Weber State University Athletics
20th/18th Ranked Wildcats Take On Northern Colorado In Big Sky Conference Play This Saturday
10/14/2008 6:00:00 AM | Football
G A M E # 8
University of Northern Colorado vs. Weber State University
Saturday, October 18, 2008 * 1:05 p.m. (MDT)
Stewart Stadium * Ogden, Utah
(the complete release with two-deeps, stats and graphics
can be found in the PDF VERSION of this release)
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO "Bears"
HEAD COACH
SCOTT DOWNING begins his 3rd season as head coach of the Bears. Downing took over in 2006 when Northern Colorado became an official member of the Big Sky Conference. ... Coming into Saturday's game, Downing is 3-25 overall at Northern Colorado and 2-16 in Big Sky Conference regular season games. ... Downing spent two seasons as the head coach at his alma mater, Sterling College in Kansas where he was 13-4-1 in two seasons (1982, 1983). ... Downing spent two seasons at Nebraska after leaving Sterling then spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Wyoming from 1987 through 1996. He left Wyoming with Coach Joe Tiller moving to Purdue where he coached on the Boilermaker staff for the next six seasons, then returned to Nebraska from 2003 through 2005 before taking on the position at Northern Colorado. ... Downing is 0-2 vs. the Wildcats.
SERIES HISTORY
Weber State holds a 2-0 advantage in the brief series. WSU and NC never played each other until the Bears joined the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2006. ... The Wildcats won the inaugural meeting, 26-21 in Ogden two years ago and blanked the Bears last year in Greeley, 23-0.
LAST YEAR IN GREELEY - October 13, 2007
An outstanding individual offensive performance by BRYANT ETEUATI, and a more than solid effort by the defense, spelled trouble for Northern Colorado as the Wildcats came in and posted a 23-0 shutout of the Bears on Homecoming Game day ... ETEUATI had a WSU single game career high eight catches for a WSU single game high 146 yards and touchdowns to lead the offensive parade. He also had four punt returns for 56 yards and a kickoff return for 22 yards giving him 223 all-purpose running yards for the afternoon (he had -1 yard rushing). ... The defense, led by BRYCE SCANLON's eight tackles, held the Bears to just 133 total offensive yards and zero points. It was Weber State's first SHUTOUT in a Big Sky Conference game since 1980 (10-0 at home vs. Nevada) and the first SHUTOUT in league play ON THE ROAD since 1966 when the ?Cats blanked Montana 28-0. ... BRENDON DOYLE got his first start of the year at quarterback after CAMERON HIGGINS was suspended temporarily for violating team rules. DOYLE completed 11-19 passes for 149 yards and one touchdown. HIGGINS was reinstated after a review found him innocent of violating team rules. He played a quarter and a half completing 7-8 passes for 72 yards and one touchdown. ... TREVYN SMITH had his second straight 100+ yard rushing game with 24 carries for 113 yards. His 59-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was WSU's first RUSHING TOUCHDOWN of the season.
LAST TIME IN OGDEN - Sept. 28, 2006
On a Thursday night game broadcast on ESPNU, the Wildcats withstood a fourth quarter rally by the Bears to post a 26-21 win before 5,115 fans in Stewart Stadium in 72 degree Fall weather. ... Weber State rolled to a 19-0 half time lead on a 26-yard run by MARKY FILIPE, a 67-yard pass from SHAWN WOODS to TIM TOONE and a 33-yard pass from WOODS to BRYANT ETEUATI. ... WSU missed the PAT on the first touchdown and failed to convert a two-point conversion on the second TD. .... The only score in the third quarter came on a 27-yard run by Northern Colorado's PATRICK EALY with 4;00 to go in the quarter. .... A 34-yard run by TREVYN SMITH at the beginning (12:26) of the fourth quarter extended the lead to 26-7. .... NC scored on a 3-yard run by DOMINIC BREAZEALE with 8:01 remaining to make it 26-14. ... The Bears' defense held the Wildcats on the next series forcing a punt which went just 32 yards and Northern Colorado got the ball near midfield. ... NC went 54 yards in eight plays with ANDRE WILSON scoring on a two-yard