The Oregon Ducks escaped their season-opener unscathed, defeating the Eastern Washington Eagles 61-42

After giving up three first half touchdowns to Eastern Washington, the Ducks held what felt like a narrow 37-21 edge at halftime.

Oregon and Eastern Washington traded touchdowns into the second half, but were able to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter when Tony Brooks-James scored his second rushing touchdown of the game and put Oregon ahead 61-35.

Adams left the game in the fourth quarter after Eagles linebacker John Kreifels hit Adams late. Kreifels was ejected and booed by Oregon fans as he gestured to the crowd while exiting the field.

Eagles wide receiver Conner Kopp set an Autzen Stadium record with 15 receptions and 246 receiving yards, while also scoring three touchdowns.

Key plays:

– Facing fourth and goal on the one-yard line, Freeman carried straight ahead for his third rushing touchdown of the game. The eight-play drive extended the Ducks’ lead 44-21.

– Two costly penalties on the Ducks extend Eastern Washington’s drive. Christian French is called for hands to the face on third down, then Torrodney Prevot is flagged for unnecessary roughness on a quarterback scramble from West.

– Following the penalties, West hits Kupp on a slant for a one-yard touchdown. The 13-play Eagles drive tightens the deficit 44-28.

– On the next offensive possession, Adams throws another timely touch pass, this time a touchdown to Marshall from 32 yards out. The drive, which lasted all of one minute and four seconds, gives the Ducks a 51-28 lead.

– Jabari Wilson’s three-yard rushing touchdown keeps Eastern Washington in the game, 51-35. The Eagles’ drive was highlighted by Kupp’s catch-and-run for 37 yards.

– Following a fumbled handoff exchange between Adams and Brooks-James, Schneider hits a 30-yard field goal, extending the Ducks’ lead 54-35 and concluding the third quarter.

– Early in the fourth quarter with the Eastern Washington offense marching, Ducks backup strong safety Juwaan Williams picks off Eagles backup quarterback Reilly Hennessey in the red zone.

– Midway into the fourth quarter, Eagles linebacker John Kreifels levels Adams, his former teammate, with a late hit. Kreifels is subsequently ejected, while Adams heads to the locker room and does not return to the game.

– Brooks-James scores his second rushing touchdown of the game, this time a 15-yarder. Schneider’s extra point gives the Ducks a 61-35 lead, putting the game out of reach for Eastern Washington.

– Kupp’s third touchdown reception of the game is a historic one. With the catch, Kupp breaks the Autzen Stadium single-game reception record (15) and single-game receiving yards record (246).

Oregon passing:

Vernon Adams – 19-of-25 for 246 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions

Eastern Washington passing:

Jordan West – 23-of-34 for 293, three touchdowns and one interception

Reilly Hennessy – 14-of-21 for 145 yards, two touchdowns and one interception

Oregon rushing:

Royce Freeman – 21 rushes for 180 yards and three touchdowns

Vernon Adams – 14 rushes for 101 yards

Kani Benoit – 11 rushes for 83 yards and one touchdown

Tony Brooks-James – 6 rushes for 63 yards and two touchdowns

Eastern Washington rushing:

Jabari Wilson – 10 rushes for 43 yards and one touchdown

Malcolm Williams – 7 rushes for 37 yards

Reilly Hennessey – 3 rushes for 20 yards

Jalen Moore – 5 rushes for 8 yards

Oregon receiving:

Byron Marshall – 3 catches for 69 yards and one touchdown

Dwayne Stanford – 3 catches for 90 yards

Bralon Addison – 3 catches for 24 yards and one touchdown

Eastern Washington receiving:

Cooper Kupp – 15 catches for 246 yards and three touchdowns

Kendrick Bourne – 4 catches for 60 yards and one touchdown

Shaq Hill – 4 catches for 49 yards and one touchdown

Total offensive yards:

Oregon – 731

Eastern Washington – 549

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Even without quarterback Vernon Adams leading Eastern Washington’s offense, Oregon’s defense recognizes the challenge of facing Adams’s former team, led by quarterback Jordan West.

“They have a very good (offensive) system,” Oregon defensive coordinator Don Pellum said after Wednesday’s practice. “I think their system allows them to compete with anyone because it’s wide open throwing the ball, so they have a chance to make big plays. When they need to bring it in tight and slow the game down, they have that capacity.”

Eastern Washington’s pass-heavy attack has drawn comparisons to Washington State’s system. The Ducks’ pass defense struggled against Washington State last season, as they narrowly defeated the Cougars 38-31. That game was Oregon’s fourth of the season, and an early indication of where the Ducks needed to improve. Eastern Washington may not be Washington State, but the Ducks expect to be tested right away in their season opener.

