Peerboom has productive day for Eagles
Chris Peerboom isn’t trying to be the next Erik Meyer, but he did a pretty nice imitation of Eastern Washington’s Payton Award-winning quarterback during the Eagles’ second football scrimmage of the spring Friday afternoon.
The junior-to-be completed 8 of 13 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown and added a nifty 25-yard scramble for another score, putting a smile on the face of Meyer, who was watching from the sideline as he waits for next weekend’s NFL draft.
“Everybody talks about replacing Erik,” Peerboom said. “I’m not even thinking about that. I’m trying to be the best I can be. Everybody has to make up for his absence.”
Meyer, a three-year starter and two-time Big Sky Conference Offensive MVP, isn’t the only notable Eagle to finish his eligibility last fall with a second straight trip to the I-AA playoffs, but it appears as if the holes will be filled nicely.
“This is a different group and it’s been a lot of fun to watch,” Eagles coach Paul Wulff said. “The kids are just real consistent right now. We don’t have a big superstar name on our team. We just have a group of kids that love to play and work hard.”
The 61-play scrimmage had a lot more offense than the 41-play scrimmage Monday, when the Eagles were limited to 74 yards and kept out of the end zone.
The offense finished with 318 yards, working from scripted plays. Many, for filming purposes, were from the 20-yard line heading out. There was also a session from the 25 heading in. Returning starter Ryan Cole rushed for 50 yards on five carries and Dale Morris had 31 on just two runs. Dezmon Cole added 34 and Toke Kefu 22.
On the long field the only touchdown was a 90-yard “redshirt freshman connection,” Matt Nichols throwing deep to Aaron Boyce.
Peerboom’s scores came in the red zone. He hooked up with junior Tyler Coleman for a 13-yard score. Later he scrambled up the middle.
Nichols finished 7 of 11 for 138 yards. Another freshman, Josh Powell, was 1 of 3 for 6 yards.
“It’s too early to decide upon a guy,” Wulff said of the QB battle. “We are just trying to give all the guys an equal opportunity with similar players on the field.”
Peerboom missed valuable practice time and some mop-up duty last fall when he broke a finger in the season opener.
“I feel really good,” he said. “So far, spring is going great for me. I’m playing better than I have before. I had a lot of adversity last year with the injury and not playing nearly as well as I could or wanted to when I came back.”
The defense had some bright moments, too, but didn’t match last week’s two turnovers.
Adam Macomber, a 5-foot-6 sophomore cornerback, had eight tackles, sophomore linebacker Marcus Walker seven and tight end turned defensive end Shawn Powell, Josh’s older brother, had six.