Weber State University Athletics
Wildcats host Vikings for Homecoming Saturday
10/4/2016 7:47:00 PM | Football
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THE GAME
• Following a bye week, the Weber State football team returns home for Homecoming as the Wildcats host Portland State Saturday night at Stewart Stadium.
• Saturday's game will kickoff at 6 p.m. from Stewart Stadium and will be the annual Homecoming game at Weber State.
• The game will be televised live throughout Utah on KJZZ TV with Dave Fox, Alema Harrington and Tony Parks on the call. It can also be streamed online for free at WatchBigSky.com and the Big Sky app.
• It will also be broadcast on 1430 KLO radio and kloradio.com with Steve Klauke and former WSU All-American David Hale calling the action.
FIRST AND 10
• The Wildcats are 2-2 on the season and 1-0 in Big Sky play. WSU is coming off a bye week which followed a 38-35 win over UC Davis in the Big Sky opener.
• Portland State is 2-3 overall and 1-1 in Big Sky play, coming off a 45-20 win over Idaho State at home last Saturday.
• Head coach Jay Hill is in his third season as head coach at Weber State.
• The Vikings are coached by Bruce Barnum who is in his second season.
• Saturday's game will be the annual Homecoming game at Weber State.
• Jadrian Clark moved into the top 10 in WSU career total offense.
• Portland State won last week's game without completing a pass and the Vikings are second in the Big Sky and 11th in the nation in rushing offense.
• This will be the 35th all-time meeting between the two schools with Weber State holding a 20-14 series lead. The Vikings have won the last two games.
WILDCATS OPEN BIG SKY PLAY WITH WIN AT UC DAVIS
The Wildcats opened Big Sky play with a wild 38-35 win at UC Davis on Sept. 24. Weber State led by 19 points heading into the fourth quarter but the Aggies rallied tie the game with less than two minutes to play. After the Wildcats recovered a fumble, Weber State's Taylor Hintze knocked down a 37-yard field goal as time expired to win the game.
The Wildcats totaled 463 offensive yards in the game, with 252 passing and 212 yards rushing. The 'Cats had a bye week last week. Over the last 10 years, Weber State is 4-6 when coming off a bye week.
HOME SWEET HOME
After three of the first four games on the road, the Wildcats return home for back-to-back home games starting Saturday. WSU will also host Montana State on October 15. Weber State has won six of the last seven games at Stewart Stadium, dating back to November 2014.
TAYLOR HINTZE NAMED BIG SKY AND NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
WSU freshman kicker Taylor Hintze hadn't made a field goal coming into the Big Sky opener at UC Davis. That all changed in a hurry as the red shirt freshman knocked down three field goals, including the game winner to lift the Wildcats to a 38-35 win over the Aggies.
For his performance, Hintze has been honored as the ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week and the STATS FCS National Player of the Week. Hintze, a native of Alta, Utah, knocked down a 54-yard field goal at the end of the first half to give the Wildcats a 25-10 lead at the break. That field goal was the third longest in Weber State history. It is also the longest field goal in the country so far this season.
He followed that up with a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Then, with the game tied 35-35 with four seconds left, Hintze knocked down a 35-yard field goal that gave Weber State the win.
Hintze also had six kickoffs for an average of 62.3 yards with one touchback in the game. He is also a perfect 11-for-11 on extra point attempts this season.
JADRIAN CLARK MOVES INTO CAREER TOTAL OFFENSE TOP 10
With 296 yards of total offense in the win at UC Davis, Weber State senior quarterback Jadrian Clark moved into the WSU career top 10 in total offense. Clark now has 4,349 career total offensive yards and moved passed Cole Cooper into 10th in school history.
Clark, a native of Lakeland, Florida, has played in 25 career games at Weber State. He has thrown for 3,757 yards, which is 12th in career passing, and has 22 passing touchdowns. He has also rushed for 592 career rushing yards and five touchdowns.
