Denim Millward
Sports Editor
The Idaho State University football team continued to show its improved offensive efficiency and production, keeping pace with the second-ranked Eastern Washington Eagles last Saturday, Oct. 4 ultimately falling just short with a score of 56-53 at Roos Field in Cheney, Washington.
The Bengals twice faced deficits of 18 points and twice scored two consecutive touchdowns to cut the Eagle lead to a single score.
Bengal quarterback Justin Arias had the best performance of his Idaho State tenure thus far, completing 27 of 41 passes for 421 yards and 6 touchdowns, tying the ISU record for touchdown passes in a game.
“We think of Arias as the best quarterback we have had in a long time since Travis Lulay at Montana State,” said ISU head coach Mike Kramer in a post-game press conference. “He is a very good player. He is smart and plays within himself.”
Redshirt junior Madison Mangum led the Bengals in receiving, hauling in 7 passes for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Redshirt sophomore Broc Malcom compiled 6 receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown, and two of the four passes thrown to KW Williams, which were good for 53 yards, were touchdown receptions.
The Bengals faced an uphill battle after Mangum, Malcom and wide receiver Aaron Prier were lost to injury early in the second half. Despite the loss of three of the Bengals’ top receiving options, the team still managed to keep bringing the score back to within single digits.
After nationally-recognized Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams connected with teammate Cooper Kupp for a touchdown to put the Eagles up 56-45 with six minutes and 30 seconds left in the game, the Bengals answered in short order.
Arias orchestrated an eight-play, 88 yard drive that took just two minutes and 32 seconds, culminating in a 17 yard touchdown pass to Williams.
Reserve wide receiver CJ Hatchett, who has seen little playing time this season, caught a crucial two-point conversion to bring the Bengals within a field goal of Eastern Washington, 56-53.
On the ensuing possession, the Eastern Washington offense converted on two crucial first downs and was then able to run out the clock to seal the victory for the Eagles in front of their home crowd of 11,256.
“We had some guys who became unavailable who are pretty big players for us in Madison Mangum, Aaron Prier and Broc Malcom,” Kramer said. “It is the quality of our offensive coaching staff to put our players in position to be successful. I loved the character and class we showed.”
Eastern Washington was led by Adams, who played hobbled, by what was later revealed to be a broken ankle for much of the game.
Despite the injury that will sideline him for three to six weeks, Adams was 23 of 35 for 354 yards and 4 passing touchdowns. Adams also compiled 91 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns.
Kupp led the Eagles in receiving with 8 receptions for 132 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Mario Brown spearheaded Eastern Washington’s rushing attack, amassing 131 yards on 18 carries.
Junior running back Xavier Finney led the Bengals in rushing with 120 yards on 25 carries and 2 touchdowns, while redshirt senior Daniel McSurdy averaged 10 yards-per-carry, toting the rock 6 times for 60 yards.
Despite being less than half-way through his second season as quarterback for the Bengals, Arias is already seventh in career passing yards for Idaho State with 5,512 yards. The 421 yards he compiled in the Eastern Washington game moved him ahead of former Bengal quarterbacks Vern Harris and Mike Machurek, the quarterback of the 1981 national championship team.
For the game, ISU totaled 614 yards of total offense, the third-most in a game for the Bengals since 2004. The 53 points was the third-most for Idaho State since 2002.
The Bengals will have a week off from conference play Saturday, Oct. 11 when they play lower-division Simon Fraser (B.C.) at Holt Arena.
The following week, the Bengals resume conference play against Southern Utah at Holt Arena on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Both games will kick off at 2:35 p.m.
