Weber State University Athletics
Wildcats to Face No. 1-ranked Grizzlies
9/25/2007 6:00:00 AM | Football
CAT PAWS...
For the fourth time in seven years, Weber State faces the number team in the country (Division I-AA/FCS) when it takes on the University of Montana. ... Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. (MDT) at Montana's Washington-Grizzly Stadium. A sell out crowd of over 24,000 is expected to be on hand.
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA
"Grizzlies"
HEAD COACH
BOBBY HAUCK is in his 5th season as head coach of the Grizzlies. ... Each of Hauck's four teams have either won or tied for the Big Sky Conference regular season championship. ... His 2004 team reached the championship game of the then Division I-AA playoffs and last year's squad lost in the semifinals. ... Coming into Saturday's game Hauck is 44-13 overall (.772) and 24-5 (.827) in Big Sky Conference games. ... Hauk is 4-0 vs. the Wildcats.
SERIES HISTORY
The Grizzlies, along with Idaho State, is Weber State's longest continual football rival. The two teams have met without a miss since the 1962 season when the Grizzlies won 25-6. ... In 1963 both teams became charter members of the Big Sky Conference. ... Montana has thoroughly dominated the series holding a 34-11-0 lead in the series. The Grizzlies have a current seven-game win streak over the Wildcats and have won 12 of the last 13 meetings. ... WSU's last win over the Grizzlies was in 1998, 27-20 in Ogden. ... The Wildcats have lost NINE straight to the Grizzlies in Missoula. WSU's last, and only win, in Washington-Grizzly Stadium came in 1987, 29-26. ... The last two games in Missoula though, have come down to the wire. In 2005 the ?Cats dropped a 24-19 decision and had two chances in the last five minutes to win. ... In 2003 WSU's defense did not allow a touchdown by the Grizzlies but still lost 12-7. ... Interestingly enough, of the 11 wins by Weber State in the series more (6) have come in Missoula than in Ogden. The Wildcats are 6-17-0 in Missoula. ... The 81 points (81-22) scored by Montana in 1999 is still the most points ever given up in a game by a Wildcat football team.
LAST MEETING: Oct. 21, 2006 - Ogden, Utah
The number two ranked Grizzlies, down 17-13 at halftime, scored 20 unanswered points, then hung on for dear life as the Wildcats scored two fourth quarter touchddowns to take a 33-30 win. (A COMPLETE RECAP AND RUN DOWN OF THAT GAME IS ON PAGE 11 OF THIS RELEASE).
LAST TIME IN MISSOULA - Oct. 1, 2005
Weber State got inside the Montana 30-yardline twice in the final five minutes but couldn't get the ball into the end zone as the Grizzlies escaped with a 24-19 win on a cloudy, slightly rainy afternoon. ... The Wildcats got a 33-yard field goal by JOE JOHNSON and a 45-yard touchdown from IAN PIZARRO to TERRY LARSEN in the first half and were down just 14-10 at halftime. ... The Wildcats got the ball to start the second half but on a third down play, PIZARRO was intercepted by TORREY THOMAS who returned it 54-yards for a touchdown. ... The Wildcats came right back driving 80-yard in nine plays with ZACH HALL scoring on a five-yard run. JOHNSON's PAT was blocked making it 21-16. ... Montana scored its final three points with 1:29 left in the third quarter on a 32-yard field goal by DAN CARPENTER. ... JOE JOHNSON answered that field goal with a 23-yarder mid-way through the fourth quarter to make it 24-19. .. The Wildcats had two golden scoring chances but a sack by the Grizzly defense on a fourth down play stopped one drive and a dropped pass by LYNZELL JACKSON who was all alone over the middle stifled the other drive. ... PIZARRO had his career best game completing 26-43 passes for 373 yards. ... Montana running back LEX HILLIARD had 24 carries for 159 yards and scored one touchdown. The Wildcats had 483 yards of total offense and held the potent Grizzly offensive attack to just 360.
SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES ... #1 IN FCS
With Appalachian State's stunning loss on the road last week to Wofford, MONTANA moves into the NUMBER ONE spot in NCAA Division 1-FCS for the first time this season. ... The Grizzlies are 3-0 overall with all three games having been played at home. The game with Weber State is the fourth of five straight home games for the Grizzlies. It is Montana's HOMECOMING GAME and UoM's first game in Big Sky Conference league action in 2007. ... Montana comes into Saturday's game ranked 1st in Rushing Offense (238.3 ypg) in the Big Sky and 1st in Rushing Defense holding opponents to just 87.0 ypg. ... Offensively the Griz are led by All-America candidate LEX HILLIARD (6-0, 235 Sr. RB). Hilliard missed the entire 2006 season after suffering a season-ending injury in Fall camp. .... Coming into the season Hilliard was Montana's second all-time leading ground-gainer with 2,884 yards and needs 1,187 yards this season to become the all-time leader. Hilliard is off to a solid start with 330 yards in three games for an average of 110.00 yards per game. At that pace he would overtake Yohance Humphrey (4,070) as the all-time leader in the 11th game of the season. Hilliard leads the Big Sky in individual rushing yards per game and is the top scorer in the league thus far in 2007 with six touchdowns (36 points, 12.00 ppg). ... The defense is led by All-America candidate KROY BIERMANN (6-3, 245 Sr DE). Bierman is the current quarterback sack leader in the Big Sky this season with 3.5 (1.17 per game) and in Tackles For Loss (5.5 - 1.83 per game). ... The Grizzlies, as always, have two tremendous special teams weapons in kicker DAN CARPENTER (6-2, 207 Sr.) and punter TYSON JOHNSON (6-2, 195 Sr.). Carpenter is 59-83 (.711) in caree field goal attempts and is 154-159 (.968) in point after attempts. He is a perfect 16-16 this season in PATs and 3-3 in Field Goals. He needs just 83 points this season to become Montana's all-time leading scorer. ... JOHNSON was injured in the 2006 season opener at Iowa and missed the rest of the season. He has come back strong averaging 44.9 yard per punt.
WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY
“WILDCATS”
HEAD COACH RON McBRIDE
Weber State head coach, RON McBRIDE, begins his 3rd season as head coach the Wildcats. In 2005 he guided the Wildcats to a 6-5 (.545) record overall and a 4-3 (.571) mark in Big Sky Conference play. Last year the Wildcats were 4-7 overall and 3-5 in Big Sky play. ... MAC is now 10-15 at WSU (.400) and 98-78 (.557) overall in his 16th season as a head coach. McBRIDE NEEDS JUST TWO WINS TO REACH 100 CAREER WINS. ... McBride was 88-63 in 13 seasons as the head coach at the University of Utah from 1990-2002. ... McBride is 7-9 (.437) overall in Big Sky Conference games and is 0-2 lifetime vs. Montana.
BIG DAY FOR BIG D
Weber State defensive tackle DEREK JOHNSON (6-2, 295 Sr.) had a solid afternoon against Montana State. He had six total stops, two unassisted. He recorded his third career blocked kick knocking down an attempted field goal. He was credited with a quarterback sack when he forced MSU's Jack Rolovich to throw an intentionally grounded ball while in the end zone resulting a safety for the Wildcats. ... Johnson leads the Wildcats in sacks this season with 1.5. He needs one more blocked kick to tie with Darryl Pollard and Reid Leland for the WSU career leader mark of four.
ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER
BRYANT ETEUATI (5-7, 160 Jr.) continue to leads the Big Sky Conference, and is ranked 4th in the FCS, in all-purpose running. ... Eteuati is now averaging 220.00 all-purpose yards per game. He had 465 in kickoff returns; 59 in punt returns; 147 receiving yards and -11 rushing yards. ... He now had 2,253 career all-purpose yards. ... He is Weber State's career leader in PUNT RETURNS with 66 for 629 yards (9.55 ypr average) and is now 5th on the WSU career KICKOFF RETURN chart with 47 for 1,294 yards. He needs just four more kickoff returns to move into 2nd place behind Wiley King (98).
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
The Wildcats will have a new quarterback this week. CAMERON HIGGINS (6-2, 190 RsFreshman) will get the nod replacing JIMMY BARNES (6-5, 235 Soph.). Higgins played briefly in the first two games at Boise State and at Cal Poly. He came in relief of Barnes after WSU's first two series in the first quarter and played the rest of the first half and all but one series in the third quarter. He was 9-17 for 113 yards - all single game bests for him. ... He in turn relieved by Barnes at the end of the third quarter. But after Barnes threw his second interception of the afternoon that was returned for a touchdown, he was relieved by BRENDON DOYLE (6-3, 240 Jr.) who saw his first action of the season. Doyle was 7-21 for 93 yards. Doyle is listed as the backup to Higgins this week.
