BIG SKY FOOTBALL: Vandals close out Eastern late
MILES WHITLING/Idaho media relations Hayden Hatten (80) of Idaho celebrates after catching the winning touchdown pass in the final minute Saturday against defender Keshaun King (36) of Eastern Washington at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.
From wire and news services
Mike Beaudry passed for 296 yards and two touchdowns, including a 25-yarder to Hayden Hatten in the closing seconds, and Idaho beat Eastern Washington 28-21 on Saturday at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow in the season opener for both teams in a season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
It was third down and you can get a little closer and kick a field goal,” Idaho coach Paul Petrino said. “They were in Cover Zero, so we thought we’d take a shot to Hayden and he beat him and made a great catch. It was a two-play call depending on what they were in, and we opted to throw it. It was a great throw, great catch and great protection.”
Beaudry completed 22 of 45 and threw one interception and Hatten finished with six receptions for 138 yards.
Beaudry threw a 14-yard TD pass to Cutrell Haywood to make it 21-all with 5:42 left in the third quarter. Neither team scored again until he led an eight-play, 68-yard drive capped by Hatten's touchdown reception that gave the Vandals their first lead of the game with 54 seconds to play.
Seth Harrison — a redshirt sophomore from Coeur d'Alene High — missed a 24-yard field-goal attempt for the Eagles early in the fourth quarter that appeared to go through the uprights and bounce off the scoreboard but was ruled no good by the official — who seemed to have missed the play while adjusting the mask on his face.
Eric Barriere was 32-of-57 passing for 339 yards and two touchdowns with an interception for Eastern Washington.
“Honestly, we had a great gameplan,” Idaho linebacker Christian Elliss said. “We knew that they were dynamic and have a lot of players. No. 3 (Barriere) is a heck of a player and hard to contain, but luckily we were able to contain him enough to take him out of his game. Our coaches did a really good job with our plan.”
Anthany Smith returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown with 6:45 left in the first quarter and Barriere hit Dennis Merritt for a 27-yard TD early in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 14-0 lead.
Nick Romano scored on a 3-yard run and Roshaun Johnson added a 5-yard TD run to make it 14-all going into the half. EWU opened the second half with a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by Anthony Stell Jr.'s 16-yard scoring reception.
EWU coach Aaron Best missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. Defensive coordinator Eti Ena is filling in until Best returns.
"The players did some really good things and fought well," Ena said. "We were proud of how so many players stepped up in roles they have been practicing for, and now they have a game under their belts. We have things to build off of but we still have some work to do."
Idaho hosts UC Davis next Saturday at noon.
Eastern plays host to Northern Arizona next Saturday at 1:05 p.m.