Eastern races by Portland State for piece of Big Sky title

Eastern Washington added a large exclamation point, and a big dose of hurt on the Portland State Vikings, in the Eagles return to the top of the Big Sky Conference football standings.

Scoring the game’s first 14 points in less than nine minutes, and then outscoring PSU 27-7 in the third quarter, Eastern rolled to a 74-23 win at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Ore.

The win earned them a three-way tie for the conference championship with Weber State and UC Davis, all with 7-1 league marks and 9-2 overall. Each team earned a spot in the upcoming Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, something that eluded Eastern a year ago.

“Last year we were waiting on the front porch and nobody answered the door,” EWU head coach Aaron Best said. “This time we barged in.”

Sophomore quarterback Eric Barriere accounted for six touchdowns and 315 yards of offense. Senior receiver Nsimba Webster had touchdowns of 68 yards receiving and 57 on a punt return in the victory and finished the season with 1,000 receiving yards. Senior Sam McPherson rushed for 133 yards to become the first Eagle running back to go over the 1,000-yard mark in five years.

Eastern, with a two-to-one disadvantage in time of possession, scored with lightning-quickness. One possession lasted all of six seconds with a connection between Barriere and Johnny Edwards IV. Another took a mere 24 seconds on a 68-yard TD catch and run by Webster.

Barriere’s first score came on the game’s third play and resulted in a 66-yard TD run with a minute gone in the game. In the fourth quarter, where Eastern outscored PSU 20-2, Tamarick Pierce ripped off an 81-yard touchdown run in a drive that lasted just 1:05.

Portland State’s two points came on a return of a blocked extra point. The Vikings had closed to with 21-14 within 1:44 to play in the half but McPherson led a late drive with his touchdown with 35 seconds left in the half that appeared to open the flood gates in the Dam Cup rivalry win for Eastern.

Eastern’s 74 points are the most ever versus a Big Sky Conference or FCS opponent, eclipsing the 70 EWU scored versus Cal Poly earlier this year. It was third-most overall, ranking only behind games played back in 1908 and 1914.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.