Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Colorado
'Cats Down Bears in Four OT Thriller
9/12/2010 4:36:00 AM | Football
Northern Colorado vs. Weber State Stats Book
Up Dated Two Game Weber State Football Stats
OGDEN, Utah -- The first home football game of the 2010 season had just about everything.
For the Wildcats, that included the most important thing as well.
Freshman kicker Shaun McClain drilled a 35-yard field goal in the fourth overtime and Weber State's defense did the rest as the 19th-ranked Wildcats squeaked out a 50-47 victory in four overtimes on Saturday night at Stewart Stadium.
Weber State captured it's Big Sky Conference opener for the 21st time, improving to 1-1 overall this season. It was the Wildcats' first overtime game since 2001 and was just the second 4OT game in school history.
"I was proud of the way we hung in there time after time," Weber State coach Ron McBride said. "That was some unbelievable toughness by our guys on both sides of the ball.
"That aside, I am really upset by our turnovers. One of our goals this year was to win that battle and I am disappointed with those. It was one of the most bizarre games I've been involved in."
Senior quarterback Cameron Higgins completed 33-of-54 passes for 340 yards and four touchdowns. Senior reciever Mike Phillips was Higgins' most prolific target on the night, catching 11 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
Freshman running back Josh Booker carried the ball eight times for a team-high 95 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Bo Bolen rushed for 90 yards on 23 carries and scored a touchdown in the first overtime.
Weber State finished with 563 yards of total offense on 99 plays, with 223 coming on the ground and 340 through the air. Northern Colorado had 441 yards (233 passing, 208 rushing).
"Our line did a great job, but they were a very physical team and played hard," Higgins said. "To their credit, they did a great job of creating the turnovers, and that was very frustrating.
"This team is together, thick and thin, and right now I am almost speechless. This was crazier than the 78-63 game three years ago at Portland State."
The Wildcats and Bears (0-1 Big Sky, 1-1 overall) traded first quarter field goals to end the period tied at 3-3.
Higgins and Phillips hooked up for two second quarter touchdowns that saw Weber State take a 16-10 lead. The second of those was a six-play, 88-yard drive that ended with Phillips' catching a 38-yard TD pass from Higgins.
Northern Colorado regained the lead at 17-16, and then went ahead 24-16 on a 28-yard fumble recovery with 50 seconds to go in the first half.
After a solid return on the ensuing kickoff, McClain booted a 26-yarder to cut it to 24-19 at halftime.
Weber State regained the lead on a 12-play, 95-yard drive to start the second half with Higgins hitting senior reciever Joe Collins with a 2-yard pass and then Higgins hit Bolen for a 2-point conversion to make it 27-24.
Northern Colorado kicked a 19-yarder to make it 27-27 at the end of the third quarter.
Booker's 61-yard burst put Weber State ahead 34-27 and the Wildcats appeared ready to grind out the home victory, but a costly fumble with less than four minutes to play set up Northern Colorado to tie the game at 34-34 and send it to overtime.
Weber State won the overtime toss and elected to defend first. The Wildcats nearly won it early after the Bears fumbled the ball into the end zone, but Northern Colorado pounced on the ball to take the lead. Bolen answered back to make it 41-41 and send it to the second overtime.
The Wildcats fumbled the ball on their possession, but Kevin Halfhill blocked Northern Colorado's field goal attempt, sending a wave of relief through Stewart Stadium.
The Bears regained the lead on Andre Harris' 11-yard run to start the third overtime, but UNC failed to convert on its two-point attempt.
Weber State drove to the 1-yard line going for the tying score when the stadium lights shut off, delaying the game for 20 minutes. When play resumed Higgins hit Austin Raught on fourth down to tie it at 47-47, but the 'Cats missed their attempt at a 2-point conversion to send the game to a fourth overtime.
McClain made it 50-47 with his 35-yard field goal and the Northern Colorado missed from 42 yards sending Weber State storming onto the field to celebrate the victory.
Senior linebacker Taylor Sedillo finished with a team-high 11 tacks, three unassisted and eight assisted. Senior safety Jordan Brown had 10 tackles, including five solo.
"That was wild," Sedillo said. "We were fighting every down, every minute. That last series, we just out willed them and that's what this team is all about."
Weber State returns to Big Sky Conference action on the road at Sacramento State on Saturday, September 18.
