CHENEY, WASH. — To say the much-anticipated game between the No. 4 Montana Grizzlies and No. 6 Eastern Washington Eagles lived up to the hype, would be underselling it.
The game wound up being an instant classic, one the Eagles won 34-28 after deflecting Montana's final throw to the end zone on the last play of the game.
The Eagles finished with 538 yards of offense against Montana's top-ranked defense, as quarterback Eric Barriere completed 26 of 46 passes for 422 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Both of Barriere's touchdowns went to Andrew Boston.
Dennis Merritt and Micah Smith each added rushing touchdowns as the Eagles overcame a 21-10 deficit and scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take the lead for good. Talolo Limu-Jones finished with 11 catches for 231 yards for EWU before leaving the game with a lower leg injury.
Cam Humphrey finished 14 for 26 on pass attempts for 150 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Grizzlies. Humphrey found Samuel Akem and Joey Elwell for touchdown scores but threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter as the Eagles completed their comeback. Humphrey exited the game with 23 seconds left after taking a big hit and leaving with an apparent leg injury. Backup Kris Brown came into the game as Montana almost completed the comeback on its final drive.
For full highlights and reaction from Saturday's game, check out the video above.
