Wear Red as Eagles return home to continue Big Sky play

CHENEY — School has started at Eastern Washington University and Eagles football is back at Roos Field at 4 p.m. Saturday where the Eagles host the Cal Poly Mustangs as Big Sky games continue. 

The Big Sky matchup will be the second home game for EWU and the first with students back on campus. According to a statement from EWU athletics, the annual Rush Roos will be held pregame, allowing new students to 'Rush the Inferno'. 

Saturday's game will also be 'Red-Out' and fans are encouraged to wear red. 

The 1-3 Eagles will be coming off a tough FBS matchup against the University of Washington Huskies. UW scored first and led for the entire game, winning 28-16. 

Eastern has controlled the series against Cal Poly historically, holding a 12-3 advantage over the Mustangs. EWU is a perfect 8-0 at home against Poly and is 4-3 on the road. 

The teams last met in the 2025 season finale, with the Mustangs pulling off a 43-34 senior day win. The Eagles had the lead after three quarters, but Poly stuck for 14 points in the fourth to complete the comeback.  

True freshman Kaden Rolfsness rushed for three touchdowns in his first career start. Othello native Isaiah Perez broke the Eagles record for blocked kicks in a season with a blocked extra point, while also setting a career-best with 2.5 sacks. 

The last home meeting between the two was in 2023, with Eastern dominating 48-13. Kekoa Visperas passed for two touchdowns and Tuna Altahir rushed for two, along with 104 yards on the ground. 

Poly started its season 2-0 with wins over Idaho (38-34) and Central Washington (24-17). The team then fell in an FBS matchup against San Jose State (30-20) and San Diego (38-35) this past weekend. 

Prior to losing last season to the Mustangs, EWU had won 10-straight in the series dating back to 2011. Head coach Aaron Best is 5-1 against Pol, with a 3-0 mark at Roos Field. 

Soren McKee is putting on the Eagle red for the final season in 2026, and he is continuing to move up the all-time EWU lists. McKee is now 137-for-139 on extra points, with his made attempts now in sole possession of 3rd on the all-time list. The redshirt-senior was the offensive engine against Washington, accounting for 10 of the team's 16 points. McKee hit field goals from 20, 37, and 43 yards, while going 1-of-1 on PATs.  

For his career, McKee has scored 245 points and currently ranks 7th on the all-time scoring list. McKee is 36-for-47(76.6%) on field goals at EWU, tying for 3rd in made attempts and tied for 5th in attempts, while tying for 4th all-time in percentage.  

McKee is 3 field goals away from tying Jason Cromer (1988-90) for the most field goals all time. He is 6 PATs away from tying Mike Jarrett (2009-11) for 2nd on the all-time list. This season, McKee is a perfect 6-of-6 on field goals, tied with Montana State's Myles Sansted for the top percentage in the conference. 

Rylin Lang has found his spot in the slot receiver role the last two games, making 9 catches for 113 yards. After setting a career mark with 6 catches for 57 yards against South Dakota, Lang caught 3 passes for 56 yards against UW, including an impressive 33-yard reception. Lang also posted his first career carry, taking the ball 3 yards.   

EWU leads the Big Sky with 94 1st downs, averaging 23.0 per game. Eastern has 11 first downs earned by penalties that is also the top mark in the conference. The team is also 2nd in the Big Sky with 46 passing 1st downs. Against UW, the Eagles had 22 1st downs, making 9 by passing, 7 by rushing and 6 by penalty.   

Stay tuned for the Tuesday edition of the Columbia Basin Herald for a full game recap. 

    JoJo Maxey-Johnson, a defensive back for the Eagles, gets ready for the next play during their game again the University of Northern Iowa earlier this season.