Weber State University Athletics
'Cats open season with Stephen F. Austin Saturday
8/27/2013 3:17:00 PM | Football
Watch | Listen | Live stats
Game #1 - Stephen F. Austin at Weber State
Saturday, Aug. 31 • 6:05 p.m.
Ogden, Utah • Stewart Stadium (17,500)
TV: None
Online video: watchbigsky.com
Radio: KLO 1430 AM/103.1 FM
Live stats: WeberStateSports.com
Series: First Meeting
QUICK HITS
The 52nd season of Division I football at Weber State University begins this Saturday when the Wildcats welcome Stephen F. Austin to Stewart Stadium. The game will mark the first time the Wildcats have opened the season at home in five years. It will also mark the first meeting ever between the two schools. Stephen F. Austin is an FCS school located in Nacogdoches, Texas and is a member of the Southland Conference.
MEDIA FOR SATURDAY'S GAME
Saturday's game with the Lumberjacks will begin at 6:00 p.m. at Stewart Stadium. This season every Weber State football and men's basketball game will be heard live on KLO 1430 AM and 103.1 FM. Wildcat Carl Arky returns for his 15th season as voice of the Wildcats. He will be joined in the booth by former Wildcat standout Ty Sparrow.
There will be no TV of Saturday's game but the game can be seen online for free through the Big Sky's video streaming service. Live video is available at watchbigsky.com. Live stats of the game will be at WeberStateSports.com.
ANNUAL BLACKOUT GAME SATURDAY
Saturday's game will be the annual Blackout game and fans are encouraged to wear black to the game. In addition, 5,000 blackout t-shirts will be given away to fans, courtesy of America First Credit Union.
In addition, all fans showing their America First Credit Union credit or debit card will receive four complimentary tickets to the game. Call the WSU ticket office at 801-626-8500 or visit WeberStateTickets.com for more information.
WILDCATS READY TO START 2013 SEASON
After three weeks of fall camp the Wildcat football team is ready to begin the 2013 season. WSU returns 36 lettermen and 16 starters off last year's squad. Two players, Anthony Morales and Shelton Robinson, are returning after earning Big Sky All-Conference honors last season.
In addition to the 36 returners, several new players are expected to contribute and see significant playing time.
JODY SEARS RETURNS FOR SECOND SEASON AT WSU
Weber State head coach Jody Sears returns for his second season as head coach of the Wildcats. Sears is the 10th head coach in Weber State history and led the Wildcats to a 2-9 record last season, his first year with the program.
Prior to coming to Weber State Sears spent three seasons at Washington State where he spent the last three seasons as the co-defensive coordinator with the Cougars under head coach Paul Wulff, a former college teammate at Washington State.
He is no stranger to the Big Sky Conference as he spent five seasons (2003-07) as the defensive coordinator at Eastern Washington, also under Paul Wulff. During his time with the Eagles he coached safeties, linebackers and defensive backs. In his five seasons at Eastern Washington he coached seven players to Big Sky All-Conference honors.
Prior to his time at Eastern Washington Sears spent three seasons (2000-02) as an assistant coach at Army where he coached cornerbacks and the defensive line. He also spent time as an assistant coach at St. Ambrose University, an NAIA school in Davenport, Iowa and Iowa State.
Sears played football at Washington State where he was a two-year letterwinner with the Cougars after walking on as a wide receiver. He played under head coaches Jim Walden, Dennis Erickson, and former Weber State head coach Mike Price. He graduated from Washington State in 1991 and received his master's degree from Iowa State in 1996.
Sears, 45, is a native of Pullman, Washington. He and his wife Molly are the parents of five children.
COACHING STAFF CHANGES
The Wildcats made several key changes to the coaching staff in the offseason. Steve Morton returns for his second season with the Wildcats and was elevated to the position of Associate Head Coach. He also continues to coach the offensive line for the Wildcats.
Robin Pflugrad, a former head coach at Montana, joined the program in February as the new offensive coordinator. Pflugrad brings nearly 30 years of coaching experience to Weber State, including several years coaching in the Big Sky. Pflugrad has brought a new up-tempo offense to the Wildcats this season.
Eric Lewis is the new defensive coordinator for the Wildcats. Lewis is in his second season as an assistant at Weber State and also coaches the secondary.