run with 2:56 remaining cutting the lead to five at 26-21. ... Northern Colorado then kicked and recovered the on-sides kick. ... BREAZEALE completed a two-yard pass to ANDRE WILSON, threw an incompletion, then connected with PATRICK EALY for a four yard pass. On fourth down and four, the Bears tried a pass but were called for OFFENSIVE pass interference which moved the ball back to the NC 35 yard line. BREAZEALE's pass on fourth down fell incomplete and the Wildcats got the ball back and ran out the clock since NC did not have any time outs remaining. ... TREVYN SMITH had a big night with 20 carries for 151 yards and one touchdowns. ... SHAWN WOODS was 17-21-1 for 177 yards and two touchdowns.. ... TYLER DeBRY had 16 tackles and an interception, TY SPARROW HAD 10 tackles and an interception return of 35 yards. ... ANDRE WILSON rushed 29 times for 135 yards and one touchdown. ... JOE KENNEY led the Bears' defense with 13 stops, nine unassisted, and CRISTIAN SARMENTO had 12 tackles, a quarterback sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Northern Colorado is 1-4 overall and 1-1 in Big Sky Conference play. ... The Bears picked up just their 2nd win in three seasons in Big Sky play with last Saturday's 29-9 home field win over Idaho State. ... NC has been to the brink of victory three times this season in the final minute, only to see it slip away. Texas State kicked a field goal in the final minutes for a 38-35 win in Greeley. ... The Bears pulled to within one of Northern Arizona (23-22) in the final two minutes. They decided to go for two and the win, but fumbled the ball and NAU returned it for a defensive two-point play and won 25-22. At UC Davis two weeks ago, they led 30-27 only to see the Aggies complete a "Hail Mary" pass on the final play of the game to win 34-30. ... The Bears have gotten a big offensive lift from Florida transfer quarterback BRYAN WAGGNER (6-3, 235 Jr.) ... Waggner has completed 106-195 passes this season for 1,229 yards and 10 touchdowns.
WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY "Wildcats"
HEAD COACH RON McBRIDE
Weber State head coach, RON McBRIDE, is in his FOURTH 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 5-6 overall and 4-4 in Big Sky play. ... MAC is now 20-20 at WSU (.500) and 108-83 (.565) overall in his 17th seasons as a head coach. McBRIDE picked up his 100th career coaching victory in the 23-0 shutout of Northern Colorado last October. ... McBride was 88-63 in 13 seasons as the head coach at the University of Utah from 1990-2002. ... McBride is now 14-12 .(538) overall in Big Sky Conference games . He is 2-0 vs. Northern Colorado
RADIO / TV
All Weber State football games will be carried LIVE on radio station KLO (1430 AM). ... Back for his 10th season of Wildcat football play-by-play is WILDCAT CARL ARKY. ... He will be joined in the broadcast booth by former WSU football standouts JUSTIN DeFOUR and TY SPARROW for the six HOME GAMES. ... WSU Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations, BRAD LARSEN, will handle the color analyst duties on the road. ... SATURDAY'S PRE-GAME SHOW begins at 12:30 p.m. (MDT).
47TH SEASON OF FOOTBALL
Weber State is in its 47th year of playing football on the four-year level, and the 46th 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 238-257-3 (.4779).
TEAM CAPTAINS
The team elected five captains for the 2008 season. ... The DEFENSIVE CAPTAINS will be J.D. FOLSOM (6-3, 230 Sr. SLB), RYAN GALOVIC (6-0, 220 Sr. ROV) and KEVIN LINEHAN (6-3, 255 Jr. DE). ... The OFFENSIVE CAPTAINS are PAUL CARPENTER (6-6, 305 Sr. OT), CAMERON HIGGINS (6-2, 195 Soph. QB) and MARCUS MAILEI (6-1, 245 Sr. FB) ... BRYAN ETEUATI (5-7, 160 Sr.) will be the SPECIAL TEAMS captain.
WILDCATS MOVE UP IN POLLS
Last week the Wildcats moved into The Sports Network top 25 for the first time since 2000 garnering a 22nd spot. With the win over Montana State the Wildcats have now moved up to 18th, one spot behind Northern Arizona. ... The Wildcats made their first appearance in the NCAA Division I FCS Coaches poll this week. The Wildcats moved up from "others receiving votes" to the 20th spot.
HIGGINS NAMED BIG SKY OFFENSIVE P.O.W.
