If ‘Ifs’ and ‘Buts’ were Candy and Nuts...

There is a passion in every fan, make that a true fan, when their team wins and especially when they are on the losing side. I’ve felt the hollowness of three Bronco runner-up finishes at the state championship football games, as well as a few semi-final games.

I witnessed two basketball second place finishes for the Ritzville Broncos, Lind Bulldogs and one in 1968 when Sprague lost to St. John. I cheered for the losing team on those nights and I felt bad for all of the players from those teams, because I truly wanted them to take home the gold ball.

On Saturday, the Eastern Washington University Eagles came up on the short end of the scoreboard and will not play for a National Championship in January. Due to family obligations, I was not in the stands at Roos Field in Cheney, but emotionally I was there watching from my warm living room.

It was hard to figure out which Eagle team took the field on Saturday. Since it had been a long time since EWU played a game at 1:05, I was thinking they weren’t used to the early start time.

But more than likely Sam Houston State (SHSU) was running an offense that was well blocked with very fast athletes in control of the football.

The Bearkat defense raised havoc with EWU QB Kyle Padron, mixing things up and pressuring the heck out of the transfer from Southern Methodist. But EWU has two quarterbacks, and redshirt freshman Vernon Adams brought a spark of life to the Eagle offense, even though they were unable to score in the first half. SHSU would take a 35-0 lead into halftime.

When the ESPNU sideline reporter talked with Eagle Coach, Beau Baldwin, after halftime, he was extremely calm. He said, “I’m a positive guy. I told the guys in the locker room to take it one play at a time. If we do that we can make good things happen.”

It was at this time that I started believing, along with the rest of the team.

Eastern stopped the Bearkats on their very first drive forcing a punt, their first of the game. EWU then went on a drive that ended in a TD pass from Adams to Greg Herd. The Eagles followed that up with TD pass receptions to Brandon Kaufman, Ashton Clark and another Kaufman grab to make it 35-28.

The Bearkats would score a TD, followed by an EWU Nicholas Edwards TD catch to make it 42-35. SHSU would kick a field goal to gain a 10-point advantage. Kaufman would catch his third TD pass of the half and Adams’ sixth TD pass of the game tying a school record that Padron tied a week earlier.

With a little over three minutes the Eagles trailed 45-42. An onside kick ensued, but the Eagles were unable to recover the ball. So it was up to the defense to get a stop to get the ball back in Adams’ hands, but it was not meant to be. The Bearkats picked up two first downs and ran the clock out on the Eagles, and their great season.

Now SMSU will play the North Dakota State Bison in a rematch of last year’s final, won by NDSU. It is easy to be proud of the EWU Eagles. It was fun watching them mature as a great football team. At the same time, I hurt for these guys, because they worked so hard to get to this point and it sure would have been fun to celebrate a come from behind 49-45 victory. Sometimes the story has an unhappy ending and the fan has to move on, grasping onto the great memory of an exciting season.

I’ll be there again next year, losing my voice and high-fiving my new found friends around me at Roos Field. Eastern football has come a long way in the last few years, and fans are figuring out that watching the game on the red field is a real treat.

It’s been said that if ifs and buts were candy and nuts we would all have a Merry Christmas.

This year it might have meant a trip to Frisco, Texas, with another chance to win National Championship.

But of course it isn’t, and we’re not. So just in case, I think I’ll put that on my wish list for next year. It was a magical season, and one I’ll not soon forget.

Merry Christmas to you and yours from the Worst Seat in the House!