Dakota Prukop put up nice numbers, but the Bobcats fell short on Saturday.
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
No. 2 Eastern Washington pulls out late win over 'Cats
9/20/2014 6:46:00 PM | Football
Vernon Adams has had better statistics, but it would be difficult to find a better finish in the All-America's career than on Saturday in Bozeman.
The Eastern Washington junior quarterback engineered a fourth quarter comeback that lifted the second-ranked Eagles to a 52-51 nonconference win. With just over a minute to go, it looked like the No. 14 Bobcats were going to pull off a stunning win under clear, blue skies and in front of a very loud crowd of 19,375. It was fourth and 10 from his own 39-yard line when Adams hit Michael Bourne on the right sideline for a 40-yard gain. Three plays later, Mario Brown, the near-goat for EWU, scored from the 1 to make it 51-50.
That's when Adams took it upon himself to gain the winning yards on the extra point himself, scrambling into the end zone for the two points needed to give the team from Cheney, Wash., the 52-51 victory. There was only 27 seconds left to play.
A Hail Mary pass from MSU's Dakota Prukop fell incomplete in the end zone on the game's final play.
The Bobcats (2-2) caught a break when EWU was driving for what could have been a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter with the game knotted at 44. Brown, filling in for the injured Quincy Forte, was hit hard by MSU's Taylor Sheridan, forcing a fumble that Robert Marshall recovered. Suddenly it was MSU driving for the go-ahead points. The Bobcats went ahead 51-44 when Prukop rolled right then through back to Shawn Johnson. The senior running back, who did a lot of damage rushing the ball, hauled in the pass and ran untouched into the end zone behind the down-field blocking of offensive linemen John Weidenaar, Joel Horn and JP Flynn. There was 1:55 left to play, plenty of time, as it turned out, for Adams to complete the comeback.
Before getting injured, Forte scored on runs of 76, 33, 7 and 4 yards. He finished with 190 yards on 17 carries. Adams, who entered the game with just one interception, was picked off by freshman Khari Garcia in the second quarter and by senior Eryon Barnett in the third. But Adams finished with 25 completions on 43 attempts for 358 yards. He also had touchdown passes to Cooper Kupp of 29 and 12 yards, the latter tying the game at 44 with 11:44 left in the fourth quarter. Kupp, an All-America in his own right, pulled in nine balls for 152 yards. The game marked the third time this season the Eagles (3-1) have surpassed 50 points.
The Bobcats countered the Eagles' firepower with impressive numbers of their own. Johnson hauled in two touchdown passes from Prukop and dashed 70 yards for another score. Johnson had his best game of the season, totaling 150 yards rushing, 62 receiving and 162 on punt and kickoff returns, a total of 374 all-purpose yards.
Prukop was his usual accurate self, hitting on 17 of 26 passes for 248 yards. Besides the two touchdowns to Johnson, Prukop also tossed scoring passes of 32 yards and 24 yards, both to Tanner Roderick, in the first quarter. Roderick had his best game as a Bobcat, grabbing five balls for 122 yards.
The Bobcats also got a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Prukop that gave them a 30-27 halftime edge. Anthony Knight opened the second half scoring with a 4-yarder that put MSU up by 10. Luke Daly added a 22-yard field goal in the wild first quarter that saw over 400 yards of total offense and six scoring plays.
The team statistics were as close as the final score. EWU picked up 27 first downs and 582 total yards; MSU had 26 and 547. MSU ran 82 offensive plays to EWU's 74. MSU averaged 6.7 yards per play, EWU 7.9. MSU hurt itself with three fourth-down attempts, coming up short each time. Two lost fumbles also stymied the effort.
As can be expected against such a high-powered offense, the Bobcats' leading tackler was junior defensive back Bryon Keeton who was in on 10 tackles. Deonte Flowers, Alex Singleton and Cole Moore chipped in with six each. In addition, Moore joined Odin Coe and Nate Bignell for one of MSU's three sacks of Adams. True freshman Tyrone Fa'anono, making his first start, helped out on two tackles.
For EWU, six-year senior Ronnie Hamlin sparked the defense with 12 tackles and Tevin McDonald was in on 11.
Both teams open Big Sky action next week. The Bobcats play host to North Dakota while EWU travels to Cal-Davis.