For the third time this season, Weber State quarterback CAMERON HIGGINS (6-2, 195 Soph. / Hawai'i Kai, Oahu, Hawai'i) has been named the BIG SKY CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK. ... Higgins completed 29-36 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns in WSU's 35-12 road win at Montana State. The performance was even more impressive because the game was played in snow, cold and fierce winds.
...MORE HIGGINS
In 18 career games, Higgins is already establishing himself as one of the best quarterbacks in Weber State history. ... With his 366 passing yards vs. Montana State last Saturday, Higgins became just the 9th quarterback in WSU history to throw for over 4,000 career yards. He has now completed 285-450 passes for 4,097 yards and 40 touchdowns with a Passing Efficiency Rating of 159.50. ... His 40 touchdown career touchdown passes is currently the third best total in WSU football history. He needs just eight more to move past Jeff Carlson, but is still a ways from the 87 thrown by Jamie Martin. ... Speaking of Martin, Jamie played in 41 career games, starting in 36 straight. In his first 19 games (8 as a freshman, 11 as a sophomore), Martin threw for 4,875 yards (256.57 ypg). ... Higgins is already at 4,097 in 18 games. Martin threw 41 touchdown passes in his first two seasons and obviously Higgins, with 40, looks to break that mark. ... In Total Offense, Higgins has moved up to 6th place on the WSU career charts with 4,231 total yards and 45 total touchdowns. Jamie Martin's 93 career total touchdowns makes him the only player in WSU history to have more than 50. ... Higgins has thrown AT LEAST THREE TD PASSES in each of WSU's last five games after throwing for just two in the season opener at home vs. Montana-Western and for just one at Hawai'i in the second game of the season. ... In the last four games, Higgins has averaged just over 34 attempts and nearly 24 completions per game.
STEADY TREVYN SMITH
WSU running back TREVYN SMITH (5-9, 210 Jr. / Springville, Utah) is now averaging 92.4 yards per game and continues to lead the Big Sky. Smith is bidding to become just the second player in the league's 46-year history to lead the league in rushing three straight years. Idaho's Sherriden May accomplished the feat in 1992, 93 and 94. ... SMITH had a tough afternoon in Bozeman last Saturday. He had just 8 yards on 11 carries through the first three quarters, but came alive in the fourth quarter with 10 carries for 65 yards. ... With a 10-yard TD reception from Cameron Higgins and a two-yard run for a score, Smith increased his touchdown total for the season to 12. His 72 points (10.28 ppg) leads the Big Sky and ranks 9th nationally in NCAA Division I FCS. .... His 73 rushing yards at Montana State gives him 3,090 yards, moving him past Lee White (3,062) into second place on the WSU career Rushing charts. Trevyn has 612 career carries and is averaging 5.05 yards per rush and 106.55 yards per game. He has 23 career RUSHING touchdowns and six career RECEIVING touchdowns. ... He now has 176 CAREER POINTS and is just six points away from moving into 10th place on the WSU career scoring charts. ... SMITH is the team leader in All-Purpose Yards Per Game at 136.9.
BRYANT GETS NO KICKS OUT OF OPPS
After averaging 27.88 yards per kickoff return (1 TD) and 9.58 yards per punt return (2 TDs) in 2007, Weber State opponents get no "kicks" to BRYANT ETEUATI's way in 2008. Eteuati had 43 kickoff returns and 36 punt returns in 2007, but this year he's only had 13 kickoff and 13 punt return opportunities in 2008. ... He's averaging 26.38 yards per kickoff return and 13.76 yards per punt return. ... SIX of his 13 punt returns came in the opening game of the season. In the last six games he's had just six punt returns for 116 yards (19.33 ypr). ... As a receiver, Eteuati now has 99 CAREER RECEPTIONS for 1,289 yards and 10 touchdowns. He needs just one more reception to become the 16th player in WSU football history to record 100 or more career catches. ... He is now just 218 yards away from becoming the first player in Weber State history to have 5,000 career All-Purpose Yards.
