Bell's five touchdown day lifts Eagles past Northern Iowa
- Story byColumbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, Wash.
- Bell's five touchdown day lifts Eagles past Northern Iowa
Sep. 9—CHENEY — After a 34-27 loss to Northern Arizona , the Eastern Washington Eagles (1-1) bounced back with a statement 34-24 win over the University of Northern Iowa Panthers Saturday. It was a tale of two halves, but the Eagles rallied on defense to shut UNI out in the second half.
"I just finally said we need more organic energy in our defense," Head Coach Aaron Best said. "They were catching slants, and all of a sudden, they were turning a five-yard route into a 25-yard run after catch — that first half was not a fun half from a defensive standpoint. But that defense went 0-0 in the third and fourth quarter, it goes to show you we can play at a high level if we want to execute and follow our focus to the level it needs to be."
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The first half presented a shootout to open the Eagles season at Roos Field, with multiple lead changes as the defense struggled to stop UNI's offense. After trailing 24-20 at halftime, Eastern came out of the break hot on defense, holding the opposition scoreless in the second half behind a disruptive defensive line and forcing a turnover through the air. As the defense clamped down on UNI, the Eagles built their lead with a touchdown in the third and fourth quarters and sealed the win in their home opener.
"Super pumped, was able to protect the red today," quarterback Nate Bell said.
Bell continued his hot start to the 2026 season with 257 yards passing, two passing touchdowns and three more on the ground for a total of five. The performance came one week after Bell threw for a career-high 300-plus yards against Northern Arizona.
Bell got the Eagles off to a strong start with an early highlight play on their first drive. On fourth down with only a few inches to go for a first down, Bell plunged forward on a quarterback sneak play. Instead of falling across the first down line, Bell popped out of the trenches, juked multiple defenders before sprinting down the sideline for a 34-yard touchdown.
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"Honestly, we ran it during our week in practice, and I told Drew Carlson, 'I'm going to pop like a QB sneak this week,' and so it was ironic that that happened. I just was trying to get the first down, so once I got it, I was kind of staying up, and then I popped out," Bell said.
Despite the strong start, UNI punched back after blocking the extra point attempt, going 72 yards on their next offensive drive to take the lead 7-6 over EWU.
Bell kept the Eagles offense humming on their next drive, connecting with Jaxon Branch and Wesley Garrett to move into the redzone. Soon after, Bell found Branch again in the right corner of the endzone for a 16-yard touchdown pass, reclaiming the lead 13-7.
The Panthers offense went right back to work in the second quarter, moving the ball 67 yards and resulting in a 25-yard field goal and cut the score to 13-10. They forced an Eagles stop and capitalized on offense with a touchdown run from Jaxon Dailey, putting them ahead of EWU 17-13.
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Bell quickly answered, leading a methodical scoring drive that ended with his second rushing touchdown of the half and a 20-17 Eastern lead. Despite a strong effort by the Eagles defense, UNI responded with a late two-minute drive, scoring the go-ahead touchdown to take a 24-20 lead into halftime.
Eastern reclaimed the lead on its opening second-half possession as Bell capped a sharp scoring drive with his third rushing touchdown, making it 27-24.
As the offense continued to do their thing, the defense came alive. Causing problems in the backfield for the Panthers was Eagles linemen Jaden Radke, Guage Larsen, Ben Voigtlaender, Matt Eskridge II, Isaiah Perez and Justis La'ulu with a combination of sacks and tackles for loss.
They managed to hold UNI scoreless the entire second half thanks to an unrelenting pass rush, run defense and interception by Ambrose Marsh which invigorated the Eagles sideline.
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Bell helped put the game away in the fourth quarter, guiding another sustained drive before finding Jamai East for a 15-yard touchdown that extended the lead to 34-24. From there, the Eagles defense continued to stifle the Panthers to seal the win at home.
"I'm really proud," Best said. "From the 30-minute mark on we put the big boy pants on and said, 'You know what, if we intend to put this away, we got to come from behind.' Easiest thing to do in sports is come from behind because you got nothing to lose. We dug a hole that we then filled in, and it was a full team effort in that last 30 minutes for sure."
Bell also had high praise for the defensive turnaround postgame.
"It's huge. It gives us more juice to want to go down there and score," he said. "I love those guys on the defensive side and trust they're going to give us a stop. So just kind of reiterating that to them like, 'You know what you got to do, go out and do it, play your ball,' was what I was kind of telling the guys, and they went out and did it."
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The Eagles hit the road for the next two weeks as they travel to play South Dakota on Sept 12 and the University of Washington on Sept. 19. Bell and the Eagles see an opportunity to capitalize on their newfound momentum.
"Winning helps a lot. We know we could do it, so we just got to go out and prove (it) to everyone else. We have the utmost confidence in ourselves," Bell said.
BOX SCORE:
UNI: 10-14-0-0: 24
EWU: 13-7-7-7: 34
