Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
North Dakota
'Cats come back to beat North Dakota 25-24
10/18/2015 4:43:00 AM | Football
OGDEN -- Weber State's 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter capped a wild come-from-behind win over North Dakota 25-24 Saturday night at Stewart Stadium.
North Dakota held a 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter but the Wildcats had 15 points in the quarter to secure the win. It marks Weber State's fourth win in the last five games and moves the Wildcats to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in Big Sky play.
After a Josh Kealamakia field goal made it 24-13 with 12:32 to play, Weber State's defense stopped UND and on the next possession the Wildcats converted on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Jadrian Clark to Tui Satuala, which cut the lead to 24-19 with 7:46 to play.
That's when the Emmett Tela show began. Tela forced and recovered a fumble and returned it to the UND 10 yard line. Two plays later, Clark found Cody Eyolfson for a five-yard touchdown pass and the Wildcats took a 25-24 lead with 5:38 to play.
But Tela wasn't done yet. After a Wildcat fumble, Tela intercepted a UND pass with 2:28 to play to seal the win for the Wildcats.
“I certainly wasn't pleased with how we started the game,” said WSU head coach Jay Hill. “We didn't have the energy or passion we needed and we got on our heels. We finally got things going offensively and defensively in the second half and we had a much different look in the second half. It was a great win but we still have a lot to improve on.”
Weber State finished the game with 371 yards, compared to 368 for North Dakota. UND rushed for 250 yards, compared to just 98 for the Wildcats but the 'Cats won the turnover battle 2-1.
Clark finished the game 21-of-35 passing for a career-high 273 passing and three touchdowns. Darryl Denby had a seven catches for a career-best 130 yards receiving and had a five-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Eric Wilkes had 18 carries for 91 yards.
Tela led the defense with 10 total tackles, one tackle for loss, a forced fumble, fumble recovery and interception. Josh Burton and Cordero Dixon each added nine tackles and Tre'von Johnson had seven tackles and two sacks.
North Dakota was led by freshman running back John Santiago who had 25 carries for 157 yards rushing and one touchdown. It was North Dakota's first game ever at Stewart Stadium.
The Wildcats now hit the road for two straight games starting next Saturday at Northern Arizona. The game will kickoff at 5 p.m. MT in Flagstaff.
