CHESTER, Pa.— Eastern University Football (7-1, 6-1) forced four turnovers and held the host Widener University Pride to 154 yards of offense on the way to a 35-0 win and the first shutout in program history. Jason Bateman led the Eastern defense with nine tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles. 

While the Eastern defense carried the day, the offense took advantage of short fields and made enough plays to make the win decisive. Jeremiah Avrilien scored twice and Brett Nabb ran for one score and threw for another. 

The Pride (3-5, 2-5) started the game with the ball and completed three passes before settling for a 43-yard field goal attempt. After a miss, the Eagles took over and the teams exchanged punts before the Eagles closed out the first quarter with a 44-yard drive for an 11-yard Brett Nabb touchdown. Izayah Guy-Bruton and Avrilien each had catches on the drive. 

After the two teams exchanged punts to start the second quarter, Bateman then made a big play on a second-and-8 play to force a fumble and grab the recovery. On the next play, Nassik Smith scampered around the end, stayed in-bounds and slipped into the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown run. 

Another good set for the Eastern defense gave the Eastern offense the ball back with eight minutes left in the half. Nabb  and Avrilien each had time-eating carries as the Eagles marched up the field and the clock wound toward the intermission. With the Widener defense loading the box, Nabb flipped a 31-yard pass into the endzone for Justin Nikolopoulos and a 20-0 lead. John Nolek banked home his third extra-point of the afternoon with the clock at 1:05. Widener had 19 yards of offense in the second quarter. 

Nikolopolous caught a short pass and broke it for a 63-yard gain on the opening drive of the third quarter. The junior receiver finished the day with three grabs for 104 yards for his first 100-yard day.  Eddie Swinton is the only other receiver in program history to post a 100-yard day. He did that against FDU-Florham last year. 

The Eagles finished the drive with a six-yard score from Avrilien.

Dru Beckford recovered a fumble and the Eastern defense forced a turnover on downs on the next two Widener possessions. Widener's third drive of the third quarter ended on its second play after a Kyree Taylor interception. The Pride stole the ball back with an interception of their own, but the quarter ended with the Eagles up 28-0.

The teams traded punts to start the fourth quarter before the Eagles finally got a short field after a 30-yard interception return by Sam Scell. Avrilien powered through tackles for his league-best 13th touchdown of the year. The fourth-quarter score gives the Eagles at least one touchdown in each of the last nine quarters. 

John Westfield matched his career-high with six punts. The senior averaged 41 yards a kick and put two balls inside the twenty-yard line. 

"It was great to get another big road win the MAC," Head Coach Billy Crocker said.  "I was very proud of our defense today. Four take-aways and  the first shut out in program history was big. We did what we had to do on offense to win the game. Our players continue to battle and respond each week."

The win keeps the Eagles in the driver's seat in the race for a MAC Championship. With LVC falling by two at Stevenson this afternoon, the Eagles can lock up at least a bowl bid with a home win over FDU-Florham (0-8, 0-7) next week. An Eastern win and a win by Delaware Valley at Misericordia would lock up a MAC Championship for the Eagles in the program's third season. If Misericordia beats Delaware Valley and King's in the final two weeks, the Eagles would need to win at Stevenson on the final day to secure the title.