DAVIS, Calif. -- Sophomore
McCallan Castles and junior
Carson Crawford each caught second-half touchdown passes, while freshman quarterback
Trent Tompkins threw for a touchdown and ran for another, but the UC Davis rally from down 16 at halftime came up just short as the No. 11 Aggies fell to No. 9 Eastern Washington, 32-22, on Saturday afternoon at UC Davis Health Stadium.
UC Davis fell to 3-2 overall on the season with the loss, while the Eagles improved to 4-1 overall.
Eastern Washington scored on three of its four possessions in the first half as Seth Harrison was good from 27 yards for a 3-0 lead before quarterback Eric Barriere connected with Anthony Stell for a 5-yard strike and Taiolo Limu-Jones for a 21-yard score to take a 16-0 lead at the break.
"They were able to move it and convert and eat up clock, particularly in the first half, and limit our opportunities," said head coach
Dan Hawkins, about the Eagles. "And then every time we tried to get a little momentum going in the second half, they would counter. So give them a lot of credit. They did a nice job."
Freshman
Lan Larison, who finished with 81 yards on the ground on 18 carries for the game, then provided the spark the Aggies needed to start the second half, returning the kickoff 45 yards to near midfield, setting up the UC Davis offense for its first score of the game.
Castles caught two passes for 49 yards on the day, but it was his 44-yard catch-and-run from
Hunter Rodrigues on third-and-1 that put the Aggies on the board just 62 seconds into the second half.
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Both offenses then stalled on their next two respective possessions before a quick strike from Eastern Washington increased its advantage. Barriere needed just nine seconds to find Limu-Jones for a 77-yard scoring pass down the right sideline for a 22-8 lead.
The Aggies would not go quietly as UC Davis made it a one possession game once again as a 23-yard burst by
C.J. Hutton put the Aggies into EWU territory with Tompkins eventually finding Crawford stretching for the pylon from six yards out to make it 22-15 with 1:51 remaining in the third.
Crawford caught a team-high five passes for 35 yards, while
Khris Vaughn finished with a team-high 53 yards, including a 39-yard catch in the first quarter.
The Eagles answered with a 42-yard scamper by Freddie Roberson to, once again, make it a two possession game, but the Aggies clawed their way back as Tompkins capped an 11-play, 81-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run of his own, marching the Aggies down the field. Tompkins gained 32 of his 60 yards on the ground during the drive, which also featured a 26-yard completion to Lance Babb.
However, that would be as close as UC Davis would get the rest of the way as Harrison drilled his second field goal of the day to finish off an 11-play 69-yard march, and Eastern Washington turned the Aggies away on the doorstep as UC Davis drove down to the Eagles' 13 yard line.
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Larison finished the 2021 spring with 327 rushing yards in five games, while Rodrigues was the Aggies' passing leader for the season with 931 yards and eight TD passes. Crawford paced the receiving corps with 24 catches and 276 yards. Linebackers
Connor Airey and
Cole Hansen finished up as the UC Davis tackles leaders with 38 and 33 stops, respectively. Punter
Daniel Whelan averaged 47.88 yards on 17 attempts.
UC Davis' 2021 fall season will kick off with a road game at Tulsa on September 2.
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ABOUT UC DAVIS:
With the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, more than 700 student-athletes represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation on one of 25 intercollegiate athletics teams.
UC Davis, a national leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, is centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley; and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
Ranked annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
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