Students trek to Cheney for big showdown

John Velk is one of the thousands of Griz football fans who will invade Woodward Field in Cheney, Wash., on Saturday for the Montana-Eastern Washington matchup.

Velk is making the short road trip to catch the game and see some friends and family in the area. He’s made it to a few other road games and said he’s never been alone cheering on the Griz away from the security of Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

“There’s always a ton of Griz fans at away games,” he said. “It’s kind of nice because you’re not totally outvoted and going to get beat down or anything.”

Saturday’s game pits the No. 12 Griz against the No. 23 Eagles in what has turned out to be a crucial Big Sky Conference matchup for both teams after losses last weekend.

“I expect the atmosphere to be incredible this week with a lot of fans in the stands,” Eastern Washington head coach Beau Baldwin said.

Montana lost to Weber State 47-28 last weekend, snapping a 25-game regular season win streak and dropping the Griz to 0-1 in the Big Sky and 4-1 overall. The Eagles (1-1, 2-3) fell victim to Portland State and watched Vikings sophomore quarterback Drew Hubel pile up 623 passing yards after completing 44-of-73 passes for five touchdowns in a 47-36 loss.

If defenses struggle Saturday, fans could witness offensive fireworks, which would add to the drama as the teams typically play tight games, evidenced by last season’s 24-23 Griz win over Eastern Washington in Missoula.

Noting the history, fans know to show up at Griz-Eagles games.

In fact, Woodward Field added additional bleachers, increasing the seating capacity from 8,600 to 10,840 in preparation for loyal Griz followers.

Montana followers, like Velk, played a big part in 2006 in Cheney, when several thousand Griz faithful contributed to a record 11,563 at the Griz-Eagles game.

Eastern Washington ticket manager Troy Kirby said that game was actually oversold and meaning the record would be tough to beat.

Montana student Sean Wolf is making the trip to Cheney along with 10 other friends.

“I’m from Spokane, so why not catch the Griz game while I’m home?” he said.

Wolf said he purchased some general admission tickets early to avoid the rush. Even with the extra seats set up, tickets sold out quickly, which is not the common theme for Eastern Washington games. The tilt against Montana will be the first sellout of the season.

“I feel like it’s probably more of a big deal for them than it is for us,” Wolf said, “but I’m expecting a high-scoring game, so it should be fun.”

charles.pulliam@umontana.edu