Sep. 12—VERMILLION, S.D. — After two weeks with notable miscues on special teams, Eastern Washington saw much go right with those units in Saturday's 41-23 loss to South Dakota at the DakotaDome.
Freshman Morgan Dodson successfully executed an onside kick that was recovered by redshirt senior Wesley Garrett. Senior Soren McKee made a 40-yard field goal. And freshman Jaxon Bell took over return duties and gave Eastern's offense some shorter fields.
"I've said this from the jump: He's a dog," grad senior running back Malik Dotson said of his EWU teammate Jaxon Bell. "And you can tell, obviously (quarterback) Nate (Bell) is a dynamic football player, one of the best in this conference, and his brother is the same thing. They've got some genes that a lot of people pray for."
Stepping in for injured freshman Zamarie Tellez, Jaxon Bell returned four kickoffs for 95 yards and one punt for 31. He also ran twice for 16 yards.
The day wasn't all great for Bell: He also caught one pass that went for a 5-yard loss and, crucially, a lost fumble. But he gave Eastern a boost in special teams.
Big game for Bryce Smith
Sophomore safety Bryce Smith continued to impress for the Eagles, leading the defense with 13 tackles — 10 of them solo — and an interception.
"Bryce Smith is amazing," EWU redshirt senior defensive tackle Isaiah Perez said. "A great athlete. A great everything."
Smith's interception came on a play-action pass at the goal line, when South Dakota redshirt freshman quarterback Austyn Modrzewski dropped back after faking a handoff and lobbed a pass toward redshirt freshman tight end Jackson Accuardi in the end zone. Smith got one hand on it, tipped it to himself and secured it for the first interception of his college career.
That play came with four minutes left in the second quarter with the Coyotes ahead 10-0.
It was Modrzewski's biggest miscue of the game and the first interception in three career starts. He finished with 245 passing yards, completing 16 of 24 passes.
Through three games, Smith has 30 tackles — three shy of team leader Myles Mayovsky — and leads the team with three pass breakups.
Tackling was something EWU head coach Aaron Best said went poorly for the Eagles on Saturday.
"It just seemed like every time we were in position, we didn't make tackles, the standard-operation basic tackles, and they got behind us (on passing plays) a couple too many times," Best said.
Injuries pile up at wide receiver
Already without a handful of receivers dealing with injuries, two more Eagles wideouts left Saturday's game hurt.
Sophomore Sean Embree Jr. made the first catch of his college career — an 11-yard grab for a first down — but came down awkwardly and left with trainers. His arm was in a sling after the game.
Then, one play before Garrett's touchdown catch, sophomore David Cabrera was injured when he absorbed a hit while trying to catch a pass. Initially Cabrera tried to get up, but after taking a couple steps he sat back down and a cart was called in to take him off the field. Cabrera had two catches for 24 yards.
Freshman Oliver Luebkert was targeted three times and caught one pass for 3 yards in his first college game. Sophomore Rylin Lang set new career highs with five receptions for 54 yards.
Eastern is awaiting the season debut of redshirt sophomore Bode Gardner, who did not travel for this game. The Eagles are also awaiting the return of starters Jaxon Branch and Drew Carlson, who both left last week's game against Northern Iowa with injuries that are not considered longterm. Redshirt senior Cole Pruett, another starter, was injured in preseason camp. His timetable to return is uncertain.
Through three games, Garrett leads the Eagles in catches (18) and receiving yards (235) and is tied with Branch for the team lead with two touchdown receptions.
