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Saturday, August 31, 2019
THE DAILY
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EWU alum Jimmy Lake ready to face former team By Hailey Robinson The Daily Jimmy Lake still remembers what it’s like to be an FCS team, even one as successful as perennial favorites Eastern Washington, facing a Power 5 team on its own field. “It’s probably a feeling of ‘you have nothing to lose,’” Lake said. “You’re going into the game like,
‘We want to show these guys that we can play with you.’ That was the case when I was at Eastern Washington.” In Lake’s first-ever game coaching, when he was in charge of defensive backs at Eastern Washington in 2000, the Eagles lost by a close margin, 21-19, to an Oregon State team that would go on to win the Pac-10 title.
Conor Courtney The Daily Jimmy Lake began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1999 at EWU, and became a full-time assistant coach in 2000 working with the Eagles’ defensive backs.
“We wanted to play at the highest level and show our families and friends that we could play at the highest level,” Lake said. Lake started his coaching career at EWU at the turn of the century. He played four years there as a strong safety and became a graduate assistant immediately after graduation. The next year, he was put in charge of Eastern’s defensive backs. “[I was] just going through how to run a meeting, how to run a practice, how to be efficient with time,” he said. “How to present efficiently to players and make sure they understand what we’re installing that day. There was a lot of bumps in the road along the way.” Eastern was also where Lake first met Aaron Best, at the time a center for the Eagles, and now their head coach. Best graduated a year after Lake, and they were on the coaching staff at EWU together for a few years before Lake left for his first stint at Washington. “He was that guy you always wanted on your team,” Lake said. “He was tough, he was nasty. He
Conor Courtney The Daily
Defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake has been on head coach Chris Petersen’s staff at the UW since he arrived on Montlake in 2014. played through the whistle — Eastern’s past two meetings not to the whistle, through the with Washington have both whistle. He was a leader and you resulted in wins for the Huskies, see the same characteristics with but only by a single score. Lake his football team.” certainly isn’t underestimating After his eligibility was up, his former team when they come Lake stayed on with Eastern as to visit. a student assistant to finish his “The story is we have a big degree. Instead of a career in time opponent coming in here,” business administration, which Lake said. “They’re going to try he studied at Eastern, that and beat us like we’re going to led to a now 20-year career in try to beat them.” coaching. “As a player, you’re just Reach Engagement Editor worried about your position and Hailey Robinson executing your assignments,” at sports@dailyuw.com. Lake said. “When you become a Twitter: @haileyarobin coach, you’re worried about all the guys you’re in charge of. You feel a little more weight on your shoulders, but that’s what I love to do.”
3-2-1, football: The Daily’s primer on Eastern Washington By Evan Wong The Daily After nearly eight months without football since the Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State, the No. 13 Washington football team is preparing to open its season against Eastern Washington for a week one matchup. Let’s take a closer look at the keys and figures of the Huskies’ first opponent of the 2019 season.
3 numbers to know 43.1: The Eagles ranked fourth in the FCS in scoring average a year ago, with just over 43 points per game in 2018, despite scoring the most points due to an extended run in the playoffs. quarterback Gage Gubrud led the Eastern Washington offense for the first five games of the season, but sophomore Eric Barriere filled in after Gubrud suffered an injury in the fifth game. Barriere ensured the
Eagles offense remained highflying, including a 74-point performance against Portland State in which he threw for five touchdowns and rushed in another.
4: Despite a strong passing attack, the Eagles also had four players eclipse 550 yards rushing in 2018. Then-senior Sam McPherson spearheaded the Eagles’ rushing attack and ran for 1,510 yards to go along with 13 rushing touchdowns. Now a senior, Antoine Custer Jr. compiled 625 rushing yards and hit paydirt eight times as a good complementary option to McPherson a year ago but is due for a larger workload this season. Barriere ended the 2018 campaign as the third-leading rusher for the Eagles and tallied 613 yards in addition to eight rushing scores. Senior tailback Tamarick Pierce rounds out Eastern’s rushing threat after averaging 7.9 yards per carry and totaling 550 yards.
Richard N. Clark IV The Easterner Eagles linebacker Chris Ojoh accumlated 105 tackles, 8.5 for loss, and two takeaways last season as a sophomore.
100: A senior last season,
placekicker Roldan Alcobendas nailed all 16 of his field goal attempts last season for the Eagles, a perfect 100%. Alcobendas’ 2018 season included four goals from over 40 yards. He had 119 points on the season, which marked the third time in the last 10 years where an Eastern Washington placekicker has had at least 100 points. While Alcobendas has since graduated, EWU will look to Andre Slyter to be consistent on his kicks as the Eagles primary place kicking option in 2019.
2 players to watch Jayce Gilder - TE Redshirt senior tight end Jayce Gilder was second on the team in receiving touchdowns. With leading wide receiver Nsimba Webster off to the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams, Gilder should build off last year’s numbers and is firmly in the running to lead Eastern Washington’s receiving corps in scoring. Gilder was also named one of five co-captains for the upcoming season. Chris Ojoh - LB As a sophomore, Chris Ojoh started eight games throughout the season. After making his starting debut against Cal Poly, Ojoh was a key player for the Eagles during their seven-game winning streak that stretched from mid-October to midDecember. He elevated his play in the championship game against North Dakota State,
Richard N. Clark IV The Easterner Eastern Washington tight end Jayce Gilder was a force last season, catching 20 passes for 237 yards and seven touchdowns. where he tallied 11 tackles and a sack. Ojoh will be a starting linebacker this season and should emerge as a leader for the defense.
1 recap of last season After starting the year out with two wins, the Eagles lost a non-conference matchup against Washington State in Pullman. Eastern Washington would bounce back and win its next three conference games before falling short in an away game to No. 13 Weber State. Following the loss, the Eagles emerged victorious in their next four games to finish their regular season with a 9-2 record. Eastern Washington earned a No. 3 seed in the FCS football
bracket which gave them a firstround bye. The Eagles advanced to the finals after defeating Nicholls State in the second round, No. 6 UC Davis in the quarterfinals, and Maine in the semifinals. Eastern lost to No. 1 North Dakota State in the championship game 38-24. This title game appearance marked the Eagle’s first since they defeated Delaware 20-19 in 2010. Reach reporter Evan Wong at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @evan_wong29
