Eastern Oregon Rolls to 47-7 Victory over Coyotes

LA GRANDE, Ore. - Zach Bartlow was 15-of-22 for 223 yards and four touchdowns and Eastern Oregon's defense returned two interceptions for touchdowns in rolling to a 47-7 victory over the College of Idaho at Community Stadium.

Bartlow threw three touchdown passes to receiver Jace Billingsley, as the Mountaineers (4-1, 3-1 Frontier) scored the final 40 points of the contest.
 
After a botched punt snap on C of I's first possession gave Eastern a short field, Bartlow found Billingsley over the middle for a 24-yard touchdown strike to give the Mounties a 7-0 lead.
 
The Yotes (3-2, 2-2) answered with a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive, as a Zach Garzoli 25-yard run set up a Teejay Gordon two-yard touchdown turn to even the score.
 
After C of I forced a punt, the Coyotes were poised to take the lead, marching 66 yards to close out the first quarter.  However, on the opening play of the second stanza, Byron Benson jumped an out route and intercepted a Gordon pass, returning it 86 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
 
The Mountaineers extended the lead to 27-7 before halftime, as Bartlow ran around left end for a five-yard touchdown run, then had a 44-run to set up a 19-yard touchdown pass to Billingsley on a fourth down play.
 
EOU's defense took over in the third quarter – not allowing the Coyotes to cross the 50-yard line.  The Mounties offense put the game away, as Bartlow found Billingsley on a 14-yard pass to make it 33-7, then hooked up with Justin Hernandez on a 38-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 40-7.
 
Billingsley made five catches for 66 yards in the victory – tying Eastern's school record for receptions in a career.  Hernandez made four grabs for a team-high 125 yards.
 
C of I rushed for 290 yards in the loss, with Garzoli carrying the ball 25 times for a career-high 154 yards.  Gordon was 9-for-18 for 62 yards and two interceptions.
 
The Yotes return home next Saturday afternoon, hosting Montana State-Northern at 1 p.m. in C of I's Homecoming Game.
 
NOTES: Gordon recorded his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and his tenth rushing touchdown of 2014, ranking his No. 8 in the NAIA in rushing yards per game (126.0) and No. 4 in the NAIA in scoring (60 points)…Austin Diffey was the Yotes top receiver, catching  a season-high five passes for 45 yards…defensively, both Cory Brady and Troy Carr led the team with five total tackles, while Tyler Andreason had four tackles – including his fifth sack of the season, along with a forced fumble…the 47 points allowed and the 40-point margin of victory was the largest in the 34-game history of the series.