CHENEY, Wash. -
Eastern Washington believes last weekend's win over Weber State is a good sign for the future.
The win in Ogden on Saturday was both teams' conference opener. The Eagles walked away with the victory – a good sign for the future, say players and coaches.
"Weber is a great team, we had to go on the road [in a] conference opener – any game in this conference, especially on the road, is a tough one," said senior linebacker Grant Williams. "We had some good things; there are always things to clean up,"
"Always gotta get number one under your belt – it sends you into the rest of the league with a chip on your shoulder, just wanting to get more, letting those wins pile up" said lineman Evan Cook. "Hopefully that goal is achieved of being outright Big Sky champs."
Eastern now turns its attention to Montana – another ranked team from the Big Sky. The Grizzlies come to The Inferno on Saturday, and there is no denying players have a little extra pep in the step at practice this week.
"The Montana-Eastern rivalry is really strong and we're really excited to play this game," said Williams.
Even those new to Cheney – like freshman quarterback Vernon Adams - understand how important Saturday's game is.
"I know how big the rivalry is," said Adams, "Everybody out here is excited, we're jumping around, we're crazy, it's wild! I love it, I'm so excited."
"You've got two teams with a huge tradition – especially a recent tradition in the last 15-20 years dating back to when coach ‘Z' got it going, and Coach Kramer and Coach Wulff and those guys to where it's two consistent top teams in the Big Sky. It's going to create a national rivalry just by that alone," said coach Beau Baldwin.
This weekend's game is a 4:15 p.m. (PT) start. It will be televised on ROOT Sports.
Quarterback Vernon Adams is ready and excited to play his first rivalry game against Montana this weekend (Photo: SWX)