“They’re very dynamic,” cornerback Arrion Springs said. “They got some guys that can play. I think they’ll challenge us, and give us a good test to see where we’re at.”

Oregon’s defense is most experienced in its front seven, but its young secondary is replacing three of four starters from last year, including both starting cornerbacks. Cornerbacks Springs, Chris Seisay and safety Tyree Robinson have all played meaningful snaps in the past, but this is their biggest collective test to date.

Pellum likes what he’s seen from his inexperienced secondary through fall camp and into this week, though he will have a much better idea of where it stands come game time Saturday.

“I think right now we’re primed to go out and have a good performance,” Pellum said. “It’s how well do we adjust in the game, how well do we adapt once we see something. I think we’re prepared to do it.”

Listed as a backup cornerback on the depth chart, Ty Griffin, who recently switched to the defensive side of the ball, is making big strides, according to Pellum.

“Ty has made some real nice strides in the secondary,” Pellum said. “Had he been in the secondary for a year, he would be really special. But he’s been progressing. I think he’s going to be a vital part of what we’re doing in the back end.”

Though he’s only been playing the position for two weeks, Griffin echoed the same confidence about the Ducks’ secondary as everyone else in the group.

“A lot of guys are new, but we just want to go out there and prove to the nation that we can play with everybody else,” Griffin said. “A lot of people are sleeping on us, but I think we’re gonna come in and shock everybody.”

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-It took Vernon Adams a little over two weeks to win Oregon football’s starting quarterback job. Head coach Mark Helfrich explained on Saturday why they chose Adams over Jeff Lockie: “He’s just done a lot of good things, as have the other guys. The quarterback position is a lot better certainly now than it was early in the fall because all those guys competed better.”

-Asked about wide receiver Darren Carrington’s status on Saturday, Helfrich said, “It’s not looking favorable.” Carrington was suspended for the 2015 National Championship game versus Ohio State after failing an NCAA-administered drug test in December. Carrington’s name was left off of the two-deep depth chart released on Friday, which likely means he will be suspended until mid-October by the NCAA.

– Now that Marcus Mariota is in the NFL, Emerald sports reporter Ryan Kostecka examines who will become the next face of Oregon football.

– Payton Pritchard, the state of Oregon’s No. 1 basketball recruit in the class of 2016, committed to the Oregon men’s basketball team on Friday. Pritchard had previously committed to Oklahoma, but decided to reopen his recruitment in July.

– Oregon women’s soccer won its first game of the season in a 1-0 victory over Fresno State. The Ducks outshot Fresno State 20 to 5 in the game and 11 to 2 in the second half.

– After two disappointing losses in which they scored one combined run, the Eugene Emeralds exploded for ten runs in a win over the Hillsboro Hops on Sunday. With six games remaining in the regular season, the Emeralds lead the Hops by one game in the Northwest League South second half standings.

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The Eugene Emeralds went 0 for 15 with runners in scoring position in two losses to the Hillsboro Hops on Friday and Saturday. They committed unforced errors and scored just one combined run in the losses.

Saturday’s loss tied the Emeralds and Hops atop the second-half Northwest League South standings. Emeralds manager Gary Van Tol stressed the importance of leaving the series in sole possession of first place.

His team did too. The Emeralds’ offense exploded for thirteen hits in a 10-4 victory Sunday night at PK Park.

“It was a good bounce back win after losing the first two,” Van Tol said.

Early in Sunday’s contest, the narrative appeared to be headed in the direction of the previous two games.

Hops two-hitter Luis Veras doubled and advanced Sergio Alcantara to third base in the top of the third. What should’ve been a routine throw from Emeralds right fielder Alex Bautista to second turned into an error, allowing Alcantara to score. Soon after, a sacrifice fly gave the Hops another 2-0 lead.

The Emeralds responded immediately. With runners on second and third, Donnie Dewees singled on an ground ball to second base for an RBI. PJ Higgins followed with an RBI-single of his own and tied the game 2-2. The next batter, Eloy Jimenez, reached first on a fielder’s choice, allowing Dewees to score from third on a throwing error from second baseman Galli Cribbs. Just like that, the Emeralds held their first lead of the series.

Three more runs on a pair of sacrifice flies and an Ian Rice solo home run in the bottom of the fifth gave the Emeralds a comfortable 6-2 lead.

