Eastern Washington spring football game: Defense wins the night in Cheney
From news services
CHENEY — The night belonged to Eastern Washington football’s defense as they won the Red-White game, 41-20, over the offense. The Eagle defense, wearing Red, forced two turnovers and had four sacks on the offense, wearing white.
The defense began the game with a 31-point lead that the offense could not overcome. The defense earned points for forcing turnovers and fourth-down stops.
”You want success. If there is one side dominating at least they’re dominating factors,” Eastern Washington coach Aaron Best said. “The defense came up with a pick by Kentrell [Williams] early. I think that sparked the red and defense to get them going. Anything is contagious; matching energy and playmaking is contagious. They showed the field. There were a couple late big trump plays by the offense but, for the first three quarters, they held their own.”
Kentrell Williams grabbed the defense’s interception in the first quarter. Jaylon Jenkins forced a fumble from the red team in the beginning of the third quarter. Cage Schneck managed to jump on the ball that Jenkins pulled loose to add to the team’s lead.
The EWU defense also racked up 10 tackles for loss, led by two from Isaiah Perez, with one sack. Along with Perez, Ethan Williamson, Shane Aleaga and Tylin Jackson each recorded a sack in the game.
Jackson added a pair of pass breakups at the line as well.
Derek Ganter Jr. led the defense with seven total tackles, six solo. Amdane Aboudu and Bishop Blakely each registered six total tackles (five solo, one assist). Jaylon Jekins had four solo tackles and two assists. Aleaga and McKel Broussard recorded four solo tackles and one assist.
”The defense got the ball in front of them and tackled well,” Best said. “This game is played in space so the better you can play in space, the more effective you’re going to be to put teams in third down situations. Then you got a chance to get off the field on fourth down. It was an exciting game; both sides made plays.”
Despite the deficit, the offense pushed for a comeback in the second half. Nate Bell went 15-of-21 in the game, with 190 yards and one touchdown. Bell fired a 29-yard pass to Talon Betts that cut down the defense’s lead.Aiden Carter threw for 56 yards. Carter helped engineer a touchdown drive, highlighted by a one-handed catch from Michael Wortham.
The offense finished with 321 passing yards, averaging 6.1 yards per attempt. Wesley Garrett had six catches for 100 yards, while Marcellus Honeycutt Jr. had five catches for 43 yards. On the ground, the offense rushed the ball 44 times for 147 yards (3.3 yards per rush). Jared Taylor carried the ball five times for 58 yards.
Talon Betts added 40 yards on 14 carries and Bell had 47 yards on 10 carries.
Soren McKee was 2-of-2 on field goals, connecting from 28 yards in the first quarter and a 37-yard make in the fourth.
“Some of the most fun practices in my career, as a position or head coach, in the spring,” Best said. “These guys wanted to get better, and I think they’re ready to take the next step. They’ve shown they have taken baby steps to take the next big step. We play at home on Aug. 29 and have a ton of work to do before then. If we can stay physical, with playing space, tackle and be able to run the ball effectively, we are going to be just fine.”