CALDWELL, Idaho – The College of Idaho defense forced four turnovers and limited the Eastern Oregon running attack to just 27 yards in the second half, as the Coyotes celebrated Homecoming with a 28-20 upset victory over the No. 11 ranked Mountaineers, before over 4,100 fans at Simplot Stadium.
Forrest Rivers had a pair of sacks, part of an 11 tackle afternoon and
Josh Price added a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, as the Yotes (1-3, 1-2 Frontier) ended a three-game losing streak by holding EOU over 100-yards under their season average on the ground.
After forcing a 3-and-out on the Mountaineers (1-2, 1-2) first possession, the Yotes marched 65 yards in six plays, as
Darius-James Peterson hit
Keegan Crafton for 24-yards to set up a 4-yard
Mike Kirby touchdown run for the early lead.
C of I extended the lead to 14-0 on their next drive, as
Tyler Cox went 5-for-5 on the 90-yard drive, finding
Jack Hogeboom over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown.
Eastern kept the Yotes in check over the middle two quarters, methodically cutting into the C of I lead. Nathan Harden kicked a 45-yard field goal early in the second quarter to get the visitors on the board and took advantage of two C of I personal fouls on a 77-yard scoring march – as Victor Dias plunged in from 3-yards out to get the visitors within 14-10 at the break.
A sloppy third quarter saw two fourth down defensive stops and three combined turnovers, with EOU cashing in after Haziel Ledezma picked off Cox late in the period – with Harden drilling a 30-yard field goal to get the Mounties within a point.
The Yotes answered in a big way – as Peterson found Hogeboom on the first play of the ensuing drive for a 36-yard gain and
Turner Simmons on a 17-yard reception – with Kirby dashing in from 6-yards out to cap the 80-yard drive.
C of I got the ball right back after
Jordan Vielma forced a John Lesser fumble that was recovered by Price at the EOU 34-yard-line. Peterson converted a big third down with an 18-yard pass to
Shayne Robinson and a fourth down conversion on the goal line with a quarterback keep – dialing his own number from a yard out to extend the lead to 28-13.
Redshirt freshman Kai Quinn led Eastern back late, orchestrating a 72-yard drive, capped by a 28-yard touchdown strike to Brenden Kelly, to make it a one score game. However EOU failed to recover an onside kick and after forcing C of I to punt, were turned away deep in their own territory as time expired.
The Coyotes used a 440-353 edge in total offense – recording an even 220 yards both rushing and passing.
Peterson led the attack with a season-high 105 yards rushing on 19 carries, going 6-for-10 for 143 yards through the air. Kirby had 43 yards rushing and the two scores, with Hogeboom making three catches for 69 yards and Robinson adding three receptions for 58 yards.
Quinn finished 17-of-32 for 205 yards for EOU, but was limited to just 23 yards on 14 rushes after running for 189 yards in last week's win over Montana Western. Dias led the Mountaineers with 67 yards rushing, with Kelly making six reception for 83 yards.
The Coyotes hit the road for their next two games – playing at Rocky Mountain next Saturday, and following a bye week, trek to Carroll College on Oct. 7.
NOTES: Both teams recorded double-digit penalties – Eastern logging 11 penalties for 89 yards and the Yotes 10 penalties for 106 yards…Cox added 77 yards through the air for the Yotes, but was intercepted twice…a week after Southern Oregon recorded seven sacks vs. C of I, the Coyotes were not sacked once…
Segun Olubi had nine tackles and
Nate Moore added eight tackles and five pass breakups in the victory, with Vielma making three tackles for loss…Ledezma had 10 solo tackles to lead EOU…C of I struggled on third down conversions for the second straight week, converting just 1-of-11 and are now 9-for-51 on third down conversions this season – while limiting the Mountaineers to 6-of-17 on third down...it was the second highest ranked opponent C of I has defeated - topping then tenth-ranked EOU in La Grande last season.
