Gomez Breaks School Record in 30-9 Loss at #25 Washington

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SEATTLE, Wash. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team fell on the road, 30-9, at No. 25 University of Washington, Saturday, Sept. 7, inside Husky Stadium in Seattle, Wash. Jesus Gomez (Puebla, Mexico/Prepa Tec Puebla) tallied all nine points in the game for the Eagles (1-1) as he connected on three field goals, including a school-record 57-yard attempt, against the Huskies (2-0).

How It Happened
With seven seconds remaining in the first quarter, Eastern scored the first points of the game as Gomez put his left foot into a 57-yard field goal attempt that was true down the center of the uprights for a 3-0 lead. It marked the longest field goal in program history and the second-longest in the nation this season in all FBS.

In the second quarter, the hosts took a 7-3 lead on a 41-yard passing play before Gomez hit from 29 yards out to make it 7-6. But the Huskies would go on to add two more touchdowns for a 21-6 lead at the break.

Washington scored twice in the third quarter to make it 27-6 as Sterling Miles (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield/Cincinnati) was able to block the PAT, the second of his career. The Huskies added a late field goal in the quarter for their final points. In the fourth, it was Gomez again, this time from 50 yards, to mark the first time in program history an Eastern kicker has scored multiple 50-yard field goals in the same game.

Game Notes
» Kicking was the name of the for the Eagles as Jesus Gomez was a perfect 3-of-3 in field goal attempts, including one from a school-record 57 yards and a second from 50. It marked the first time in program history the Eagles have made two 50+ yard field goals in the same game.
» Late in the first quarter, Jesus Gomez connected on a 57-yard field goal attempt to not only stake the Eagles to an early 3-0 lead, but also break his own school record. Gomez, who hit from 55 yards at Central Michigan (Sept. 30, 2023), was tied with Dylan Mulder (at Miami, Nov. 7, 2015), Chad Ryland (vs. Ohio, Nov. 9, 2021), and himself (at Ball State, Oct. 22, 2022) for the record.
» The 57-yard field goal off Jesus Gomez' left foot not only stands as the longest in Eastern history, but also ranks as the second longest in Husky Stadium history. The longest is 60 yards by a Stanford player in 1977. The make from Gomez also ranks as the second-longest make against the Huskies behind the kick made in 1977.
» Jesus Gomez' 57-yard field goal ranks as the second longest in the nation this year with Ryan Fitzgerald (Florida State) having connected on a 59-yard try against Georgia Tech, Aug. 24. His make also is the longest in the MAC since Tristan Mattson (Central Michigan) hit from 58 yards last year vs. Akron, Oct. 14, 2023.
» On Washington's opening drive, the defense forced a Husky punt that David Carter Jr. (Ecorse, Mich./River Rouge) got a hand on, resulting in a 0-yard punt and setting up the Eagles' first offensive drive at the UW32. The block is the 23^rd for Eastern since Chris Creighton took over the program in 2014 and the ninth blocked punt. The last time EMU blocked any type of kick came in last year's season opener against Howard (Sept. 1, 2023) with a blocked PAT. The last time EMU blocked a punt came Oct. 23, 2021, against Bowling Green.
» Sterling Miles blocked a point-after try in the third quarter following at Washington touchdown to mark the second blocked kick of the game for Eastern and his second career block (PAT vs. San Jose State). With the block, it marked the third time in the Chris Creighton era (since 2014) the Eagles have had multiple blocks in the same contest and the first since a home game against Northern Illinois, Oct. 25, 2014, where Eastern blocked field goal attempts of 24 yards and 32 yards. Earlier that season at home, Eastern blocked two Morgan State kicks (Aug. 30, 2014), including a punt for a touchdown and a 41-yard field goal attempt. Additionally, Miles' PAT block is the sixth under Creighton and gives EMU one PAT block in each of the last three seasons.
» Mitchell Tomasek (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) recorded a 50-yard punt in the first half, marking his second of the season and continues a streak of seven games in a row dating back to last season with at least one 50-yard boot per game. For his career with the Eagles, he had at least one 50-yard punt in 25-of-28 career games played at Eastern.
» The Eagles were 2-of-3 on fourth-down conversions in the game. Last year, the Eagles attempted only 19 fourth-down conversion attempts the entire season, converting 10. EMU is now 3-of-5 on the year.
» Defensively, Eastern recorded its first takeaway of the season as Peyton Price (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) forced a fumble that Jordan Toney (Decatur, Ga./Hapeville Charter) recovered, the first takeaway of his career. The turnover battle was tied in the game, 1-1, as the Eagles lost a fumble on offense.
» Two defensive backs had their numbers called to enter the starting lineup for the first time in their careers. "True" freshman Jordan Toney earned the start at cornerback while redshirt freshman Jaivian Norman (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) started at STAR.
» Homecoming: The game in Seattle was a homecoming for one EMU coach and four players. Head Coach Chris Creighton played his high school football at nearby Roosevelt High School while Gabe Hoffman (Bellevue, Wash./Eastside Catholic), Dontae McMillan (Seattle, Wash./Chief Sealth/Weber State), and Zyell Griffin (Vancouver, Wash./Evergreen/UNLV) hail from the Evergreen State. Additionally, Max Reese (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) was born in Seattle before his family relocated to Chicago.

Historical Notes
» The loss for the Eagles is the first in the all-time series with Washington.
» Eastern played its 14^th game against a member of a "power" conference under Chris Creighton and now stand 4-10 in those contests. Prior to the loss at Washington, the Eagles had posted wins over Big Ten members Illinois (2019), Purdue (2018), and Rutgers (2017) before downing then-Pac-12 foe Arizona State (2022) for the most recent win.
» The Eagles are now 3-41 all-time against members of the Big Ten Conference following the loss. With the recent additions in the Big Ten, the only schools Eastern have not played include Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon, UCLA, and USC.

Up Next
Eastern returns to action Saturday, Sept. 14, when it plays host to Jacksonville State University at 'The Factory' inside Rynearson Stadium for the Eagles' home opener. The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. and will be aired live on ESPN+. Additionally, fans can listen to the game live on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity app with Tom Helmer and Rob Rubick on the call.

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Team Stats

Cole Snyder

Players Mentioned

David Carter Jr.

Zyell Griffin

Dontae McMillan

Sterling Miles

Jaivian Norman

Peyton Price

Max Reese

Mitchell Tomasek

Jordan Toney