BIG SKY CONFERENCE PRESS RELEASE
OGDEN, Utah – The Eastern Washington Eagles had a bevy of stars in a 45-42 win over FBS Washington State Saturday.
Virtually every player made a lasting contribution on the outcome, while some made a more-than-significant difference. However, two Eagles made enough plays to earn conference honors after the first week of the 2016 football season.
In the first awarding of the Big Sky Conference Players of the Week, for the 2016 season, Eastern Washington quarterback Gage Gubrud is the Offensive Player of the Week; North Dakota safety Cole Reyes is the Defensive Player of the Week; and Eastern Washington kicker/punter Jordan Dascalo is the Special Teams Player of the Week.
Eastern Washington quarterback Gabe Gubrud
Gubrud made his first start behind center for the Eagles count, as he had a record-breaking debut for Eastern. Gubrud completed 34-of-40 passes for 474 yards and five touchdowns, as Eastern Washington downed in-state rival Washington State.
The sophomore quarterback also rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown, a 30-yard run that proved to be the go-ahead score. His 551 yards of total offense broke the previous school record of 518 set by Vernon Adams Jr. against Oregon State in 2013, when he passed for 411 yards and rushed for 107 yards.
Eastern Washington coach Beau Baldwin said Gubrud’s performance was simply impressive.
“(Gubrud) just played like we went live in a scrimmage – and we’ve done that before,” he said. “He didn’t go out there wide-eyed or nervous. He didn’t play perfect – nobody played perfect and I didn’t coach perfect. You’re always searching for that, but he went out there with confidence and attacked it. I think that helps you a lot when you settle down and don’t pay attention to everything else that’s going on.”
Jordan Dascalo
The Eagles also got a significant contribution from Dascalo, a kicker/punter who actually began his career at Washington State. Dascalo averaged 55.3 yards on three punts against his former team, including one downed inside the Cougar 20-yard line.
He also kicked a 48-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, jumpstarting a decisive 17-0 scoring run by the Eagles. Finally, the senior had seven kickoffs for a 57.0 yard average against WSU, with one touchback.
Some players are so dominant, their performance has to be recognized, regardless of whether their team won or lost. The North Dakota Fighting Hawks fell to the Stony Brook Seawolves, 13-9, but junior safety Cole Reyes dominated the field.
Reyes made eight tackles, with two tackles for loss and a sack. He also recovered two fumbles, and forced another. On top of it all, he had a safety in the third quarter that helped UND take a 9-7 lead.
Other nominees for Offensive Player of the Week include: Treshawn Garrett, Weber State; KW Williams, Idaho State; Stephen Miller, Northern Colorado; Alex Kuresa, Portland State; Brady Gustafson, Montana; Manusamoa Luuga, UC Davis; Elijah Marks, Northern Arizona; and Dano Graves, Cal Poly.
Nominees for Defensive Player of the Week included: Joe Martin, Idaho State; Taylor Nelson, Southern Utah; Anthony McNichols, Portland State; Josh Buss, Montana; Samson Ebukam, Eastern Washington; and Russell Reeder, UC Davis.
The nominees for Special Teams Player of the Week were: Zak Johnson, Idaho State; Keifer Glau, Northern Colorado; Tim Semenza, Montana; Colby Wadman, UC Davis; and Griffin Roehler, Northern Arizona.