The Eastern Washington junior quarterback engineered a fourth quarter comeback that lifted the second-ranked Eagles to a 52-51 nonconference win. With just over a minute to go, it looked like the No. 14 Bobcats were going to pull off a stunning win under clear, blue skies and in front of a very loud crowd of 19,375. It was fourth and 10 from his own 39-yard line when Adams hit Michael Bourne on the right sideline for a 40-yard gain. Three plays later, Mario Brown, the near-goat for EWU, scored from the 1 to make it 51-50.
That's when Adams took it upon himself to gain the winning yards on the extra point himself, scrambling into the end zone for the two points needed to give the team from Cheney, Wash., the 52-51 victory. There was only 27 seconds left to play.
A Hail Mary pass from MSU's Dakota Prukop fell incomplete in the end zone on the game's final play.
The Bobcats (2-2) caught a break when EWU was driving for what could have been a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter with the game knotted at 44. Brown, filling in for the injured Quincy Forte, was hit hard by MSU's Taylor Sheridan, forcing a fumble that Robert Marshall recovered. Suddenly it was MSU driving for the go-ahead points. The Bobcats went ahead 51-44 when Prukop rolled right then through back to Shawn Johnson. The senior running back, who did a lot of damage rushing the ball, hauled in the pass and ran untouched into the end zone behind the down-field blocking of offensive linemen John Weidenaar, Joel Horn and JP Flynn. There was 1:55 left to play, plenty of time, as it turned out, for Adams to complete the comeback.
Before getting injured, Forte scored on runs of 76, 33, 7 and 4 yards. He finished with 190 yards on 17 carries. Adams, who entered the game with just one interception, was picked off by freshman Khari Garcia in the second quarter and by senior Eryon Barnett in the third. But Adams finished with 25 completions on 43 attempts for 358 yards. He also had touchdown passes to Cooper Kupp of 29 and 12 yards, the latter tying the game at 44 with 11:44 left in the fourth quarter. Kupp, an All-America in his own right, pulled in nine balls for 152 yards. The game marked the third time this season the Eagles (3-1) have surpassed 50 points.
The Bobcats countered the Eagles' firepower with impressive numbers of their own. Johnson hauled in two touchdown passes from Prukop and dashed 70 yards for another score. Johnson had his best game of the season, totaling 150 yards rushing, 62 receiving and 162 on punt and kickoff returns, a total of 374 all-purpose yards.
Prukop was his usual accurate self, hitting on 17 of 26 passes for 248 yards. Besides the two touchdowns to Johnson, Prukop also tossed scoring passes of 32 yards and 24 yards, both to Tanner Roderick, in the first quarter. Roderick had his best game as a Bobcat, grabbing five balls for 122 yards.
The Bobcats also got a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Prukop that gave them a 30-27 halftime edge. Anthony Knight opened the second half scoring with a 4-yarder that put MSU up by 10. Luke Daly added a 22-yard field goal in the wild first quarter that saw over 400 yards of total offense and six scoring plays.
The team statistics were as close as the final score. EWU picked up 27 first downs and 582 total yards; MSU had 26 and 547. MSU ran 82 offensive plays to EWU's 74. MSU averaged 6.7 yards per play, EWU 7.9. MSU hurt itself with three fourth-down attempts, coming up short each time. Two lost fumbles also stymied the effort.
As can be expected against such a high-powered offense, the Bobcats' leading tackler was junior defensive back Bryon Keeton who was in on 10 tackles. Deonte Flowers, Alex Singleton and Cole Moore chipped in with six each. In addition, Moore joined Odin Coe and Nate Bignell for one of MSU's three sacks of Adams. True freshman Tyrone Fa'anono, making his first start, helped out on two tackles.
For EWU, six-year senior Ronnie Hamlin sparked the defense with 12 tackles and Tevin McDonald was in on 11.
Both teams open Big Sky action next week. The Bobcats play host to North Dakota while EWU travels to Cal-Davis.
Leon Costello Press Conference: Kennedy-Stark Athletic Center
Thursday, July 31
A Conversation with President Dr. Waded Cruzado | Montana State Athletics
Monday, May 19
Big Cats, Little Trucks - Willie Patterson
Wednesday, May 03
Matt Houk Introductory Press Conference
Wednesday, May 03
