Eagles try to extend Roos Field winning streak against a foe with opposite fortunes in final minute last week
Quarterback Eric Barriere and his Eagle teammates hope to break into the win column this week as they host Northern Arizona in the winter/spring season home opener Saturday.
CHENEY - The difference between winning and losing can be razor thin.
Two Big Sky Conference teams who discovered that last week will tangle this Saturday (March 6) when Eastern Washington University hosts Northern Arizona at Roos Field in Cheney.
Kickoff is 1:05 p.m. in a game televised regionally in Eastern Washington by SWX. Fans can also listen to the game on 700-AM ESPN, 105.3-FM, via the web at tunein.com and via mobile phone app, with pre-game coverage starting one hour prior to kickoff.
At this time, no spectators will be permitted to attend games, practices or scrimmages due to institutional, regional, and state guidelines in regards to the Covid-19 pandemic. Eastern parking lots will be closed to the general public and no pre-game tailgating or overnight parking will be allowed.
Eastern will try to continue a pair of home winning streaks this week against NAU. The Eagles have won their last 14 homes games at "The Inferno," and All-America quarterback Eric Barriere returns for his senior season a perfect 11-0 as a starter there. The Northern Arizona game will be the first game on the new red Astroturf surface installed at "The Inferno" last summer.
Last week, Eastern finally began its 112th season in school history after a delay of five months because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Eagles opened a 14-0 lead at Idaho on Feb. 27, but the Vandals would take their only lead of the game with 54 seconds left and won 28-21. Eastern had 426 yards of total offense - including 339 by Barriere - while holding the Vandals to 366 yards.
Northern Arizona also was in a nail-biter at home versus Southern Utah, and pulled out a 34-33 win with a 2-yard touchdown pass on the game's final play. The Lumberjacks out-gained the Thunderbirds 370-343 in the evenly-matched game.
Eastern was playing its first game since Nov. 23, 2019, when EWU beat Portland State 53-46 to end the regular season. But instead of playing Florida last fall on Sept. 5, the pandemic forced the Eagles to wait a full 462 days before playing again.
Eastern finished 7-5 in 2019, including a 6-2 record in the Big Sky to finish in a third-place tie. However, the Eagles were passed over for a berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs despite finishing as the national runner-up in 2018.
Northern Arizona was 4-8 overall in 2019 and 2-6 in the league under first-year head coach Chris Ball.
None of EWU's five league opponents this winter/spring - including a pair of games with Idaho - had winning records overall or in the league in 2019. They combined for a 20-39 record overall and 12-28 in the Big Sky. However, Idaho knocked off Eastern 35-27 on Sept 21, 2019 and 28-21 on Feb. 27, 2021, representing the only two losses in 11 games for Best in his head coaching career versus the five opponents. In school history, EWU is 75-40 versus those five foes, and 17 of those losses and just seven wins are against Idaho.
The NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs - just 16 teams this year - are slated to begin on April 24 and conclude on May 16.
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