Eastern Washington Celebrates 100 Games on The Inferno

Eastern Washington’s celebration arrives with Montana visiting Cheney for the 102nd game on the red field. The official 100th contest came Oct. 10, when the Eagles defeated Northern Colorado 31-22. Montana also played in the turf’s debut, while Portland State will close the home schedule on Nov. 21. Montana State, another frequent visitor to The Inferno, earned a Cheney victory two weeks ago.

The field opened with a memorable Eastern-Montana matchup on Sept. 18, 2010. Eastern fell behind 14-0 after an interception return and a fumbled kickoff, then quickly evened the score through Brandon Kaufman’s 32-yard touchdown reception and Taiwan Jones’ 72-yard run. Mike Jarrett later kicked a 31-yard field goal with four seconds remaining. After a penalty created one final untimed play, Jerry Ceja forced Andrew Selle to fumble and Renard Williams carried the recovery for a touchdown. Eastern won 36-27 before 11,702 spectators, still Roos Field’s largest announced crowd.

That victory became part of Eastern’s national championship season. Although the Eagles lost 30-7 at Montana State the following week, they won every remaining game, including seven more at home. Matt Johnson, then an EWU safety, initially had doubts about playing on red turf. He now coaches football at Southridge High School in Kennewick. His twin brother and former teammate Zach Johnson recorded 11 tackles and forced a fumble in the first red-field game. Zach Bruce, an Eagle from 2012 through 2016 and now the defensive coordinator, continues showing recruits the closing play from that Montana win.