FACING NUMBER ONE - 4th Time
Saturday will be the FOURTH time the Wildcats have faced Grizzlies when they have been ranked NUMBER ONE in the country. ... In 2000, the Wildcats nearly pulled the upset of the season in I-AA losing 30-28 at home to the Griz. ... In 2001 in Missoula the Wildcats put up a stern test but lost 38-23. ... In 2002 Montana was again ranked number one coming into Ogden and showed why with a 39-7 win over the Wildcats.
OPPOSITE ENDS
Coming into Saturday's game, Montana ranks number one in the Big Sky in both RUSH DEFENSE allowing just 87.0 yards per game RUSHING OFFENSE averaging 238.3 yards per game. ... The Wildcats are eighth in RUSHING OFFENSE averaging 82.0 yard per game and are ninth in RUSH DEFENSE allowing 232.7 yards a contest.
THIRD DOWN CONVERSION TEST
Montana and Weber State rank ONE-TWO thwarting opponents on THIRD DOWN situations. Montana's opponents are 15-49 (.3060 while WSU opponent are 14-45 (.311). ... The only setback in the equation is that Montana leads the Big Sky in Third Down Conversions (19-38 .500) while the Wildcat have struggled converting 10-47 (.213).
FORMING A TIGHT SEAL
The Wildcat offensive line has allowed just FOUR quarterback sacks in THREE games for a minus 24 yards. ... Last season after three games the ?Cats had allowed 12 sacks for minus 89 yards.
FEW FLAGS
Despite being flagged a season-high nine times for 68 yards vs. Montana State, the Wildcats are still ranked third in the Big Sky this season in Fewest Penalty Yards. The ?Cats have been whistled just 18 times this season for an average of 52.0 penalty yards per game. ... Montana is second with an average of 45.0 yards per game so Saturday's game appears on paper to be one which could be relatively error free. ... The kicker here is WSU's first three opponents have averaged 74.7 penalty yards per game which ranks second among Big Sky schools and Montana's opponents have averaged just 39.7 yard in penalties per game the lowest among league schools which bodes even more well for the Wildcats in the hanky department.
STILL LOOKING..
The Wildcats are still looking for their first, first half touchdown this season. They have been limited to just two field goals (1st quarter vs. Cal Poly, 2nd quarter vs. Montana State). .... They are still looking for their first rushing touchdown of the season. ... They are still looking to holding opponents to zero fourth quarter points. The ?Cats have not allowed a fourth quarter point this season.
THIRD QUARTERS
Weber State has scored 23 of its 31 points in the THIRD QUARTER this season. Two have come by passing and one on Bryant Eteuati's 83-yard kickoff return at Cal Poly. ... That all comes despite the fact that the Wildcats have averaged just over five minutes of possession time in the third quarter this season nearly two minutes less than any other quarter.
RADIO / TV
Saturday's game will be carried LIVE on Ogden radio station KLO (1430 AM) with CARL ARKY calling the action, WSU Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations, BRAD LARSEN, providing color analysis The Pre-Game Show begins at 12:30 p.m. ... KPAX-TV of Missoula will televise the game throughout the state of Montana.
MONDAY COACHES SHOW
This year's Monday radio show featuring COACH RON McBRIDE will be held at THE JUNCTION in downtown Ogden. ... Beginning at 7:00 p.m. the show, hosted by WSU play-by-play announcer CARL ARKY, will feature players and coaches. Coach McBride will give an analysis of the previous game and a preview of the up coming contest. All Wildcat fans are invited to come down and join in the fun as the show will be interactive with the audience.
“THE COACHES CORNER”
Back again this season is the weekly WSU “COACHES CORNER” show produced by Power Media Group of Ogden. The show is hosted by former Salt Lake City TV personality and long time voice of the Utah Utes, BILL MARCROFT. The 30-minute production will feature Coach Ron McBride plus two featured players each week. ... The first show airs on SEPTEMBER 6. .... The show can be found on several different mediums and sites. The FOX COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK on CHANNEL 262 will carry the show each THURSDAY from 8:00-8:30 and on SATURDAY at 6:30 a.m. ... ALTITUDE TV out of Denver, Colorado will carry the show each FRIDAY at 4:00 pm on CHANNEL 61. ... COMCAST-ON-DEMAND will have the show available 24 hours a day, seven days a week (CHANNEL 111). ... It will be ON-LINE at www.tvogden.com as well.
