Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Arizona
Tuckett Leads Wildcats to Win on Mac's Last Home Game
11/13/2011 1:47:00 AM | Football
OGDEN, Utah - Weber State sent coach Ron McBride off in memorable fashion as the Wildcats beat Northern Arizona 34-31 Saturday afternoon at a snowy Stewart Stadium. The game was Mac's final home game after seven seasons as head coach at Weber State and nearly 50 years as a coach.
It was Mac's day and senior day but it was junior C.J. Tuckett who stole the show and helped Weber State snap a three-game losing streak. Tuckett rushed for 254 yards and had 407 yards of total offense in leading Weber State.
Tuckett, who had 197 rushing yards on the season entering Saturday's game, finished the day with 27 carries for 254 yards and three touchdowns. The Malta, Idaho native also had nine receiving yards and returned kicks for the first time this season. He finished with 144 yards of kick returns, giving him the 407 yards of total offense. That total is a school record and the second most in Big Sky Conference history. He is the first Wildcat to ever reach more than 400 yards of total offense in a single-game.
With blizzard conditions in the first half, Tuckett got the scoring started with a 16-yard touchdown run. After NAU scored a touchdown, Mike Hoke found Chase Nakamura for his first career touchdown, a 19-yard reception. NAU added a field goal and Tuckett scored on a 45-yard run to give Weber State a 19-10 lead at halftime.
WSU's third quarter struggles continued as the Lumberjacks outscored Weber State 14-0 in the third and took a 24-19 lead. Tuckett scored his third touchdown with 14:04 to play in the fourth, a one-yard run that gave Weber State a 27-24 lead.
In the closing minutes NAU scored on a nine-yard touchdown run by Zach Bauman to take a 31-27 lead with just 1:36 to play.
Tuckett returned the kickoff 24 yards to put Weber State in position for the win. Hoke connected with Eric Shufford on a 32-yard pass and then Hoke punched it in for a two-yard touchdown that gave the Wildcats the 34-31 win.
That score is a fitting score for Coach McBride who defeated BYU by that score on back-to-back games in the early 90's when he was the head coach at Utah.
"We put ourselves in a some bad situations but today we were able to overcome them," McBride said. "It was a great feeling for all of us to get the victory. We proved that we could come from behind and win and that is a big thing for us."
Weber State finished with 469 yards of total offense and had 291 yards on the ground. Hoke was 11-19 for 178 yards and one touchdown. Defensively Anthony Morales led the Wildcats in tackles for the fifth straight game, finishing with 11. Nick Webb had 10 tackles and moved into the WSU career top ten for total tackles. Caldwell Taylor blocked an NAU punt in the first quarter and became Weber State's all-time leader in career blocks with five.
The Wildcats improve to 4-6 on the season and 4-3 in Big Sky action. They will play their final game of the season next Saturday at Portland State.
