EWU, CWU meet in ‘Showdown on the Sound' at Qwest Field

Longtime football rivals meet in Seattle, Sept. 11

FROM STAFF AND

NEWS SERVICE REPORTS

Home will once again be on the road for the Eastern Washington University football team in the second edition of the “Showdown on the Sound.”

EWU will face off against Central Washington University Saturday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. at Qwest Field in Seattle with the two schools co-hosting the event.

The game will offer a two-fold benefit for Eastern, one from the standpoint of alumni outreach to the tens of thousands of former EWU students that reside in the Puget Sound and two, giving crews installing new artificial turf some breathing room prior to the Sept. 18 Montana game.

Last season, Eastern defeated Portland State 47-10 on Oct. 31 at Qwest in the inaugural “Showdown on the Sound.” Central annually plays its “Battle in Seattle” at Qwest, and will take on Western Oregon there on Oct. 16.

“We look forward to playing a long-time rival at a premier venue,” Eastern athletic director Bill Chaves said. “We hope that a tremendous number of alumni and fans rally around this fantastic opportunity and come out and support two of the best football programs in their respective divisions.”

Tickets for the game will be available through Ticketmaster, the Qwest Field stadium box office, and other locations to be announced. Further game and ticket information will be posted online at http://www.goeags.com as it becomes available.

Eastern is 33-30-4 against Central Washington in a series that started in 1921. Central, ranked third in last year's final NCAA Division II poll, beat Eastern 21-14 the last time the schools met in 2006.

Central has been in the NCAA Division II Playoffs each of the last three seasons, including the 2007 season when its head coach was current Eagle head coach Beau Baldwin. The Wildcats are 32-6 over the past three seasons and finished the 2009 season 12-1. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Division II playoffs to Northwest Missouri State 21-20.

Eastern has qualified for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in four of the last six seasons. A year ago, Eastern was 8-4 and lost to Stephen F. Austin 44-33 in the first round of the playoffs. Eastern finished the year ranked 13th in FCS.

2010 EWU Football Schedule

(all times Pacific, subject to change)

Saturday, Sept. 2 at Nevada, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Sept.11 Central Wash.

at Qwest Field, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 18 Montana,

4:05 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 25 at Montana State,

12:05 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 2 at Weber State,

12:35 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 9 Northern Arizona,