Defender Victor Gamboa unravels the jersey of Dre' Sonte Dorton in last Friday's final football scrimmage for Eastern Washington as they prepare to face Washington State this Saturday.
FROM NEWS
SERVICE REPORTS
The defense dominated early, before the offense got untracked to score four touchdowns in the final preseason scrimmage for the Eastern Washington University football team Aug. 26 at Roos Field.
Next up, the real deal as the Eagles travel to nearby Pullman to face Washington State, Saturday at 5 p.m. in what should be a sold out crowd of over 33,000 at Martin Stadium.
Behind the arm of Eric Barriere and the legs of Tamarick Pierce, Eastern offensive units finished with 268 yards on 58 total plays.
In the team's 71-play scrimmage six days earlier, the offense rolled up 494 yards and 46 points. But most of the starting skill players - including a talented crew of wide receivers - sat out this week's scrimmage in preparation for the team's season opener. Likewise, many defensive starters were held out as well.
"I thought that we finished up this week and did a lot of things that we wanted to accomplish," Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin said. "I really thought - especially from a defensive standpoint - that's as much emotion as we've shown."
The defense held the offense scoreless in the first five possessions of the scrimmage, including interceptions by sophomore roverback Cole Karstetter and junior cornerback D'londo Tucker. Tucker's pick came after teammates Tysen Prunty and J.J. Njoku tipped the ball before he dove for the interception.
In their first three possessions, the offense had just one yard of offense on five plays. At one point in the scrimmage, the defense had held the offense to 2 of 7 passing for minus six yards.
The offense got untracked with touchdown passes from senior Jordan West of 24 yards to junior wide receiver Terence Grady and 87 yards on a catch-and-run screen pass from sophomore Reilly Hennessey to Pierce. Grady's TD capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive.
Barriere took over after that, and led the offense to a pair of scores, including a 20-yard TD to fellow true freshman Xavier James. Barriere completed his first seven passes and finished 10 of 14 for 95 yards. Hennessey was 4 of 9 for 104, and West was 4 of 9 for 41 yards.
Besides his TD catch, Pierce rushed six times for 34 yards. True freshman tight end Talolo Limu-Jones led all receivers with three catches for 37 yards, and James had three for 33.
Sophomore, and Cheney native, Keenan Williams had a pair of sacks, and eight players were credited with passes broken up. Redshirt freshman linebacker Andrew Katzenberger had a team-high five tackles.
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