This season Clark is fourth in the Big Sky in total offense at 275.5 yards per game. He is also fifth in passing yards per game at 243.8.
ANOTHER 100 YARD RUSHING PERFORMANCE FOR TRESHAWN GARRETT
WSU sophomore running back Treshawn Garrett had another strong rushing day in the win at UC Davis, as he finished with 24 carries for 111 yards and one touchdown. He started the third quarter with a three-yard touchdown run that game WSU a 32-10 lead.
On the season, Garrett, a native of Palmdale, California, has rushed for 96 or more yards in three of the four games and has reached 100 yards twice. He now has four 100 yard rushing games in his career.
This season Garrett ranks fourth in the Big Sky in rushing at 99.2 yards per game. In 15 career games he is also approaching 1,000 yards in his career. Garrett has 959 career rushing yards and needs just 41 more to become the 29th player in Weber State history to reach 1,000 career rushing yards.
FOURTH QUARTER STRUGGLES
Weber State is leading its opponents in scoring in the second and third quarter and trails in the first quarter but just two points. However, the fourth quarter has been a different story. After four games, WSU is being outscored by its opponents 57-13 in the fourth quarter. The 'Cats are also converting on just 26 percent of third down conversions in the fourth quarter, compared to 46 percent by the opponents.
WSU was outscored 22-6 in the fourth quarter against UC Davis and 21-0 in the fourth quarter at South Dakota on Sept. 10.
WILDCATS FIRST IN BIG SKY IN PASSING DEFENSE
Weber State continues to lead the Big Sky in passing defense at 172 yards per game. WSU allowed UC Davis to pass for 282 yards in the last game, which was the highest passing total of an opponent this season.
BIG SKY RANKINGS
The Wildcats rank sixth in the Big Sky in total defense and are eighth in total offense. WSU is eighth in rushing offense and ranks 12th in rushing defense. Weber State is also first in fourth down conversions, going 3-for-3 on fourth downs so far this season. Weber State is last in the conference in sacks with just four on the season.
WILDCATS IN HOMECOMING GAMES
Saturday's game will be the annual Homecoming game at Weber State. The Wildcats enter Saturday's game with a 24-30 all-time record in Homecoming games. WSU beat Sacramento State in the Homecoming last year which snapped a three-game Homecoming losing streak. The 'Cats have played Portland State for Homecoming twice previously, beating the Vikings in 1997 and losing in 2006.
PRESEASON SELECTIONS
Four Wildcats were named to the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference team. Taron Johnson, Calvin Steyn, Emmett Tela and Cameron Young were all named to the preseason team selected by the league's coaches.
Weber State was picked sixth in the Big Sky preseason coaches and media polls.
COACHING STAFF
Jay Hill returns for his third season at the helm of the Wildcats. He has led WSU to an 10-17 overall record and an 8-9 record in Big Sky play. This year two new coordinators will take over on offense and defense for the Wildcats. Jason Kaufusi is the new defensive coordinator and Fesi Sitake is the new offensive coordinator.
Associate head coach Brent Myers returns for his third season at Weber State. Also returning are assistant coaches Kite Afeaki (defensive ends), Terrell Cloud (cornerbacks), Quinton Ganther (running backs), Lance Hunsaker (linebackers) and Colton Swan (special teams, tight ends). New assistant coaches this year are Kelly Bills (wide receivers) and Preston Hadley (secondary).
TEAM CAPTAINS
Coach Hill has named six captains for the Wildcats for this season, three on offense and three on defense. The three offensive captains are senior quarterback Jadrian Clark, senior wide receiver Cameron Livingston and senior offensive lineman Calvin Steyn. The defensive captains are senior safety Josh Burton, senior linebacker Tre'von Johnson and junior linebacker Emmett Tela. The six players have combined to play in 165 games in their careers at Weber State.
