Northwest Notes Sept. 6, 2022
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 4 years, 1 month AGO
EWU's Talkington earns first career Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week award
Eastern Washington quarterback Gunner Talkington was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday.
Talkington, who made his second career start but the first since being officially named EWU's starting quarterback, guided the Eagles to a season-opening 36-29 victory over Tennessee State at Roos Field on Saturday.
The redshirt senior entered the game with five career touchdown passes and equaled that in one contest. He threw for 348 yards and led the team with 60 rushing yards, amassing 408 yards of total offense. Talkington completed 29 of his 46 pass attempts (63%) and did not throw an interception. Dating back to Oct. 12, 2019, Talkington has thrown 50 straight completions without an interception.
With the game tied 29-29 with just under seven minutes to go, Talkington orchestrated an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 3:53 off the clock and ended with a 13-yard strike to Efton Chism III for the game's winning touchdown.
The Battle Ground, Wash., native joined the Eagles in 2017 and played backup to All-American quarterbacks Gage Gubrud and Eric Barriere, before earning the starting spot in his sixth season with the Eagles. He has played in 39 games for Eastern Washington, also appearing as a holder on special teams, and has completed 61 of his 110 career pass attempts for 713 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has added another 81 yards on the ground.
EWU plays at Oregon on Saturday.
Montana junior linebacker Braxton Hill was named Big Sky Defensive player of the Week. Hill had a career-high 10 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and got in on a half sack in Montana's 47-0 win over Northwestern State.
Running back Cameron Skattebo of Sacramento State was named Special Teams Player of the Week. Skattebo scored three touchdowns — one each rushing, receiving and on a kickoff return — in Sacramento State's 56-33 win over Utah Tech (formerly Dixie State). Skattebo rushed for a career-high 153 yards on 10 attempts.