WEEKLY POLLS
There will be TWO major weekly polls for NCAA Division I-FCS this season. The SPORTS NETWORK poll is voted upon by selected media members and sports information directors from throughout the country. The FCS Coaches Poll is just that. It a poll of selected coaches from throughout the country. Both polls will be released on Monday afternoon of each week.
TEAM CAPTAINS
The team elected five captains for the 2007 season. ... The DEFENSIVE CAPTAINS will be DEREK JOHNSON (6-2, 290 Sr. DT) and BRAD STEWART (6-2, 240 Sr. SLB). ... The OFFENSIVE CAPTAINS are ADRIAN CONWAY (5-11, 215 Sr. RB) and DAVID HALE (6-6, 305 Sr. OT). ... BRYAN ETEUATI (5-7, 160 Jr.) will be the SPECIAL TEAMS captain.
46TH SEASON OF FOOTBALL
Thursday's game marks the 46th season of Weber State University football on the four-year level and the 45th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. ... In 1962, Weber State attained four-year status and played as an NCAA Division II member until 1978 when they moved up to the newly created NCAA Division I-AA level (now I-FCS). ... Weber State's ALL-TIME RECORD in football is 229-250-3 (.475)
COACHING STAFF CHANGES
There are a couple of changes to the WSU coaching staff for the 2007 season. Gone are 2006 running backs coach Fred Fernandes and 2005-2006 offensive coordinator Casey Waletich. ... MATT HAMMER, who served as a graduate assistant in 2005 has been moved up to full-time status and will coach the running backs and serve as recruiting coordinator. ... DON BAILEY, who spent the past seven seasons at Montana State, will coach the receivers. ... KEVIN McGIVEN takes overs as the offensive coordinator and will continue to oversee the quarterbacks.
WHOSE IS BACK?
Weber State returns 29 lettermen from last season. The Cat's have 16 on offense and 13 on defense. ... Five starters return on offense, five on defense along with both the starting kicker and punter.
FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG SKY
The Wildcats return THREE players who earned FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG SKY CONFERENCE honors in 2006. .... BRYANT ETEUATI (5-7, 160 Jr.) earned the honors as a return specialist despite missing the last three games of the season. Bryant averaged 27.9 yards per kickoff return and 12.1 per punt return. He had a 100-yards return for a TD vs. Montana. ... DAVID HALE (6-6, 305 Sr. OT) helped lead the way for running back Trevyn Smith who led the Big Sky in rushing. Hale has started in 25 straight games on the right side. ... TREVYN SMITH (5-9, 210, Soph. RB) came out of nowhere to lead the Big Sky in rushing last season. Smith was listed third on the depth chart to begin the year and did not have a single carry in the season opener @Colorado State. He took over as the starter when Adrian Conway went down in late September and never looked back rushing for 1,129 yards and eight touchdowns.
R O N M c B R I D E Q U O T E S
ON MONTANA “They deserve the number one ranking. They are rock solid in every phase of the game which makes it hard to spot or find a weakness you can try to exploit. I like Hilliard. He's a strong, determine runner who doesn't go down on the first contact. They always have big, physical players up front to protect so we need to find a way to penetrate and put some pressure on the quarterback. Defensively they aren't big but very athletic and fast. They also have tremendous special teams as well.
ON THE WILDCATS “Last Saturday's game was disappointing for sure but it's done and over with and we need to look forward. You get very few chances as a player to play against the number one team in the country but we have it this week. That only should motivate you to improve yourself and prepare like you've never prepared before.”
ON THE QUARTERBACK CHANGE “We as a staff looked at the film, evaluated, graded and Cameron clearly played the best last Saturday. He deserves a chance to play and see what he can do. He's been through a whole season and a Spring practice and continues to learn and improve. Brendon will get some reps as the backup. We certainly haven't given up on Jimmy but we need to see what the others have to offer.”