The Hops nearly spoiled the Emeralds’ last home game in the top of the seventh. Greyfer Eregua replaced starting pitcher Carson Sands, and struggled mightily. Two singles followed by a walk quickly loaded the bases for the Hops with no outs. Eregua struck out the next batter, then walked Alcantara, cutting the margin to 6-3.

Sensing a shift in momentum, Van Tol pulled Eregua in favor of Tyler Peitzmeier. Veras grounded out to first on the next at bat, but not before Nate Irving scored from third. Then, Higgins made arguably the most unorthodox play of the game.

Grant Heyman lined a Peitzmeier pitch towards Higgins at second that he appeared to catch, but the ball dropped out of his glove. Higgins quickly recovered the ball off the turf and flipped it to Blake Headley at first to halt the Hops’ comeback.

“Higgins played unbelievable defense,” Van Tol said. “Knocked down that line drive that would’ve scored two to tie the ball game. He stayed on it and got the out at first. Defensively, we stepped up when we needed to.”

The Emeralds notched four more runs in the bottom of the inning to put the game out of reach.

Sunday’s victory moved the Emeralds into first place, a game ahead of Hillsboro with six games remaining. Unlike the first half of the season, the Emeralds have fared much better on the road than at home in the second half.

“The first half, we had the worst road record and the best home record,” Van Tol said. “That was one of the things we talked about at the midway point: ‘We need to go on the road and compete if we’re gonna have a chance.’ These guys have responded.”

The Emeralds’ 10-4 away record should give them plenty of optimism going into a road stint with stops at Salem-Keizer and Hillsboro.

“These guys are playing with a lot of confidence,” Van Tol said. “We’re going into Salem where we just took two out of three from them last week, and we won the series in Hillsboro in the first half. We’ve won in both parks… It’s gonna go down to the wire. We’ll regroup and get ready for the road.”

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**Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in the Emerald’s “Gameday” edition, which was released on Aug. 27. Copies are available on stands throughout Eugene. 

Johnny Mundt and Evan Baylis are growing increasingly confident. The Oregon tight end duo, each in their third fall camp, experienced success early in their collegiate careers. But Mundt and Baylis were somewhat lost in the mix last season after Pharaoh Brown emerged.

This fall camp has been different.

“When they’re confident in what they do, they can play harder, faster and more efficient,” tight ends coach Tom Osborne said.

Last November, Brown’s football future, and even his ability to walk, were in question after a gruesome injury to his right leg against Utah.

Baylis, who had totaled just one catch for 10 yards in the 2014 season when Brown went down, was suddenly thrust into the starting role. Late in the season, Baylis played his best game in a six-catch, 73-yard performance against Florida State in the Rose Bowl.

Mundt faced similar circumstances as a true freshman in 2013. Troubled tight end Colt Lyerla was held out of an early non-conference home game against Tennessee, and Mundt played his best game to date, totaling five catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

“We’ve had to play three freshmen when they’ve maybe not been ready to go,” Osborne said. “…When they’re all young guys, they’re just babes out there.”

Even without a fully healed Brown, Mundt and Baylis bring plenty of big-game experience to a position that sorely lacked it during the past few years. Mundt and Baylis are now exuding the confidence that allows them to be consistent in their assignments. Brown has taken huge steps in his recovery, most recently participating in non-contact drills during fall camp. But his return to the field is uncertain. Until Brown’s status changes, the starting spot comes down to Mundt versus Baylis.

Though Mundt took meaningful snaps in 2013, he rarely saw the field as a sophomore. When Brown’s 2014 season ended prematurely, Baylis was named the starter, never relinquishing the job. Meanwhile, Mundt struggled in practice.

“He’d go out and blow an assignment and get down on himself,” Osborne said. “Then he’d do something else wrong and start to spiral.”

Mundt seemingly turned a corner in the spring, calling it the “best football I’ve played” at Oregon. Osborne noticed Mundt’s improvement on the line of scrimmage as a blocker, something that hindered him in the past. So far, it appears Mundt hasn’t regressed in fall camp.

“My confidence level is way up there,” Mundt said. “Everyday, I’m showing up, doing something right and learning from something else.”

Baylis, on the other hand, is trying to build on a strong finish to last season. This fall camp is the first in which Baylis has been healthy, having been limited in the previous two with knee and leg injuries.

“(Camp) allows me to get in good shape and get out there every day,” Baylis said. “The amount of reps you get in fall camp, it helps tremendously.”

Osborne has not set a date on when he’ll name a starter. The backup between Mundt and Baylis, however, still figures to get meaningful playing time.

“If you noticed last year when Pharaoh and Evan were healthy, we ran two tight ends a lot,” Osborne said. “We think we have two really good tight ends right now, so we might be in a two-tight package more than we were a year ago.”