AROUND THE BIG SKY
The Big Sky is in full swing with all but two teams having played two conference games. Eastern Washington and North Dakota sit on top of the league standings at 2-0 while Weber State and Northern Colorado are at 1-0.
This week there are four Big Sky teams ranked in the STATS Top 25 poll. Eastern Washington is fourth in the nation with Montana ranked 10th. Cal Poly is ranked 21st and North Dakota comes in 24th in the poll.
INJURY REPORT
The Wildcats have played their first four games without All-Conference linebacker Emmett Tela, who has been out with a knee injury. Junior running back Eric Wilkes has missed the last three games with a high ankle sprain. Junior tight end Raphael Longangu has also missed the first three games with an injury.
Junior safety Mitch Tulane has retired from football after a concussion. The Wildcats will also be without junior linebacker Alema Key who will miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury suffered at Utah State.
LOOKING AHEAD
After Saturday's game, Weber State will have a bye next week before returning home for back-to-back home games. WSU will host Portland State Oct. 8 as part of Homecoming and will host Montana State Oct. 15.
ABOUT PORTLAND STATE
Portland State comes into Saturday's game with a 2-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Big Sky play. The Vikings opened the season with a home win over Central Washington before three-straight road losses. They fell 66-35 at San Jose State and 41-3 at No. 8 Washington. PSU opened Big Sky play with a 45-31 loss at Southern Utah but bounced back with a 45-20 home win over Idaho State last week.
Portland State won last week's game despite not completing a pass. They Vikings were 0-for-5 passing in the game and became the first Big Sky team to win a game without completing a pass in five years. PSU did rush for 531 yards in the win.
The Vikings are second in the Big Sky and 11th in the nation in rushing offense at 257.4 yards per game. PSU is also fourth in the league in third down conversions and third in third down conversion defense. The Vikings are 11th in rushing defense, giving up 239.2 per game, and rank 12th in scoring defense. Portland State is also last in the conference in turnover margin at -11.
Individually, senior quarterback Alex Kuresa, a native of Millville, Utah, and Mountain Crest High School standout, ranks eighth in the Big Sky in total offense, averaging 227.6 yards per game. He has thrown for 769 yards and five touchdowns in the five games this season and rushed for 369 yards and three more TD's, and ranks ninth in the Big Sky in rushing at 73.8 yards a game. Kuresa was named the Big Sky's Newcomer of the Year last season. He started out his collegiate career at BYU.
Senior running back Nate Tago is sixth in the conference in rushing at 85 yards per game and senior Paris Penn ranks 10th at 73.4 yards. Defensively, senior Anthony McNichols is eighth in the conference in tackles at 9.0 per game and is 10th in sacks with two this season.
Portland State finished 9-3 overall last season and was 6-2 in Big Sky play. The Vikings advanced to the FCS Playoffs for the first time since 2000. PSU was picked to finish second in the coaches poll and fifth in the media poll this season. The Vikings have 13 starters and 48 letterwinners returning from last season.
HEAD COACH BRUCE BARNUM
The Vikings are coached by Bruce Barnum who is in his second season as head coach at Portland State. In his first year with the Vikings, Barnum led PSU to a 9-3 record and their first trip to the FCS Playoffs since 2000. He now has a career record of 11-6 at Portland State and is 7-3 in Big Sky games.
Barnum was the offensive coordinator at Portland State from 2010-14 before becoming head coach. He has also spent time as an assistant coach at Western Washington, Cornell, Idaho State, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. International.
This will be his first game as head coach against Weber State.
PSU defensive line coach Jason Belford was an assistant coach at Weber State under Jody Sears from 2012-13.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 35th all-time meeting between Weber State and Portland State, with the Wildcats holding a 20-14 all-time lead. The two teams did not play last season and the Vikings have won the last two going back to 2011.
In games in Ogden, Weber State leads 12-5 all-time but Portland State has won three of the last five games at Stewart Stadium.
