CALDWELL, Idaho – For the third consecutive week, a monster performance by
Darius-James Peterson and four defensive takeaways led the College of Idaho to an upset of an NAIA Top-25 team, as the Yotes ran their win streak to four with a 48-24 victory over No. 18 Eastern Oregon at Simplot Stadium.
With the wins over No. 25 Montana Tech, No. 14 Southern Oregon and today against EOU, the Yotes (4-5, 4-4 Frontier) moved to .500 in Frontier Conference play and recorded their first four-game win streak since 1969.
Peterson tossed for a career-high 360 yards and four touchdowns, with both
Connor Richardson and
Keegan Crafton surpassing the 100-yard receiving mark. C of I piled up 612 yards of total offense, the fourth time in school history the Yotes have surpassed the 600-yard mark.
The Mountaineers (5-3, 5-3), who had a four-game win streak snapped, were able to move the football – as Kai Quinn passed for 451 yards – but three interceptions and a strip sack that was recovered by the Yotes – was the key for the C of I defense.
C of I needed just three plays on their first drive to take the lead – as Peterson found Richardson for 39 yards and connected with
Hunter Juarez on a 30-yard aerial for the score. EOU answered right back, as a Quinn 40-yard pass to T.J. Hancock set up a 1-yard Victor Dias touchdown run.
Trailing 10-7, EOU blocked a C of I field goal attempt and on the next play, Brenden Kelly hauled in an 82-yard touchdown pass from Quinn to give the Mounties the lead. Kelly finished the afternoon with seven receptions for 281 yards – breaking his own school record for receiving yards in the process.
The Coyotes regained the lead on their next drive, driving 75 yards on 10 plays, with Crafton catching a 35-yard pass by Peterson – the first of two touchdown receptions by the junior. Following an EOU 3-and-out, C of I held the ball nearly six minutes, settling for a 29-yard
Kyle Mitchell field goal and a 20-14 lead with less than a minute remaining in the half. The Mounties tried to respond, but a Quinn pass was intercepted by
David Ford and returned to the EOU 23-yard-line. Two plays later, Peterson connected with Richardson in the right corner of the end zone – giving the hosts a 27-14 halftime edge.
Leading 27-17, the Yotes padded the lead midway through the third quarter – as Crafton converted on a 3rd-and-7 with a 19-yard reception and closed the drive with a pretty 26-yard scoring catch from Peterson.
The C of I defense stepped up – as Ford stopped EOU inside the C of I 10-yard-line with an end zone interception – while on the Mountaineers next drive,
Isaiah Abdul stripped Quinn in the red zone, recovered by Keegan McCoy to stop the drive.
A Kelly 52-yard touchdown catch pulled EOU within 34-24 – but the Yotes put the game away with two late touchdown drives.
Dominic Garzoli scampered in from 13-yards out for a score, and following a
Jayden Dawson interception,
Nick Calzaretta capped a big day with a 2-yard scoring run.
Peterson finished the day 22-of-32, with the 360 passing yards the third-highest ever by a C of I quarterback. His four touchdown passes tied a school record and added 85 yards on the ground. Calzaretta led all rushers with 99 yards on a career-high 29 carries.
Richardson had eight catches for 142 yards and the touchdown – his fifth-straight game with at least one touchdown reception – with Crafton catching five passes for 101 yards.
Quinn finished 21-of-46 for 451 yards – the second-highest passing total in EOU history. The Coyote defense stymied the run game all afternoon, as Eastern was limited to just 31 rushing yards.
C of I hits the road for their final two games – traveling next Saturday to Montana Western for a noon kickoff.
NOTES: The Coyotes held a commanding 42 minutes to 18 minutes edge in time of possession and ran a season-high 91 plays from scrimmage, recording 29 first downs…the 445 yards of total offense by Peterson was the second-most in program history and joins Charlie Alvaro (1958 vs Western State), Cal Farley (1948 vs. Southern Oregon), Len Lutero (1961 vs. Whitman) and
Tyler Cox (2017 vs. MSU-Northern with four touchdown passes in a game…Ford became the second C of I player this season with two interceptions, joining Dawson, who had two picks at Southern Oregon…it was the tenth-straight home game, dating back to September 2017, that the Coyotes have had at least one 100-yard rusher or receiver…Nik Lyons led the team with nine tackles…Mitchell tied a school record with two field goals in a game and tied the kick scoring mark with 12 points…C of I clinched a winning record at Simplot Stadium for a second-straight year, ending the season 3-2 at home.