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The Eugene Emeralds saw a glimpse of playoff-level atmosphere in a 3-1 loss to the Hillsboro Hops on Friday. The Emeralds made it look easy winning four of five against Spokane. Friday, however, was a different story.

“This is what the playoffs are going to be like against a good ball club,” Emeralds manager Gary Van Tol said. “It comes down to the little things, and the team that makes the least amount of mistakes is going to factor into the decision.”

With a 1-1 tie going into the top of the eighth, Hillsboro took advantage of some lackadaisical defense from the Emeralds. Alexis Olmeda led off with a single for the Hops and reached second when Frandy De La Rosa missed the catch. The next batter, Galli Cribbs, bunted in an attempt to advance Olmeda to third. Emeralds pitcher Pedro Araujo opted to throw to third, but Olmeda beat the throw.

Cribbs stole second soon after, though the throw from catcher Alberto Mineo appeared to beat Cribbs. Base umpire Jesus Gonzalez saw otherwise.

“(Those calls) can change the game, but when we put ourselves in that situation, it’s tough to lose it,” Van Tol said.

After intentionally walking Dansby Swanson, the 2015 number one overall MLB draft pick, Araujo threw a wild pitch that allowed Olmeda to score the go ahead run. Trevor Mitsui’s sacrifice fly added another run shortly after.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight. No one is going to give it to us,” Van Tol said. “We gotta earn it and unfortunately tonight, we didn’t earn it.”

Starting pitcher Preston Morrison pitched three strong innings for the Emeralds, striking out seven of the nine batters he retired. On a pitch count, Morrison was replaced in the fourth by Kyle Twomey.

“I know those guys want to pitch more,” Van Tol said. “That’s just our philosophy. They’re going three innings. Both of those guys did an outstanding job for us. We know that we’re getting close to six innings out of them and we’ll be in the ballgame.”

Friday’s loss reduced the Emeralds’ first place position in the second half standings. Hillsboro, who won the first half, is only one game back of the Emeralds. Fortunately for them, they have two more chances to turn the series around at home.

“These guys have been asking for this opportunity from the start of the season,” Van Tol said. “They’ve put themselves in this position, and now they need to take the final step and finish things off.”

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West Linn, Ore. point guard Payton Pritchard has committed to play collegiately at the University of Oregon.

Reggie Rankin of ESPN.com first reported the news on Friday via Twitter:

"I wanted to stay in my state & play for my home state & my relationship with Coach Altman is Great" -Payton Pritchard to the Oregon Ducks

— Reggie Rankin (@ReggieRankin) August 28, 2015

Pritchard, the top-ranked 2016 recruit in the state of Oregon, had previously committed to play for Lon Kruger and the Oklahoma Sooners, but decided to reopen his recruitment in July. Dana Altman and the Ducks were considered frontrunners to land Pritchard, along with Wisconsin and Villanova.

With Pritchard’s commitment, Oregon men’s basketball now has two recruits in its 2016 class, having previously received a commitment from Seattle, Wash. four-star forward Keith Smith.

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Less than a week of fall camp remains for the Oregon Ducks. In a couple days, Oregon will hold its final scrimmage before the season begins, which will allow the Ducks one more opportunity to evaluate both sides of the ball. Defensive coordinator Don Pellum spoke to a group of reporters on Tuesday about what he wants to see from his defense in this last scrimmage and also touched on several position battles that are “really close.”

During this last week of fall camp, what is your game plan to head into the season ready to go?

Right now for us, we need to get through the next day day of final install and clean up, then a scrimmage in a couple days. Then all our sights will be set on Eastern Washington… Get to the scrimmage and see who’s going to shine. There’s a lot guys competing that it’s really close between. We’ll have a chance to make some final evaluations.

What are you hoping to see out of the defense for the last scrimmage of fall camp?

The last scrimmage we’re expecting to see execution. The first scrimmage, we wanted to see who was going to fly around and hit people. Now that we’ve had another week or so to fine-tune things, we’re expecting to sharp execution, leverage and tackling. It should be crisp and clean.

There’s a pretty competitive battle going on between Tui Talia, Henry (Mondeaux) and all the others for that (d-line) spot. How’s that competition going?

The defensive line competition has been tremendous. Still have a couple more days to go, we have a scrimmage in the next couple days. But it’s good, it’s a different team.

You’ve said before that this defense may be ahead of where last year’s defense was at this point in fall camp. How do you think that will translate when the season starts?

It’s tough to say. Our hope and vision is that we continue this pace so that in the first game, some of the things maybe we weren’t prepared for a year ago, we can make quick adjustments.

