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SEATTLE (Sept. 11) -- Central Washington University sophomore quarterback Ryan Robertson (Sammamish/Eastlake HS) threw for 251 yards, and the Wildcats outgained Eastern Washington University in total offense, but fell 35-32 to the Eagles at the Showdown on the Sound at Qwest Field on Saturday night.

The Wildcats fell to 1-2 with the loss, marking their worst three-game start since 2005 although their two losses have been against Minnesota Duluth, a top-5 Division II team, and on Saturday against Eastern Washington, which is ranked 17th in the NCAA Division I-Football Championship Subdivision. EWU evened its record at 1-1.

The game got off to an ominous start for the Wildcats, ranked 12th in the NCAA Division II, as Robertson was intercepted and returned for a 55-yard touchdown by Eastern's Tyler Washburn on the second play from scrimmage, putting CWU in a 7-0 hole just 52 seconds into the game. However, the Wildcat offense did respond on its very next series, marching 78 yards on 10 plays and capping the drive with a seven-yard scoring pass from Robertson to junior tight end Demetrius Guice (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS). The point-after-touchdown conversion was missed on an incomplete pass attempt, and the Wildcats remained behind by one.

The Central special teams came away with a big play on the next series, as sophomore Tre Watson (Seattle/John F. Kennedy HS) blocked a 43-yard field goal attempt by Mike Jarrett. Robertson then helped the Wildcats methodically make their way down the field and sophomore Sean Davis (Federal Way/Todd Beamer HS), attempting the first field goal of his career in just his second career appearance, and making it from 50 yards away to give CWU the 9-7 lead. The made attempt was the first field goal of 50 or more yards by a Wildcat in 18 years.

A miscue early in the second quarter proved costly for the Wildcats, as junior Dominique Gaisie (West Covina, Calif./Bishop Amat HS) muffed the Eastern Washington punt on the first play of the period, with the Eagles recovering at Central's 12-yard line. After a pass interference penalty moved the ball to the CWU 2, Taiwan Jones scored on the very next play and EWU led 14-9.

After an unsuccessful offensive series that netted just eight yards on six plays, the Wildcat defense registered its first takeaway of the contest as senior Adam Bighill (Montesano) intercepted Bo Levi Mitchell at his own 34 and returned it 66 yards for a score. The ensuing PAT made it a two-point Central lead at 16-14.

The Wildcat advantage was short-lived, though, as Eastern needed just four plays to go 64 yards. The Eagles scored on a 46-yard pass play from Mitchell to Jones, and all of a sudden, the lead swayed back to EWU at 21-16. Neither team would score again in the opening period.

Eastern scored on its first possession of the second half as Jones had a one-yard scoring carry, and the Wildcats faced their largest deficit of the night at 28-16. After a punt by senior Kyle Petersen (Alta Loma, Calif./South Hills HS) pinned the Eagles at their one yard line, the Central defense struck as senior Jared Silva-Purcell (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis HS) and a host of Wildcats tackled Jones in the end zone for a safety -- the first two-point defensive score for CWU since its last Division I contest against Idaho State last season.

The free kick that followed the safety also resulted in points for the Wildcats, as senior Bryson Kelly (Mukilteo/Kamiak HS) chalked up his first touchdown of the 2010 season with a one-yard scoring run, and Central closed to within a field goal at 28-25 with 5:04 to go in the third quarter.

Central's one-score deficit lasted for just 79 seconds, however, as Eastern Washington scored on a 32-yard pass play from Mitchell to Brandon Kaufman. The Wildcats then went three-and-out on offense but earned their final takeaway of the night on Eastern's next series late in the third quarter as junior Taylor Tanasse (Yakima/West Valley HS) recovered a Mitchell fumble at midfield to give CWU prime field position heading into the fourth quarter.

Central opened the fourth quarter with another turnover -- an interception thrown by Robertson on the third play of the period as the Wildcats were driving into the red zone. The Wildcat defense held Eastern on its next series, and then the offense converted its longest possession of the season -- an 11-play, 82-yard drive that spanned 6:06 on the clock -- into a 13-yard touchdown pass from Robertson to senior Kollin Hancock (Columbus, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln HS). That play almost didn't come to pass, however, as a 68-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Eastern's Jerry Ceja with less than four and a half minutes left was called back due to offsetting holding penalties.

In the waning minutes of the game, Central held Eastern without a first down on three straight plays to regain possession of the football at its own 18 with 1:46 remaining. However, after gaining a first down on the opening play of the series, Robertson and the Wildcats gained just two yards before three straight incompletions ended their upset bid.

Offensively, Central totaled 357 yards to Eastern's 311 and controlled the ball for more than 35 minutes of the contest. Kelly (86 yards) nearly matched Jones (89 yards) in the rushing department, while Robertson came within five yards of his career-high for passing by throwing for 251 yards. His 29 completions and 46 attempts were both career-highs.

Senior Chris Smith (San Diego, Calif./Helix HS) and Hancock led the receiving corps with eight and six catches, respectively. Hancock led the Wildcats with a career-high 88 receiving yards in making his first start in the Crimson and Black.

On defense, senior Paul Wright (Martinez, Calif./De La Salle HS) had a career-best 13 tackles including 2 1/2 tackles for losses. Bighill had nine stops, while Silva-Purcell and redshirt freshman Stan Langlow (University Place/Curtis HS) made six tackles each.

Jones starred again for Eastern, totaling 235 all-purpose yards -- some 87 fewer than he amassed in the Eagles' season-opening loss at Nevada. In addition to his game-high 89 yards on the ground, he had a team-leading 63 receiving yards while netting 83 yards in kickoff and punt returns. Mitchell completed 16 of 27 passes for 188 yards.

Central Washington, which suffered its first loss in a night game since the 2004 Battle in Seattle also at Qwest Field, will return home next Saturday (Sept. 18) to face Dixie State College in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest. Seven of the Wildcats' final eight games will be conference counters, including five at Ellensburg's Tomlinson Stadium.