Cal Poly Falls to No 7/8 Eastern Washington in Overtime, 42-41

Saturday, October 10

Cheney, WA

1:5 pm

2-4

Eastern Washington

3-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	OT	Final F
Cal Poly	7	14	7	7	6	41
Eastern Washington	6	7	0	22	7	42

Cal Poly Falls to No 7/8 Eastern Washington in Overtime, 42-41

10/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

CHENEY, Wash. – Eastern Washington scored 22 points to overcome a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit and scored on the first play of overtime to defeat Cal Poly 42-41 in a Big Sky Conference football game Saturday afternoon before 10,352 at Roos Field.

Junior quarterback Jordan West connected with Kendrick Bourne on a 25-yard touchdown pass as the No. 7/8 Eagles took a 42-35 lead in the extra period.

Cal Poly answered quickly on its fifth play as senior quarterback Chris Brown scored from one yard out. Mustang head coach Tim Walsh elected to go for two points on the PAT and the win but junior slot back Kori Garcia fumbled the pitch from Brown out of bounds at the one-yard line, ending the game.

Cal Poly trailed only once in the game, at 6-0 when West hit Zach Wimberly with a 13-yard scoring pass less than three minutes into the game. Brandyn Bangsund missed the extra-point kick.

The Mustangs scored five minutes later on a two-yard run by Brown and Stephen Pyle's extra-point kick gave Cal Poly a 7-6 lead. The Mustangs went on to lead the game by 15 points at 21-6, 28-13 and 35-20 before Eastern Washington scored twice in the final 5 minutes, 11 seconds to send the game into overtime.

In the final drive of regulation, Eastern Washington drove 55 yards in seven plays. The drive was kept alive when Cal Poly was called for delay of game by jamming the Eagles' offensive signals on fourth and five at the Mustang 32-yard line. The penalty gave Eastern Washington a first down.

After West connected with Nick Sblendorio on a 16-yard pass to pull the Eagles to within two points at 35-33 with 57 seconds to play, Eastern Washington's two-point conversion attempt, a pass from West, was intercepted by Mustang linebacker Burton De Koning in the end zone. Cal Poly, however, was called for holding, giving the Eagles another chance.

West connected with tight end Terry Jackson II for the game-tying two-point conversion.

Cal Poly falls to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in Big Sky games with the loss. Eastern Washington, which two weeks ago overcame a 20-7 halftime deficit to beat Sacramento State 28-20, improved to 3-2 and 2-0.

For the fourth time this season, Cal Poly's relentless running attack produced a pair of 100-yard rushers and amassed a season-high 503 yards on the ground for the game.

Brown finished with 173 yards on 31 carries, his fourth 100-yard game of the season and 11th of his Mustang career. Sophomore fullback Joe Protheroe added 121 yards on 30 trips, his fourth 100-yard game of the year.

Brown scored three touchdowns on runs of 2, 13 and 1 yards while Protheroe added scoring runs of 3 and 6 yards.

Garcia contributed 88 yards on 15 carries while Roland Jackson Jr. scored on a 55-yard reverse around left end.

Brown completed just two of five passes for 16 yards and has yet to crack the 100-yard mark in passing this season. Jordan Hines and DJ Peluso made the Mustang receptions.

Despite the loss, Cal Poly produced advantages of 32-24 in first downs, 503-146 in rushing yards, 519-370 in total offense and 36:09 to 23:51 in time of possession. The Mustangs converted nine of 17 third-down plays and four of five on fourth down.

West completed 27 of 35 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns. Bourne was his favorite target with 10 catches for 84 yards, two receptions for touchdowns, while Cooper Kupp, the nation's leader in several receiving categories, caught just four passes for 21 yards.

Jabari Wilson netted 103 yards on 25 carries, scoring twice on runs of 2 and 4 yards.

Linebackers R.J. Mazolewski and Joseph Gigantino III each made a dozen tackles for Cal Poly and Tu'uta Inoke, another Mustang linebacker, added 10 stops.

There were no turnovers in the game.

Eastern Washington has won 18 straight regular-season games at home and is 33-5 since installing the red turf eight years ago. The Eagles are 6-2 all-time against Cal Poly, including two wins in overtime and a 4-0 mark at home, and the three-time defending Big Sky champs are 29-3 in their last 32 conference games since an 0-2 start in 2011.

Cal Poly is now 1-7 in overtime games since the tiebreaker rule was adopted in 1994. The Mustangs have lost seven straight extra-period contests since beating New Mexico State 38-35 in overtime in 1997.

Cal Poly, which has played four of its first six games on the road, will contest three of its final five contests at home. Following a bye week, the Mustangs will host Portland State (4-1 overall, 1-1 Big Sky) for their Mustang Family Weekend and Homecoming Game on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 6:05 p.m. in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

The Vikings, who upset Washington State in the opening week of the 2015 season, routed winless North Texas of the FBS 66-7 on Saturday in Denton, Texas, and host Montana State next Saturday.