CHENEY – On Saturday, the Eastern Washington Eagles defeated the Portland State Vikings 35-27 to bring home the Dam Cup and cap off a successful homecoming game. After a couple of years without it, head coach Aaron Best said it’s good to have it back in their hands.   

“It's been out of our hands for over 1,000 days, and now it's back in Cheney and after a hard-fought back-and-forth affair late in that game, and just proud of our players and our coaches for finding a way,” Best said.   

The Eagles opened the game with a stop on defense. From there, quarterback Nate Bell led the way for a scoring drive with a 45-yard touchdown run to put EWU up 7-0. The Vikings drove downfield via the run game, which led to a two-yard rushing touchdown by PSU quarterback Delon Thompson to tie the game.   

The Eagles offense took the field once again and leaned on the run game. Their tempo was a quicker pace, which led to opportunities for trick plays. On a fake sweep play, receiver Noah Cronquist found Jaxon Branch downfield for a 33-yard gain through the air.

After a 13-yard rush by Bell, running back Kevin Allen III found the endzone on an eight-yard touchdown run. The Eagles led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.   

In the second quarter, the Eagles and Vikings traded scoreless drives. The EWU defense made some big plays to force a turnover on downs, and the Vikings missed a field goal on their next offensive drive. The Eagles' offense continued to lean on the run game. Running back Marceese Yetts broke loose for a 37-yard touchdown run to increase their lead to 21-7.   

However, the Vikings showed signs of life, cutting the score to 20-17 heading into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Eagles recaptured momentum, piling on two more scores after the Vikings made it 21-20 with another field goal. The first was a nine-yard touchdown pass to tight end Landon Cooper. The second came from Allen, who exploded for a 50-yard touchdown run to widen the gap at 35-20.   

The fourth quarter proved to be an important challenge for the Eagles' defense. At the start of the quarter, the Vikings moved the ball downfield to the Eagles' 10-yard line and went for the score on fourth and goal. However, the pass went incomplete, and the Eagles got the stop.   

The Eagles' offense was unsuccessful at moving the ball and had to pun,t which placed the Vikings at EWU’s 43-yard line. They completed multiple chunk plays to move the ball downfield and eventually scored a 24-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 35-27.   

With the Vikings back in the game, both teams went back and forth, trading three-and-outs throughout the fourth quarter. On the Vikings' final offensive drive of the game, the Eagles had them pinned at the PSU 39-yard line. On third and three, the Vikings made another pass attempt but were intercepted by Jaylon Jenkins to seal the Eagles' win.   

Othello native Isaiah Perez said it was great to win the Dam Cup, something he has not seen happen in his time with the program. He complimented his peers on defense for making plays in the biggest moments.   

“It shows a lot of resilience out of our team, especially coming off the game we had last week, and showing that we could show up again this weekend and really prove ourselves,” Perez said.   

Bell shone on the run with 17 carries for 175 yards and a touchdown. Not to mention his 95 yards through the air and another touchdown to go with it. Though impressive with his feet, Best said he wants to see his quarterback more comfortable in the pocket.   

“The numbers don't lie; he's been very productive. Probably (would) be more productive if we gave a little bit more protection. We got to find ways to keep him cleaner in the pocket, let him deliver the mail that he needs to and not get into scramble mode,” Best said.   

Bell said the Eagles' success Saturday came from great preparation leading up to the rivalry game.   

“We had a great week of practice this week. Shoutout to the guys, shoutout to the coaches. We just followed the game plan what they had for us and just executed,” Bell said.   

Best was happy with the way his defense stepped up in the biggest moments, he said. The Eagles' defensive line made several stops on third and fourth down in the final minutes and caused a clutch turnover to secure the win.   

“We obviously put them in those situations offensively to put our backs against the wall, and great to see those guys step up and to end the game with a pick on our sidelines. Couldn't have drawn it up any better,” Best said.   

Bringing home some hardware was great for the Eagles, but Best is now looking forward as the Eagles head into a bye week.   

“Obviously, it feels way better to win. Half the country loses every week, and half the country wins. We're on the winning side of things. We'll take this one, enjoy this 24 (hours), then we'll get on to the next (game),” Best said.   

The Eagles return to the red gridiron Oct. 18 to host the Idaho Vandals at 4 p.m.  

BOX SCORE:   

PSU: 7-10-3-7: 27  

EWU: 14-7-14-0: 35 

    The Eagles offense lines up for their next play against the Portland State Vikings. The Eagles run game shined with 333-yards as a team. 175 of those yards came from quarterback Nate Bell.
  

    The Eagles defense piles on a Portland State receiver. The Eagles secured their win with an interception by Jaylon Jenkins in the fourth quarter.
  

    The Eagles’ Read Sunn (26) celebrates making tackle in the backfield against Portland State on Saturday. Defensive lineman Isaiah Perez said the Eagles defense showed a lot of resilience in their win over the Vikings.
  

    Tylin Jackson (1) and Isaiah Perez (4) apply heavy pressure on the Portland State quarterback as he makes a throw.
  

    The Eagles’ quarterback Nate Bell (2) breaks out of the pocket to make a pass downfield to tight end Landon Cooper who took the ball in for a nine-yard touchdown.