‘Thoroughly outcoached’ Eastern Washington can’t climb out of 28-point hole in loss to Portland State

It is no secret that Eastern Washington’s run defense has been a particular weakness this season.

The Eagles’ first seven opponents each ran for at least 200 yards, and a pair of them cleared the 300-yard threshold.

But on Saturday at Roos Field in Cheney, the Portland State Vikings outdid them all.

Dual-threat sophomore quarterback Dante Chachere ran for 141 yards and two scores, sophomore Jobi Malary more than doubled his career rushing total by gaining 148 yards on 19 carries, and the Vikings – who entered the game averaging 116.3 rushing yards per game – finished with 427 as Portland State handed Eastern a 38-35 loss.

The defeat guarantees that the Eagles (2-6, 1-4 Big Sky) will finish with a losing overall record for the first time since 2006.

That was also the last year the Eagles lost more than three regular-season Big Sky games.

The 427 rushing yards marked the sixth highest in Portland State history, and it was the latest in an auspicious allowance by the Eagles, who rank as the worst rushing defense in the FCS.

Of those yards, 261 came in the first half as Portland State (3-5, 2-3) built leads of 21-0 and 35-7.

“It’s kind of hard to come back when you dig yourself a hole like that,” said Eagles senior linebacker Jaren Banks, who finished with a team-high 11 tackles. “In the first half, I think we … weren’t playing our best ball, and that really cost in the second half, trying to play catch-up.”

Eastern’s offense did its defense no favors over those opening 30 minutes. The Eagles punted on three of their first four possessions and missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt on the other.

“Our best player in the first half was Nick Kokich, who’s our punter,” said Aaron Best, who lost to Portland State for the first time in five matchups as Eagles head coach.

“Our best unit in the first half was our punt team. We put them inside the 20 three different times, and it didn’t matter where the ball was.

“We were thoroughly outcoached in the first half. Thoroughly outcoached.”

Portland State scored touchdowns on drives of 78, 84, 90 and 70 yards on its four possessions and tacked on one more at the end of a six-play, 78-yard drive with 47 seconds left in the first half.

Meanwhile, Eastern’s offense didn’t have any three-and-outs in the game but also didn’t sustain a first-half drive for any longer than 2 minutes, 37 seconds. That meant the Vikings’ offense had the ball nearly 21 of the game’s first 30 minutes and led 35-7 at halftime.

“It doesn’t feel good for the offense, and it doesn’t feel good for the defense being out there the whole time,” senior quarterback Gunner Talkington said. “We had no momentum in that first half, and it really wore into the defense a little bit, leaving them out on the field so much. It starts with us and ends with us.”

Yet after halftime, the Eagles rallied.

They received the opening kickoff and drove 74 yards on nine plays, capped by sophomore Austin York’s first touchdown with the Eagles on a 6-yard catch near the sideline.

Two drives later, after the Eagles’ defense forced back-to-back punts, redshirt freshman Tuna Altahir finished a 15-play, 80-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run up the middle. An extra point later, the score was 35-21 with 14:34 left in the fourth quarter.

Portland State managed a 40-yard field goal at the end of its next drive, a crucial score and one all the more impressive considering at one point the Vikings faced first-and-35 from midfield. That gave the Vikings’ a 38-21 lead with 9:51 left.

Again, Eastern answered with a touchdown, this one an 11-yard throw and catch from Talkington to Roberson on a left-side screen to make it 38-28. The junior Roberson finished with a game-high 145 yards, giving him 2,101 in his EWU career.

On their next two drives, the Vikings had only 11 yards, but Talkington made his most egregious mistake between them when he threw an interception in the left flat.

Still, a Malary fumble gave the ball back to the Eagles down 10 points with 5:54 to go.

“I was a little disappointed in myself giving the ball up like on that interception, but the defense really stepped up,” Talkington said.

“They held them to three points in the second half. I mean, that’s huge. It starts with us, the offense. We needed to get something going in the first half. We didn’t, and (we) came out in the second half, too little, too late.”

Eastern scored one last time on a 30-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Nolan Ulm with 3:49 left to draw within 38-35. After that, the Eagles tried an onside kick, but Portland State recovered it. The Vikings had three more first downs – including one on a fourth-and-2 from the EWU 13-yard line – to seal the win.

“We stayed onsides and the ball got 10 yards; it just happened to get a little bit shallow,” Best said of the onside kick attempt. “But we had a chance, and that’s all we want is a chance.”

Talkington finished with a career-best 394 passing yards and three touchdowns on 36 of 60 attempts. Sophomore Efton Chism III grabbed nine passes for 84 yards, and Ulm had six catches for 69.

Justice Jackson led the ground attack with 73 yards, including a career-long 62-yard touchdown run in the first half.

In all, Eastern finished with a season-high 564 yards of offense. But it also allowed 628 – the most to an FCS team this year.

They will prepare to face Idaho in Moscow next weekend. After that, they play at Montana before wrapping up the season at home against Northern Colorado.

“I don’t think there’s any change in us,” Banks said. “We take it week by week, day by day, and practice by practice, and whatever happens, happens. Whether we’re 0-11 at the end of the season or 11-0, I know this team’s going to play the same way we do, just fighting for each other.”