‘We shouldn’t hang our heads.’ Idaho football season ends in FCS quarterfinals

The University of Idaho football team racked up a season-high 620 total yards and held the lead in its Football Championship Subdivision playoff game for more than 55 minutes.

It wasn’t enough.

The one thing the Vandals couldn’t do Saturday night was contain Albany wide receiver Brevin Easton.

Easton scored the go-ahead touchdown with 4:38 remaining in the fourth quarter to carry the fifth-seeded Great Danes to a 30-22 victory over No. 4 Idaho in the FCS quarterfinals at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.

Albany’s 5-foot-11, 197-pound senior receiver caught nine passes for a career-high 228 yards and three touchdowns. Easton hauled in TD passes of 64, 39 and 30 yards from sophomore quarterback Reese Poffenbarger, who competed 24-of-41 passes for 341 yards. It was the most passing yards Idaho had given up all season, as was Albany’s 480 total yards.

“Hats off to Albany. They’ve got a very good football team,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said. “I think our team played their tails off, but (Albany) made a few more plays than us during the game, so credit to them and best of luck to them in the semifinals.

“My message to the team was we shouldn’t hang our heads. I think we took another huge step. Our seniors who are moving on, they have a lot to be proud of for what we were able to accomplish over these past two years.”

In his first two season at the helm, Eck led the Vandals (9-4) to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 1994-95. Idaho also earned the right to host its first postseason game in 30 years.

But after rallying for an overtime win against Southern Illinois last week, the Vandals couldn’t muster the big plays they needed late in the game against Albany.

Trailing 23-19 following Easton’s go-ahead score, Idaho drove its way to the Albany 37-yard line with the help of a pair of first-down catches by redshirt junior receiver Hayden Hatten. But just as the Vandals were gaining momentum, Albany senior defensive end Anton Juncaj sacked Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy and forced a fumble, which teammate Elijah Hills recovered.

It was the only sack of the game for Albany (11-3), which leads the FCS division this season with 50.

“It’s a continuous pressure and eventually you break through, and he broke through in a big moment in the game,” Albany coach Greg Gattuso said. “That’s what we do. It’s not about sacks. Everyone thinks it’s sacks. It’s pressure and hitting the quarterback, and it was a great play by those guys.”

Albany got the ball back with 2:46 to play needing only to run out the clock. The Great Danes got a first down and were facing third-and-5 at the Idaho 29 when freshman running back Griffin Woodell busted free for a 29-yard touchdown run. With Idaho out of timeouts, Woodell could have taken a knee after getting the first down and Albany would have won the game after taking a knee.

Instead, the Vandals took over with 46 seconds left down 30-19. Idaho senior Nick Romano returned the ensuing kickoff 36 yards to the Albany 43, and three plays later, kicker Ricardo Chavez sent a 50-yard field goal between the uprights to pull Idaho within 30-22.

But Idaho’s comeback bid came to an end when Albany recovered the onside kick.

“For our returning guys, you really want to remember this feeling. You want to remember the feeling you had in your stomach after this game,” Eck said. “There may be some days in January and February where it’s cold and snowy out and you’ve got to get up early to lift. And that’s why, because it’s all the work you do in the offseason that no one sees that really defines what happens.”

Idaho running back Anthony Woods totaled 105 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. He finished the season with 1,155 yards, which ranks 10th on Idaho’s single-season record list.

Hatten caught 12 passes for 135 yards, pushing his single-season total to 1,231 and giving him 3,449 career yards. He moved into second-place all-time on Idaho’s career receiving yards list, passing Jerry Hendren’s 3,435 yards. He also holds every Idaho receiving touchdown record.

Albany will face top-ranked and defending national champion South Dakota State in the semifinals next week. Big Sky champion Montana will take on North Dakota State in the other semifinal.