Redshirt freshman Jake Schakel’s first start as Eastern Washington’s quarterback nearly ended in glory Saturday on the road against FCS No. 2 Montana. Instead, it ended in agony.

With 5 yards standing between the Eagles and a go-ahead touchdown — and nine, then eight, then seven, then six seconds left on the clock, Schakel received the snap with a dirted ball in mind.

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But before he could spike it, he fumbled it.

Even though Eastern Washington running back Kevin Allen III recovered the loose ball, it didn’t matter. The Eagles didn’t have any timeouts to stop the clock.

That’s why they opted for a spike on third-and-1 after Allen was tackled in bounds and short of the line to gain on the previous play.

The Grizzlies (10-0, 6-0 Big Sky) celebrated a 29-24 win. The Eagles (4-6, 3-3) were left wondering what could have been.

Schakel performed admirably in his first start in place of Nate Bell, a redshirt sophomore who was injured in last week’s loss to Sacramento State.

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The Puyallup, Washington, native hit on 43 of his whopping 63 pass attempts, registering a completion percentage of 68.3% while throwing for 451 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Schakel’s passing yardage total tied him for 20th most in single-game Eastern Washington history, and his completion total tied him for fourth-most in single-game program history, per Dan Thompson of the Spokesman-Review.

Schakel connected with wide receiver Miles Williams 11 times for 136 yards, and the second-year signal-caller from Emerald Ridge High School hooked up with wideout Cole Pruett 10 times for 133 yards and a touchdown.

Montana sprinted to a 22-0 first-half lead before Schakel willed the Eagles back into the game. He bounced back from a pick and a turnover on downs in the final frame to engineer an 11-play, 63-yard touchdown drive that made it a one-score game with 61 seconds left.

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Soren McKee recovered his own onside kick, and Schakel went back to work. He led Eastern Washington to the doorstep of a monumental upset.

A spike was supposed to buy him time for the game-winner. He fumbled it before it could stop the clock.