to play in the finale. EOU got the ball following a defensive stop deep inside MSU-Northern territory. The Lights punted the ball but barely got past midfield.
• Needing just 51 yards to score, EOU moved down the field in just seven plays and still managed to run 3:02 off the clock. The drive was capped off as Quinn hit Tanner Zenke on a short six yard pass for the score. Cahill made his third straight PAT of the game to put EOU up 21-0.
• The Lights managed to avoid the shutout with a touchdown pass at the 1:40 mark on the clock. A 16 yard pass to the endzone ended a quick four-play 80 yard drive that lasted just 20 seconds. The PAT failed as the Mountaineers held on for the 15-point road win.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Kai Quinn had a pair of touchdown passes as he went 13-20 through the air for 129 yards. On the ground he rushed for 61 yards on 12 carries and finished the day with 190 yards of total offense.
• John Lesser was a force in the ground game rushing for 172 yards on 29 carries. He had one score and had a game-long run of 33 yards in the win while averaging 5.9 yards a carry.
• Saige Wilkerson and Tanner Zenke each had a touchdown reception in the win. Wilker finished with three catches for 38 yards, while Zenke had four catches for 34 yards.
• Tyler Brown led the way in receiving yards with 40 on a pair of receptions.
• Sage DeLong made an impact in the final totaling 14 tackles with eight being solo tackles. He had 5.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in the win.
• Chase Van Wyck had six tackles on the day to go along with 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack.
• Zachary Cahill handled all the kicking duties for EOU and in PAT attempts was a perfect 3-3 in the win.
 
For the Lights
• Brenden Medina was 17-29 passing for 210 yards and had one touchdown.
• The rush attack for MSU-Northern was led by Cannan Smith who had just 17 yards on 12 carries.
• Tyrese Rio led the receiving corps with five catches for 89 yards and the only touchdown of the game.
• Joel Hadley led the defense tying the game-high in tackles with 14. He had seven solo and assisted tackles, respectively.
• Dylan Wampler had 13 tackles, while Damari Cual-Davis had 12 to help lead the defense.
 
By the Numbers
-4 – The Mountaineers' run defense had its best game of the season as they held the lights to negative yards for the contest at -4.
285 – EOU had a season-high 285 yards rushing in the win against the Lights
10 – The Mountaineers had 10.0 tackles for loss against MSU-Northern is the most in a game this year.
4 – EOU matched its single-game high in pass breakups with four against the Lights.

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