Sept. 15, 2007
Final Stats
CHENEY, Wash. - Quarterback Matt Nichols threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns while Alexis Alexander rushed for 122 yards and scored one TD as Eastern Washington beat UC Davis 41-31 in a nonconference college football game played before 4,138 fans at Woodward Field on Saturday night.
The loss dropped the Aggies to 1-2 while the Eagles, who were playing for the first time since Aug. 31, improved to 2-0.
The teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense, including 517 by UC Davis which was led by receiver Kale Turner's 107 receiving and 94 rushing yards. Included in Turner's night was an 88-yard touchdown run on an end-around which ties for the fifth-longest all-time at UC Davis, and a spectacular 25-yard touchdown grab in the second half. Senior quarterback Tim Plough threw for a career-high 388 yards and two touchdowns, tying head coach Bob Biggs and former Aggie Mark Grieb for No. 14 on the program's single-game list. He was intercepted twice.
UC Davis redshirt freshman Joe Trombetta had 143 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns. Eagle running back Dale Morris scored three touchdowns.
The game was close throughout much of the evening with Eastern Washington holding a tight 20-17 lead at the break. The Eagles extended the lead to 27-17 late in the third quarter after Plough's first interception of the year was followed by a 32-yard touchdown pass from Nichols to Brynsen Brown.
UC Davis had a good opportunity to score later in the quarter after Kymm Snowden returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards to the Eastern Washington 46. The Aggies moved to the 31-yard line but Plough couldn't connect with Turner on fourth down and the Eagles took over.
The Aggies. though, cut the lead back to three points early in the fourth quarter on an acrobat 25-yard touchdown reception by Turner in which he leaped at the goal line and then caught the ball as he fell into the end zone after it was tipped. It marked the first time Turner has scored twice in a game and closed the deficit to just 27-24 with 12:12 to go.
Eastern Washington, however, re-established the lead back to 10 points on its next possession, starting with good field position after Brown returned the kickoff 35 yards to the Eagles' 43. A personal foul on a third-and-10 and pass interference that put the ball on the UC Davis 6 led to Nichols finding Tom McAndrews on a 6-yard touchdown pass that made it 34-24 with 9:57 left.
The Aggies battled back to put together a 12-play, 69-yard drive that gave them a first-and-goal at the two, but Plough was intercepted at the 2 by Lonnie Hosley with 5:26 to go.Alexander's 57-yard rush on first down started an Eagle drive that ended on Morris' TD run from three yards away and opened the lead to 41-24 with just under four minutes to go.
UC Davis drove 68 yards on its next drive, scoring with 1:09 to go on Joe Trombetta's 1-yard run but that would be as close as the Aggies would get.
The Aggies were hampered by 11 penalties for 117 yards.
Eastern Washington took the early lead on Saturday night, holding the Aggies to a three-and-out on their opening drive, and then driving 82 yards on 11 plays for a 6-0 lead when running back Morris scampered 16 yards with just under five minutes gone in the first quarter.
The teams traded a pair of punts each before UC Davis grabbed a 7-6 lead when Turner raced around the left side on a reverse and sprinted 88 yards for a touchdown. It is tied for the fifth-longest touchdown in school history and the second run of at least that distance for the Aggies this season after Trombetta went 90 yards against Western Washington in the season opener.
UC Davis regained possession after forcing the Eagles out on three plays and then put together a 6-play, 65-yard scoring drive that was highlighted by a 39-yard pass from Plough to redshirt freshman Sean Creadick that gave the Aggies a first down at the 12-yard line. Trombetta capped the drive, catching a 6-yard touchdown pass from Plough in which he was tackled near the 1 but held the ball over the goal line for the score and a 14-6 lead with 1:29 left.
Eastern Washington put together a pair of long 10-play drives in the second quarter to go up 20-14. The first was 80 yards and featured five first downs, ending on a 3-yard run by Alexander with 8:25 left. The second scoring drive, coming off after the Eagles forced a three-and-out, went 78 yards and culminated on Morris' 2-yard touchdown run with 4:14 to go.
The Aggies got the ball back with just over a minute to go before halftime, marching from their own 48 to the Eagles' 10. Emmanuel Benjamin then booted a 27-yard field goal - his third of the year - to make it 20-17 at the break.
Turner eclipsed 100 receiving yards for the first time in his career, surpassing his previous best of 66 yards set at Youngstown State last year. His eight catches also beat his previous career-high of four catches at Cal Poly, also last season. Turner ran the ball on Saturday night for the first time as an Aggie.
"I thought he played very well tonight," said Biggs. "He's a guy that's been a role player for his whole career and with the two injuries to Chris Miller and Chris Carter, Kale got his chance to show what kind of player he was and he did a great job."
Trombetta rushed 19 times for 63 yards and caught 10 pases for 80 more. Junior Brandon Rice had a career-high nine catches for 80 yards.
Nichols completed 25 of 42 passes for his 252 yards while Alexander carried the ball 17 times to earn his 122 yards. The Eagles rushed for 226 yards against UC Davis, the most by an opponent since TCU rushed for 271 early last season. Eastern Washington had 478 yards of offense.
Aaron Boyce led the receiving corps with nine grabs for 107 yards while Brown finished with 82 yards on seven catches.
Safety Nero Evero posted a game-high 12 tackles for UC Davis while Aggie defenders broke up six passes, including two by cornerback Kenny Griffin. Adam Cook averaged 11 yards on six punt returns, including a 28-yarder.
UC Davis returns to action next Saturday when the Aggies host Northeastern University at Aggie Stadium. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m.