STEVE MORTON TO SERVE AS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR SATURDAY
In July the NCAA announced findings of major violations involving the football program at the University of Montana. As part of the findings, former Montana head football coach and current Weber State assistant coach and offensive coordinator, Robin Pflugrad, received a show-cause penalty that included a one-game suspension. Pflugrad will serve that suspension this week, including Saturday's season opener. He will not be allowed to conduct any coaching activities from Aug. 26 through the conclusion of Saturday's game.
Steve Morton, WSU's Associate Head Coach, will serve as the offensive coordinator for Saturday's game against Stephen F. Austin.
TEAM CAPTAINS
Coach Sears has selected four team captains for the upcoming season. Bo Bolen, Anthony Morales, Connor Myers and Shelton Robinson will serve as the Wildcat team captains for the year. Morales is serving as captain for the third straight season. Combined the four players have appeared in 96 games for Weber State.
ANTHONY MORALES EARNS PRESEASON HONORS
The Wildcat defense is led by senior linebacker Anthony Morales, who returns for his fourth year with the Wildcat team. Morales, a native of Edmond, Okla., is one of the top returning linebackers in the Big Sky and was named to the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference team. He also has earned several preseason All-American honors, including being named preseason all-American teams by the College Sports Journal and Phil Steele.
Morales, who has played in 30 career games at Weber State, led the Big Sky and finished third in the nation in tackles last season, averaging 12.0 per game. He averaged 13.9 tackles per game in Big Sky games. He enters the season needing just 32 more tackles to move into the WSU career top 10 list.
FORMER ALL-AMERICAN BO BOLEN RETURNS TO WILDCATS
WSU running back Bo Bolen has returned to the program after a two-year LDS Church mission. Bolen, a native of Aurora, Colo., played two seasons at Weber State in 2009 and 2010 and earned Second Team All-American honors as a freshman in 2009. After two seasons at Weber State Bolen ranks third in WSU history in career kickoff return yards with 1,805 for an average of 24.4 per return. He is also eighth in school history in career all-purpose years and 24th in career rushing yards.
Bolen served a two-year mission to the Philippines and returned in December 2012. He will serve as one of the Wildcat team captains this season.
Also returning at running back for the Wildcats is senior Josh Booker, a native of Oklahoma City, Okla. Booker has appeared in 32 games at Weber State and enters the season ranked 19th in school history in career rushing yards with 1,146 yards.
TONY EPPERSON BACK TO PUNT FOR WILDCATS
Senior Tony Epperson is returning at punter for the Wildcats. The Park City, Utah native has played in 27 career games at Weber State, seeing action at safety and punter. Last season he played in six games for the Wildcats and was leading the nation in punting at 48.0 yards per punt before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Half of his punts went for more than 50 yards last season and he set a school record with an average of 55 yards per punt against McNeese State.
Epperson was also second on the team in tackles as a safety at the time of his injury. He will only focus on punting this season.
ADAMCZYK, CHIPOLETTI TO LEAD QUARTERBACKS
WSU has five quarterbacks on the roster this season. Senior Jordan Adamczyk is expected to start Saturday's game against Stephen F. Austin. Adamczyk is in his fifth year in the Wildcat program. He has appeared in nine career games at Weber State but has just one career start.
True freshman Austin Chipoletti, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., is also expected to see time at quarterback for the Wildcats. Chipoletti, who played for his father Derek at Oakleaf High School in Jacksonville, threw for more than 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior last year.
Redshirt freshman Jadrian Clark and junior college transfers Jonathan Willis and Jeff Kidd are also quarterbacks on this year's roster.
INJURY REPORT
WSU junior wide receiver Shaydon Kehano suffered a leg injury last week in practice and is expected to miss four to six weeks of action. Kehano suffered a similar injury to the same leg last season in the third game of the year and missed the rest of the season. He earned Big Sky All-Conference honors as a sophomore in 2011 and has appeared in 20 career games at Weber State.
WIILDCATS COME FROM ALL OVER
Weber State's roster this season includes players from 13 states and Canada. A total of 25 of WSU's roster come from the state of Utah. California is second with 14 players and a total of 13 players are from the state of Florida. Eight players come from Idaho, six from Hawaii, five from Oklahoma and four from Texas. The 'Cats also have players from Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Nevada, and Washington, as well as one from Alberta, Canada.
