CHENEY, Wash. (Sept. 1) – The Central Washington University (0-1) football team fell to DI FCS No. 9 Eastern Washington (1-0), 58-13.
 
"We are going to have to learn from it," CWU Head Coach Ian Shoemaker said afterward.  "We are going to move forward and concentrate on getting our first win next weekend.  Eastern is a good program and they're going to win a lot of games this year."
 
Reilly Hennessey threw one touchdown pass, ran another in, and finished 19-for-32 with 164 passing yards.  Cedric Cooper carried the ball 14 times for 61 yards, while Hennessey finished with 58 rushing yards.  Samuel Sanchez hauled in six passes, for 74 yards, and one touchdown.
 
The Eagles' offense wasted no time finding the scoreboard, taking their first offensive play of the day into the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
 
"There was a shock value to the first play, for sure," Shoemaker said.  "It took us a little while, but I felt we answered a bit.  We got a couple scores, but fell flat in the second half."
 
With 5:30 left in the first quarter, the Eagles struck again.  Gage Gubrud found Jayce Glider on a 10-yard pass for the score.  The ensuing extra point attempt was blocked by the Wildcats, keeping the score at 13-0.  The Eagles closed the first quarter with a 20-0 advantage.
 
In the first minute of the second quarter, Hennessey found Sanchez open and the tight end made his way into the end zone for the Wildcats' first touchdown of the 2018 season.  Colin Manners tacked on the extra point, cutting the deficit to 20-7.
 
After a pair of Eastern touchdown, Hennessey broke free and eluded traffic for his first rushing touchdown of the year with just 38 seconds left in the opening half.
 
The Eagles held the Wildcats scoreless in the second half and tacked on four more scores, bringing the score line to 58-13.
 
Central Washington finished with 157 yards on the ground and 164 through the air.  They gained 20 first downs, nine through the air, 10 on the ground, and one via penalty assistance.  The Wildcats ran 73 plays in 33:13 of possession. 
 
Manners booted a pair of 50-plus yard punts and pinned the Eagles inside their 20-yard line once.  Tyson Rainwater hauled in five passes for 43 yards.  Cooper also caught five passes and compiled 39 yards.
 
The Wildcats are back in action on Saturday (Sept. 8) at Western Oregon University.