HE'S TOONED IN
After a 2008 season LOW two receptions for 31 yards at home vs. Montana, WSU wide receiver TIM TOONE (5-10, 175 Jr. / Peoria, Arizona) made up for it in a big way at Montana State last Saturday. ... He hauled in a single game career best 11 receptions for 130 yards and one touchdown in the 35-12 win over the Bobcats. His previous best game was NINE receptions vs. @Hawai'i earlier this season. ... It was his fourth 100+ yard receiving game this season and the eighth of his 26-game career. ... He now has 15 career touchdown receptions. That ties him for 4th place at Weber State. He needs just four more to become WSU's all-time leader. Wade Orton holds the record with 18 career touchdown catches. ... He now has 81 career receptions for 1,669 yards. He moves into 13th place at Weber State for the most career receiving yards. Last year he had 32 catches for 698 yards in 11 games. He has 42 catches for 696 yards in seven games this season.
DON'T FORGET THE DEFENSE!
With offense putting up solid numbers each week, it's may be easy to overlook the work of the Wildcat DEFENSE. ... The Wildcats LEAD the Big Sky Conference in PASS DEFENSE holding opponents to just 220.7 passing yards per game and are fourth in overall TOTAL DEFENSE allowing 351.4 yards per game. ... The ?Cats are second in SCORING DEFENSE allowing just 21.9 points per game overall. ... They are tied with Montana State for third in QUARTERBACK SACKS with 17 (-107 yards), and are second in OPPONENTS' THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS having allowed just 28-90 (.311) this season. ... WSU is third in RED ZONE DEFENSE. Opponents have had 23 scoring opportunities inside the 20 and have converted 19 (.826). ... Individually, BEAU HADLEY (6-0, 215 Jr. / Taylor, Utah) ranks 10th in the Big Sky in TOTAL TACKLES PER GAME at 7.4. The safety from Fremont HS has 29 unassisted and 23 assisted stops. BIFF SWAN (6-0, 235 Sr. MLB/Jerome, Idaho) is 19th at 6.6 per game. ... KEVIN LINEHAN (6-3, 255 Jr. DE / Los Alamitos, California) is second in the Big Sky in QB SACKS with five (-33 yards) averaging 0.71 per game and is 8th in TACKLES FOR LOSS with 36; 9th in FORCED FUMBLES (2) and 8th in FUMBLES RECOVERED (2). ... Linehan was named the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 4 when he had seven tackles (6 unassisted), two quarterback sacks, three tackles for loss and a pass breakup in WSU's 45-28 home field win over #3 ranked Montana.
STARTING OFF 4-0 IN BIG SKY PLAY?
Only TWICE in the 46-year history of the Big Sky Conference have the Wildcats managed to win their FIRST FOUR GAMES in Conference play. ... In 1987 the Wildcats won four straight then lost at home to Idaho (38-41). That team went on to post a 10-3 record overall and got revenge by beating Idaho 59-30 in the opening round of the NCAA Division FCS (then I-AA) playoffs at Moscow, Idaho. ... In 1991, the Jamie Martin-led Wildcats won four straight, then lost their next two @Montana (38-47) and @Nevada (49-55). ... That team posted an 8-4 mark and lost @Northern Iowa, 21-38, in the opening round of the playoffs.
MONTANA / MONTANA STATE SWEEP?
The back-to-back wins over Montana and Montana State gave the Wildcats a "sweep" of the Grizzlies and Bobcats in the same season for the first time since 1987. It was only the 7th time it's happened for WSU in the 46-year history of the Big Sky Conference.
NEXT WEEK
In what looms to be the key battle of the year in the Big Sky Conference, the Wildcats travel to Flagstaff, Arizona for a 3:05 (PDT) kickoff under the Walkup SkyDome against the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks. ... Both teams are 3-0 heading into Oct. 18 games and if both win, would set up a game for out right first place in the Big Sky Conference.
R O N M c B R I D E Q U O T E S
ON NORTHERN COLORADO: "They are a much improved team from last season, maybe the most improved team in the league. Their quarterback has made a big difference in their ability to move the ball. He's got a strong arm and is very accurate. They have had three games go right down to the final minute or final play and lost. Last week, they found some confidence and dominated the game. I really like their defense. They fly to the ball, they are aggressive and never let down."
ON THE WILDCATS "We've had an emotional two weeks, but that's behind us. I told the kids in the locker room after Saturday's game that they now were going to get everyone's best shot. That's what happens when you are on top. We can't worried about what lies ahead, just the next game and to their credit, they have done a terrific job of focusing on the game ahead."
