Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Montana State
Wildcats drop game 23-13 at #9 Montana State
10/19/2014 12:57:00 AM | Football
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Once again the Wildcats were close, but once again, came up with a loss. No. 9 Montana State held on for a 23-13 win over Weber State Saturday afternoon in front of 19,673 fans at Bobcat Stadium.
Turnovers and penalties once again proved to be costly as the 'Cats had eight penalties and three turnovers, including a fumbled punt return in the final minutes.
Montana State totaled 464 yards of total offense in the game but had just 160 yards passing. The Wildcats totaled 376 yards of offense but had just 29 yards rushing in the game, the fewest rushing yards of the season.
Neither team scored in the first quarter. The Wildcats came up with two sacks on key third downs by Montana State and the Bobcats missed two field goals.
Weber State got on the board first with a 32-yard field goal by Josh Kealamakia after a 12-play, 62-yard drive to make it 3-0 midway through the second quarter. MSU came right back with a 75-yard drive and a one-yard touchdown run by Chad Newell to make it 7-3 with 4:09 left.
The Bobcats again had the ball in the final few minutes of the half when Dustin Martin forced and recovered a fumble to give the Wildcats the ball. But the 'Cats attempt at a 34-yard field goal was just off to end the half with MSU up 7-3.
Montana State opened the third quarter with a 63-yard touchdown run by Shawn Johnson just one minute into the second half and the Bobcats never looked back.
The Bobcats added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter to make it 20-3. Jadrian Clark then came in at quarterback for the Wildcats and led WSU on a 66-yard drive that ended in a 26-yard field goal by Kealamakia to make it 20-6 with 10:24 left.
After a defensive stop Weber State came back again and Bo Bolen punched in a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down to cut the lead to 20-13 with 6:38 to play.
The Wildcats forced Montana State to punt but fumbled the punt return and MSU added a field goal to make it 23-13. The Wildcats also fumbled the ball on their final possession to seal the win for Montana State.
“This is one of the most frustrating losses for us,” said WSU head coach Jay Hill. “We were moving the ball well in the fourth quarter but we fumbled when we had a chance. We had a bunch of missed opportunities and that has defined our season. We battled but we didn't get it done.”
Green was 19-of-29 passing for 205 yards with one interception. In his first game of the season Clark was 6-of-10 passing for 142 yards. Bo Bolen and Zach Smith each had 13 yards rushing.
Shaydon Kehano had 11 receptions for 120 yards to lead the receivers. Darryl Denby had three catches for 97 yards and Cameron Livingston had four catches for 47 yards.
Josh Burton had 10 tackles on the defensive side of the ball, while Emmett Tela, Felix Woods and Dustin Martin each had eight. The 'Cats had eight tackles for loss and three sacks and Martin forced and recovered a fumble.
The loss drops Weber State to 0-7 on the season and 0-3 in Big Sky play. MSU improves to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in conference action with their fourth straight win.
The Wildcats will be back home for two straight games beginning next Saturday when they host Portland State at 1 p.m. at Stewart Stadium.
