Eagles top Bobcats in the end at Bozeman

All things pointed to last Saturday being the day Montana State head coach Rob Ash and his Bobcats just might figure out a way to send Eastern Washington home disappointed.

The Eagles' engine, star quarterback Vernon Adams, seemed to not be firing on all cylinders - again - at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman.

With 1 minute, 15 seconds remaining in the game Adams seemed to have chugged to a stop and faced a fourth and 10 at his own 39-yard line.

"I really thought after the first three plays today was the day," Ash said in postgame remarks. Those were three incomplete passes. "Fourth and 10, I actually envisioned that one going our way."

Eastern trailed 51-44 with 1:55 remaining on a Dakota Prukop 9-yard pass to Shawn Johnson. That was Johnson's third score of the game.

But with the ball on their own 20 following an EWU timeout, Adams collected himself and found sophomore receiver Kendrick Bourne who had slipped between the cornerback and safety. He caught a 40-yard pass good for a first down. That paved the way three plays later for a 1-yard Mario Brown touchdown run with 27 seconds remaining.

Then Adams dove into the end zone for a 2-point conversion, a most improbable 52-51 lead and ultimately a win. The Eagles had to survive one more MSU possession and a Hail Mary pass that fell incomplete in the end zone.

The comeback completed an Eastern rally that saw the Eagles rally back from a 44-30 deficit late in the third quarter. Eastern has now won eight of the last 10 games in the series.

"We definitely weren't perfect, and they will be saying the same thing," EWU head coach Beau Baldwin said.

While the spotlight shown squarely on Adams, as it often does, Baldwin said he saw everyone ramp up their game in crunch time. "I'm proud of not just him, but all facets of our team stepped up at different times."

Running back Quincy Forte rushed for 190 yards and four touchdowns for the No. 2-ranked Eagles who improved their nonleague record to 3-1. MSU evened its record at 2-2. Adams was 25 of 43 passing and had two interceptions, but finished with 358 passing yards and two touchdowns.

Forte scored three of Eastern's first four touchdowns pacing the Eagles to a 27-23 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half. Cooper Kupp had the other, one of two for the sophomore wide receiver. He finished with a team-leading nine catches for 152 yards.

MSU would outscore Eastern 21-3 over the next 14 minutes and lead 44-30. But Eastern would score back-to-back touchdowns, Forte's fourth with 1:11 to go in the third quarter and Kupp 3:16 into the fourth to tie it at 44-44.

Sixth-year senior Ronnie Hamlin finished with a team-leading 12 tackles, eight of them solo. Tevin McDonald had eight solo tackles, 11 total, plus a pair of forced fumbles.

Jake Miller not only punted three times for a 45.3 average, but took over kicking duties when Roldan Alcobendas suffered a knee injury on a second quarter kickoff. Miller made all three of his extra point attempts, plus made a 24-yard field goal in the third quarter.

Eastern begins 2014 Big Sky Conference play this Saturday, Sept. 27 at UC Davis when the Eagles put their 10-game league winning streak on the line. Their last setback was a 30-27 loss at Southern Utah Oct. 27, 2012. The Eagles are 20-2 in their last 22 Big Sky games dating back to a 0-2 start in 2011.

The Eagles next home game is Saturday, Oct. 4 versus Idaho State at 1:35 p.m. at Roos Field on Hall of Fame Day.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].