You’ve also said that you value a defense by how it disrupts other teams. (Erick) Dargan and Ifo (Ekpre-Olumu) are gone. Who are the guys this year that will be disruptors?

We keep tabs on guys that are disruptors. (Disrupting) for us is tackles for loss, batted balls, sacks, interceptions. It’s all those things that can get the offense out of rhythm. Today’s offenses, they run every play and they have every formation, so you have to bag them up or take the ball away.

Our defensive line has been really impressive, the secondary has been really impressive. We’ve gotten pretty good production overall from the defense.

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The Eugene Emeralds returned to PK Park on Sunday following a tough loss in extra innings against Salem-Keizer the night prior. But for the second consecutive night, the Emeralds lost in extra innings, this time 4-3 in 11 hard-fought innings against the Spokane Indians.

“We can’t afford to have too many more of those, especially when we’re in position late in the game,” Emeralds manager Gary Van Tol said.

The road trip as a whole, however, was a huge success, especially at this crucial point in the season. The Emeralds took four of six games against Boise and Salem-Keizer, and moved into sole possession of first place in the Northwest League South standings.

“If anybody would’ve said before we left for Boise, ‘If you come home four out of six in first place would you take it?’” Van Tol asked hypothetically. “After last night’s game, I’d take it and run with it.”

Holding a 3-1 lead going into the ninth inning, Emeralds reliever Scott Frazier came in for Luis Hernandez. But Frazier lasted all of two batters, never getting comfortable on the mound. After Dylan Moore’s leadoff double, Frazier allowed a two-run home run from Sanchez and, all of a sudden, the game was tied 3-3. The Emeralds were unable to score in the bottom of the ninth, and the game headed to extra innings.

After a scoreless tenth inning, the Indians made their move in the top of the eleventh. Moore doubled another to left field. With two outs, Ti’Quan Forbes singled on a grounder to right, scoring Moore from second. Tyler Peitzmeier prevented Spokane from doing any further damage.

With one last chance, the Emeralds quickly found themselves in a hole after consecutive groundouts from Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Ely. Alex Bautista came on to pinch hit as a last-ditch effort, but grounded out to end the game.

“It wasn’t like we made errors or walked anybody,” Van Tol said. “You gotta tip your cap to them for getting the right guys to the plate and doing some damage.”

Donnie Dewees’ triple in the bottom of the fourth extended his hitting streak to 16 consecutive games. He’s hit .347 during the stretch, and tonight went 2 for 4 with a run in addition to the triple.

“When he gets on base, especially at the top of the order, it really puts pressure on defenses and pitchers,” Van Tol said. “He’s kind of streaky. When he’s on, he’s doing some unbelievable stuff to help us win ballgames… With this streak, it shows that his consistency is starting to happen… He’s our spark plug.”

Sunday’s loss, combined with Hillsboro’s victory over Tri-City moved the Emeralds back into a tie for first with the Hops. With a little over two weeks left in the regular season, Van Tol’s team is keeping a close eye on the standings. The Emeralds have seven consecutive home games left, concluding with a three-game series against Hillsboro that begins Friday.

The Emeralds play Spokane tomorrow night at PK Park. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

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– Rarely is there a scrimmage during the first week and a half of fall camp where at least one quarterback doesn’t turn the ball over. But that’s exactly what happened at Oregon’s first full-pad scrimmage on Tuesday, according to quarterback Jeff Lockie.

“I can’t remember a scrimmage we’ve had up to date where the quarterbacks as a whole have not turned the ball over,” Lockie said. “Even the offense … we didn’t have a fumble, no interceptions. You can’t be upset about that.”

– Two-a-days are becoming a rarity in college football fall camps, according to Andrew Greif of The Oregonian/OregonLive. Oregon had three two-a-days scheduled during fall camp, but head coach Mark Helfrich elected to use the second practice as a walkthrough on Saturday.

“Whether it’s using a ‘walkthrough’ or whatever, we want to accomplish something and we’re going to get that done,” Helfrich said. “But a lot of times that doesn’t have to be a two-hour, ‘by-God-you-have-to-prove-your-toughness’ two-a-day practice.”

– The early-season men’s basketball matchup between Oregon and Baylor will be televised on ESPN2 as part of their 24-hour College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. The Ducks will host Baylor on Monday, Nov. 16 at Matthew Knight Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

– After throwing a no-hitter on Sunday against Everett, the Eugene Emeralds split their first two games in a road series with the Boise Hawks. The Emeralds nearly came back from a 5-2 deficit on Tuesday, but would go on to lose 5-4.

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