College football: Mountaineers look to snap losing streak in matchup with Carroll

Davis Carbaugh, The Observer, La Grande, Ore.
·3 min read

Oct. 28—LA GRANDE — The Eastern Oregon University football team (3-4) hit a low point in last weekend's five-overtime loss to previously winless MSU-Northern, but a new week presents the opportunity for the Mountaineers to bounce back.

Eastern returns home Saturday, Oct. 30, to face Carroll College, a team the Mountaineers defeated 10-7 on Sept. 18. A lot has changed for the Mountaineers since then, losing the following four games. Coming off a 22-20 loss to an MSU-Northern team that had lost its previous 47 conference games, Eastern will look to get back on track against the Saints.

"It's exciting to be back home, and we have a great opportunity to go out and get a win this week," head coach Tim Camp said. "The expectation is to go out and win every game."

It was another stagnant offensive effort by Eastern in the loss to the Lights, tallying 220 total yards of offense. In the last five games, the Mountaineers have averaged 11.4 points per contest.

All-American senior quarterback Kai Quinn was intercepted three times in last week's loss, leading to redshirt-freshman Carson Bohning replacing him under center in the second half.

"We have a quarterback competition, and I am confident we'll have the best guy out there on Saturday," Camp said.

Camp noted that Quinn responded well to being benched, coaching from the sideline and doing what he could to help the team win. He also said that Quinn had a good week of practice, but that the position is still open for the taking.

"There's nobody that wants to win more than Kai Quinn," Camp said.

Stakes are high for Eastern against a Carroll team that also comes into the matchup 3-4 on the year. With just three games remaining on the schedule, the Mountaineers will have to win out to finish the year above .500.

In the first matchup of the season, Eastern tallied 179 total yards of offense and held Carroll to 216 yards, marking the seventh straight EOU victory over the Saints.

Carroll quarterback Devan Bridgewater started in the first matchup, but has since been replaced by Jack Prka. Camp stated that the Mountaineers are ready for appearances by both quarterbacks in a run-heavy Carroll offense.

"The No. 1 thing is to stop the run," he said. "That's something Carroll really likes to do."

Since the first game between the two teams, Carroll and Eastern have been on opposite trajectories. Although the Saints are 2-2, the team lost by just one point to a Southern Oregon team that bested Eastern and lost 39-34 against conference-leading Rocky Mountain last week. With both teams gridlocked in the standings, this weekend's contest will go a long way toward determining which team has a chance to finish near the top of the standings.

Once standing at 3-0 and No. 11 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll, the Mountaineers have fallen far into the depths of their current losing streak. While the Mountaineers are trending down, the coaching staff and players are looking to take things one game at a time and earn a hard-fought victory Saturday. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Community Stadium.

"We have to take what's there," Camp said. "This has been a struggle, but we have to keep pushing and get it done."