Mustang Daily Staff Report
sports@mustangdaily.net
The 17 points mustered by the Mustangs on Saturday afternoon against the Eastern Washington Eagles was simply not good enough.
The No. 16 Cal Poly football team suffered its second consecutive loss of the season against No. 7 Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon’s nonconference game at Roos Field.
After defeating the Mustangs 34-17, Eastern Washington improved its record to 7-2 while the Mustangs fell to 7-2 after winning their first seven games of the 2012 season. Now, both teams remain 5-1 in the Big Sky Conference.
In the first 20 minutes of the game, Eastern Washington built a 21-10 lead after a 1-yard touchdown run by Demetrius Bronson and two passing touchdowns from redshirt freshman quarterback Vernon Adams. With two minutes left to play in the first half, Eagles’ kicker Jimmy Pavel included a 38-yard field, putting the Eagles up 24-10 at the half.
A 4-yard rushing touchdown by Kristaan Ivory and a 51-yard field goal by Bobby Zalud were the only points notched for the Mustangs in the first half of play.
Late in the first half, quarterback Andre Broadous and the Mustangs drove to Eastern Washington’s 28-yard line. Broadous gained four yards on fourth down, but a holding call, the play was called back. During the next play, Broadous threw his third career interception as Jordan Tonani intercepted his pass. Broadous ended the game by throwing 10 of 18 passes for 129 yards.
The Eagles added to their score when Adams threw his third touchdown pass of the game to Brandon Kaufman in the third quarter. In the fourth, Pavel increased the lead by adding a 33-yard field goal.
With little more than a two minutes on the clock, Broadous connected with Brandon Michalkiewicz for a 40-yard touchdown pass. The Mustangs proceeded to attempt an onside kick, but it was recovered by Eastern Washington.
Eastern Washington averaged about eight yards per play and accumulated 542 yards in total offense. Cal Poly, on the other hand, was unable to take advantage of a 54-yard kickoff return by Chris Nicholls and an interception by Jordan Williams. In the third quarter, a 74-yard Mustangs drive to Eastern Washington’s 1-yard line was thwarted by the Eagles on both third and fourth downs.
Senior running back Deonte Williams recorded his seventh 100-yard game of the season. Williams finished with 100 yards on 20 carries, and he increased his season total to 1,194 yards. He is now ranked as No. 5 on Cal Poly’s all-time, single-season rushing list.
Cal Poly still has the opportunity to guarantee a share of the Big Sky title if the football team wins its final two games. Next Saturday, the Mustangs will host Idaho State at 6:00 p.m. in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.