CHENEY – The Eagles earned a statement conference win when they defeated the 24th-ranked Idaho Vandals 21-14 on Saturday at Roos Field. Backed by a strong defensive effort, Eastern Washington scored enough to defeat the Vandals. The Eagles improved to 2-1 in the Big Sky and 3-4 overall.  

“It was a dream for a coach to watch the defense play as well as we did. I am so proud of those guys. We were in control the entire game on defense,” Head coach Aaron Best said.

The game was a defensive battle throughout, with neither team separating. The Eagles scored first, but Idaho had a quick response to get in front. The Eagles then scored 17 straight points between the second and fourth quarters. With a two-possession lead, they held on for the win, despite a late score from the Vandals.   

EWU's defense made everything difficult for Idaho, notching one interception, two sacks, seven pass breakups and four quarterback hurries.   

Nate Bell threw for two touchdowns in the game while leading the Eagles with 134 rushing yards on 23 carries. He completed 18-of-31 passes for 177 yards and one interception.  

Both of Bell's touchdown passes went to Miles Williams, who finished with four catches for 40 yards.  

The Eagles started their second drive of the game at their own 49-yard line and quickly drove into Idaho territory by way of a 23-yard pass from Nate Bell to Noah Cronquist. After the drive stalled, Soren McKee converted a 31-yard field goal for the first points of the game. EWU went up 3-0.   

Idaho responded on its next drive, marching 75 yards on 6 plays to score a touchdown. The Eagles now trailed 7-3 with 1:06 left in the first quarter.   

Near the end of the half, the Eagles were driving, and Bell completed passes to Wesley Garrett and Marceese Yetts for 16 and 14 yards, respectively. McKee was called on again and converted a 39-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 7-6 at the 6:26 point of the second quarter.  

Following a bad punt by the Vandals, EWU had the ball at the Idaho 39-yard line. Bell rushed 11 yards to move the ball closer to the red zone. One play later, Bell found Miles Williams in the back of the endzone for a nine-yard touchdown. Eastern jumped in front 13-7 with 44 seconds left on the clock.   

As the third quarter ticked down, the Eagles began moving the ball again, starting with a 14-yard catch by Cole Pruett. After two more completions, Bell saw an opening and raced 54 yards to the Idaho 17-yard line, and EWU was threatening again. Bell floated an eight-yard pass on a corner route to Williams for his second touchdown of the game.   

The Eagles added to the lead with a two-point attempt, as Bell found Jaxon Branch for the successful conversion. The lead grew to 21-7 with 14:12 on the clock, now in the fourth quarter.  

Idaho made a last-ditch effort near the end of the game, scoring a 40-yard touchdown pass. They closed the lead to 21-14 with 2:30 remaining.   

“Obviously not the performance we would’ve hoped (for), especially on the offensive end of things. We were playing multiple quarterbacks. Whenever you have your top two guys out and you’re starting number three, and playing four and five, that’s definitely not ideal,” Idaho Head Coach Thomas Ford Jr said.   

The Eagles travel to Ogden, Utah, on Oct. 25 to play Weber State at noon.   

“Our guys were focused and had a purpose. They had conviction, and they practiced for two weeks for this game. We'll enjoy this one a little bit more; for 24 hours. But our guys were dialed in, and there was a ton of confidence that was oozing from that defense. We won the last two games in a row on defense, and that's pretty impressive,” Best said.   

BOX SCORE:  

UID: 7-0-0-7: 14  

EWU: 3-10-0-8: 21