The victory lifted the Eagles to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in Big Sky Conference games. The Hornets fell to 2-7 overall and 1-4 in league contests.

Meyer and Kimble were the story of the night. The pair, who are each candidates for the Walter Payton Award, connected for big play after big play to help EWU jump to an early lead. Meyer ended the night 28-for-33 and his yardage eclipsed his previous career high by 33 yards. Kimble’s receiving total was the most against Sacramento State this season while his 10 receptions tied UC Davis’ Tony Kays for the top mark.

Eastern wasted little time scoring as it took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards on eight plays capped by a 14-yard pass from Meyer to Craig McIntryre. The Eagles tacked on seven more points on their next possession when fullback Lars Slind scored from 2-yards out with 6:08 left in the quarter. EWU’s final points of the period came on a 39-yard field goal from Sheldon Weddle.

Running back Ryan Cole, a transfer from Oregon State, found the endzone midway through the second quarter on a 1-yard rush. The four-play, 69-yard drive featured a 15-yard pass to Kimble and a 26-yard strike which placed the ball on the 1.

Sacramento State scored its first points with three seconds showing on a 23-yard field goal from Juan Gamboa.

After forcing the Hornets to punt at the start of the second half, Meyer hit Kimble on an 18-yard pass to give EWU a 31-3 lead. Sacramento State responded with a career-long 84-yard kickoff return from Kris Daniels and needed five plays to find the end zone on a 7-yard pass from Brad Tredway to McRuben Fleurinord. The Hornets continued their run with a 6-yard run from Daniels to make the score 31-17 with 2:29 left in the third.

The Eagles, however, ended all hopes of a comeback when Adam Macomber returned the kickoff to the Hornet 47 and Meyer proceeded to find Kimble for a 14-yard completion and then a 33-yard slant route for a touchdown. EWU scored the game’s final points on its opening drive of the fourth quarter when Cole scored from 2-yards out.

As a team, Eastern amassed 566 yards of total offense making it the first team to cross the 500-yard mark against Sacramento State this season. Individually, Tim Calhoun was overshadowed by Kimble but still managed to catch six passes for 123 yards. The Hornet defense did a fine job against the rush, holding Cole and backup Toke Kefu to 33 yards apiece.

Sacramento State collected 289 yards of offense with 142 coming on the ground. For the second-straight game, sophomore Ryan Mole saw limited playing time. A shoulder injury limited Mole to just six carries for 27 yards. Daniels and James Cummings stepped up in his absence with Daniels rushing for 73 yards on 11 carries and Cummings adding 39 yards on 11 attempts.

Chris Hurd, Tredway and Crosby Wehr each saw time under center. Hurd was 7-for-20 for 75 yards but left with an injury to his left arm in the third quarter. Tredway was 9-of-17 for 72 yards and a score while Wehr earned his first collegiate action.

Bobby Mooshagian was the trio’s top target as the freshman caught four passes for 39 yards. Ryan Coogler tallied 40 yards on three catches before leaving with a shoulder injury in the third quarter. In all, 10 Hornets caught passes in the game.

Defensively, Matt Logue recorded his third consecutive game in double figures. The senior had 11 tackles to lead the team while Brent Webber added nine. Linebacker Tyson Butler broke a school record with 3.5 sacks. Eastern was led by Brian Jarrett with 11 stops.

Sacramento State plays its final road game of 2005 when it travels to Montana State on Saturday, Nov. 5. The game kicks off at 11:05 a.m. PST and can be heard on KTKZ 1380 AM and www.hornetsports.com.

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