Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Sacramento State
Wildcats fall 42-31 at Sacramento State
9/14/2014 6:23:00 AM | Football
SACRAMENTO – Weber State and Sacramento State had the exact same number of yards Saturday night but turnovers and penalties proved costly for the Wildcats as they fell 42-31 to the Hornets on a hot night at Hornet Stadium.
Both teams finished with exactly 467 yards of total offense. The Wildcats passed for 377 yards but had just 90 yards rushing. WSU had three turnovers, which Sacramento State turned into 10 points.
The temperature at kickoff was 99 degrees and the Wildcats got off to a very shaky start. The Wildcats fumbled the ball away on two of their first three possessions. Sac State quarterback Garrett Safron opened the scoring with a 70-yard touchdown run and then threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Nnamdi Agude to lead the Hornets to a 20-0 lead after one quarter.
Freshman Chad Leckington came in to finish off a 76-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run to put the Wildcats on the board. The Hornets scored again to take a 27-7 lead midway through the second quarter. WSU sophomore quarterback Billy Green scored on a five-yard touchdown run late in the half to make the Sac State lead 27-14 at halftime.
The Wildcats cut the lead to six at 30-24 early in the fourth quarter after a touchdown by Zach Smith and a 38-yard field goal by Josh Kealamakia. But the Wildcat defense couldn't stop the Hornets as Jordan Robinson rushed for a 30-yard touchdown to make it a 36-24 lead. Sac State tacked on two field goals before a late touchdown by Weber State.
“We were out executed early in the game and made lots of mistakes at the wrong time that were really costly,” said WSU head coach Jay Hill. “We have to get tougher and handle things better. We did lots of things well on both sides of the ball but we have to fix our mistakes.”
WSU threw for 377 yards but couldn't get much going on the ground, finishing with just 90 yards rushing.
Green finished the night 36-of-60 passing for 377 yards and one touchdown. That's the most passing yards in a game by a Wildcat quarterback since Cameron Higgins had 410 in September 2009.
Three Wildcat receivers had 10 or more catches. Sophomore Cameron Livingston had a career-high 10 receptions for a career-high 175 yards. Shaydon Kehano had 11 catches for 84 yards. The 11 catches if the most by a Wildcat since 2010. Junior Kamana Kaimikaua added 10 catches for 78 yards.
Defensively, the 'Cats were led by Emmett Tela who tied his career-high with 11 tackles. Tyron Morris-Edwards added eight and Cordero Dixon and Luke King each had six. The 'Cats had four tackles for loss and Dustin Martin recorded one sack.
The game was a non-conference game for the two Big Sky teams and will not count in the league standings. The 'Cats have now lost seven of their last eight in Sacramento.
They continue their road trip next Saturday night in Nacogdoches, Texas taking on Stephen F. Austin in the final non-conference game of the year.
