Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
at BYU
Wildcats fall 45-13 at BYU
9/8/2012 11:33:00 PM | Football
PROVO - Weber State dropped to 0-2 on the season after losing to an FBS school for the second-straight week. The Wildcats fell 45-13 to the BYU Cougars Saturday afternoon in Provo in the first meeting with the Cougars in 33 years.
The Wildcats held their own in the first quarter and BYU held a 7-0 lead after one period. The Cougars tacked on two scores in the second quarter and held a 21-0 lead at halftime. They increased it to 28-0 early in the third quarter before the 'Cats finally got on the board. Josh Booker topped a long WSU drive with a one-yard touchdown run but the extra point was blocked to make the game 28-6 with 4:49 to play in the third. The Cougars then scored 17 straight points to break the game open. WSU finished with a one-yard touchdown run by Kris Parham in the closing minute to wrap the game up at 45-13.
The Cougars totaled 532 yards of total offense, compared to 254 for the Wildcats. BYU had 225 yards rushing on the ground and held the Wildcats to 115 rushing yards. WSU managed just 139 yards passing.
"I thought we played better as a team than last week, especially in the first half," said WSU head coach Jody Sears. "We got a little tired and ran out of the gas late in the game. BYU is a terrific and very talented football team and they took it to us at times today. We have plenty of work still to do and need to build and get better and be ready for next week."
Individually senior quarterback Mike Hoke finished the game 13-26 for 91 yards passing but the Cougars managed to sack him six times for a loss of 40 yards.
Jordan Clemente had four catches for 25 yards to lead the receiving corps. Chase Nakamura had one catch for 39 yards in the final minute of the game to set up the final touchdown.
On the ground senior C.J. Tuckett had 12 carries for 80 yards and junior Josh Booker carried ten times for 64 yards and one touchdown.
Junior Tony Epperson had an incredible day on special teams and defense for the Wildcats. The Park City native had 10 punts for 507 total yards, an average of 50.7 yards per punt, the fourth best single-game punting average in school history. In the first quarter Epperson had a 74-yard punt, ranking as the seventh longest punt in WSU history.
Epperson, also the starting safety for the Wildcats, also had a strong day on defense as he recorded an interception which he returned for 25 yards in the first half. He followed that up by recovering a fumble in the first half, which he returned for 12 yards. He also led the Wildcat defense with ten total tackles.
Luke King added nine tackles for the second-straight game, including two tackles for loss. Willie Okwuonu had eight tackles. Freshman Siamani Harris had WSU's lone sack on the day.
The game was played in front of 60,314 fans, the largest crowd Weber State has ever played in front of.
The Wildcats will return to Ogden for their home opener next Saturday when the 'Cats host McNeese State of the Southland Conference. The Cowboys came into this week ranked 21st in the nation in FCS football. Kickoff at 6:00 p.m. next Saturday night at Stewart Stadium.