WILDCATS IN SEASON OPENERS
Weber State is 26-25 all-time in season opening games. The 'Cats have lost the season opener in six of the last seven seasons including a 37-10 loss at Fresno State last season. WSU has opened the season on the road in each of the last four seasons and six of the last seven years.
This season also marks the first time in five years the 'Cats have not opened the season against an FBS opponent.
HOME IS WHERE IT BEGINS
For the first time in five seasons Weber State is opening the season at home. The last time the 'Cats held a season opener at home was in the 2008 season when WSU defeated Montana Western 62-6 in the season opener.
When opening the season at home WSU is 22-6 overall. The Wildcats have not opened the season at home against a Division I opponent since 2004 when they fell 34-31 to Southern Utah.
The Wildcats are looking to snap a five-game losing streak at home after finishing last year 0-5 at Stewart Stadium.
ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
Stephen F. Austin University is an FCS school located in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Lumberjacks are members of the Southland Conference and were picked to finish fifth in the standings in this year's preseason coaches poll. Sam Houston State, Central Arkansas, McNeese State and Southeastern Louisiana were ranked ahead of Stephen F. Austin in the polls.
The Lumberjacks are coming off a 5-6 record in 2012, their first losing season in four years. Last season's schedule included a 43-35 loss at third ranked Montana State. They are facing the Bobcats at home this season on Sept. 21. Over the past four seasons the 'Jacks are 30-17 overall. They advanced to the FCS playoff and captured a conference title in 2009 and 2010.
In 2013 the Lumberjacks finished second in the nation in passing offense at 385.5 yards per game and were second in total offense at 503.1 per game. The 'Jacks have been ranked among the nation's top six in passing in each of the past five seasons, with two passing national titles. SFA has ranked among the nation's top 10 in total offense each of the past four seasons.
SFA returns 49 lettermen off last year's squad that finished 4-3 and in a tie for fourth place in the Southland Conference. A total of six Lumberjacks were named to the Southland Preseason All-Conference team. Running back Gus Johnson, wide receiver D.J. Ward and defensive lineman Darren Robinson were all named to the preseason First Team. Robinson was also named as a Preseason All-American and was tabbed as the Phil Steele Preseason Southland Defensive Player of the Year. Michael Brooks, Caleb Nelson and Andrew Ratliff were all named to the preseason All-Conference Second Team. Senior quarterback Brady Attaway also received preseason honors and was named to the College Football Performance Award watch list. Attaway was sixth in the nation in total offense last season.
Head Coach J.C. HARPER
Stephen F. Austin is coached by J.C. Harper who is entering his seventh season as head coach. Harper is a two-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year and is 14 wins shy of becoming the school's all-time winningest coach In six seasons at SFA Harper has guided the Lumberjacks to two conference titles and two FCS playoff appearances. He has a career record of 34-36 as head coach.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first meeting ever between Weber State and Stephen F. Austin. It will mark the
The Wildcats are 1-4 against teams currently in the Southland Conference. This will be the first of two meetings this season for WSU against a team from the Southland as the 'Cats will play at McNeese State on Sept. 21.
Weber State will return to play at Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 20, 2014.
2013 SCHEDULE
The Wildcats will face 12 games this season with five at home and seven on the road. After Saturday's opener with Stephen F. Austin the 'Cats will hit the road for three straight games, playing at Utah, Utah State and McNeese State.
The Big Sky opener will be Sept. 28 when the Wildcats host Sacramento State, in a game that will also be the annual Homecoming game. WSU will also host Montana State, Southern Utah and Idaho State at home this season. Big Sky road games will be Eastern Washington, Cal Poly, Portland State and Montana. WSU will not play North Dakota, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado or UC Davis this season.
Weber State was picked 11th by the coaches and 12th by the media in the Big Sky preseason polls. Montana State was picked to as the preseason favorite in both polls, followed by Eastern Washington, Montana and Cal Poly.
TV TIME
The Wildcats will have three games on television this season. Weber State's next two games will both be televised. The Sept. 7 game at Utah will be on the Pac-12 network and the Sept. 14 game at Utah State will be on ESPN3. The Oct. 19 home game against Montana State will be televised live on ROOT Sports, a part of the Big Sky Conference's TV contract with ROOT.
LOOKING AHEAD
After Saturday's game Weber State will hit the road for three straight games beginning next week at the University of Utah. It will be the first meeting with the Utes since 2008 and just the fourth all-time.
