Eastern Washington rolls after blocked kick, beats Nicholls

Dec 2, 2018, 03:53 am

CHENEY, Wash. -- Sam McPherson ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns and No. 3 seed Eastern Washington scored 39 straight points to beat Nicholls 42-21 in the second round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday.

The Eagles (10-2) will host No. 6 seed UC Davis in the quarterfinals next weekend.

Eastern Washington trailed 14-3 after the Colonels (9-4) scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and Nicholls looked to add to the lead with a 37-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half. But Dylan Ledbetter blocked the kick and Kedrick Johnson scooped it up and returned it 55 yards for a score.

The Eagles never looked back, scoring on five of their first six possessions of the second half, four of them touchdowns. Ketner Kupp's 95-yard interception return with 3:34 left in the game made it 42-14.

Eric Barriere passed for 162 yards, a touchdown and an interception and ran for 54 yards for Eastern Washington. Andrew Boston caught five passes for 89 yards and a score.

Chase Fourcade passed for 146 yards and ran for 89 yards and two TDs for Nicholls. The junior quarterback became the program's all-time leading passer, surpassing Doug Hudson (7,690 yards, 1986) on a 16-yard completion to Damion Jeanpiere Jr. Dontrell Taylor ran for 112 yards and a touchdown.