Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
7-5
Chattanooga
9-3
WSU's season ends with 45-14 loss at Chattanooga
11/26/2016 9:47:00 PM | Football
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Weber State's season came to an end as the Wildcats fell 45-14 to No. 9 Chattanooga Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium in the first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
The Wildcats had five turnovers which UTC turned into 24 points, which made the difference in the game. The Mocs totaled 383 yards of offense compared to 306 for Weber State.
Chattanooga scored touchdowns on its first two possessions and led 14-0 after the first quarter. The Mocs led 17-0 late in the second quarter when the Wildcats fumbled on the one-yard line and Chattanooga's Montrell Pardue returned the fumble 99 yards for a touchdown that made it 24-0 at halftime. WSU had three turnovers in the first half.
The Mocs added another touchdown early in the third quarter to make it 31-0. The Wildcats got on the board late in the third quarter on a fake field goal with Stefan Cantwell found Tui Satuala for a 21-yard touchdown.
After another Wildcat turnover, the Mocs scored early in the fourth quarter to make it 38-7. A Wildcat interception a few minutes later was returned for a 41-yard TD to make it 45-7. Clark found Andrew Vollert for a 31-yard touchdown in the final minutes for WSU's second touchdown.
"Chattanooga is a really good football team and you can't turn the ball over five times against a good team like that," said WSU head coach Jay Hill. "That was the difference in the game. We played well at times, we just had moments that really hurt our momentum. This was a really good experience for our team and I'm proud of what this team has accomplished. We have to go back and work harder to get ready to do it next year."
UTC ran for 229 yards and held the Wildcats to 69 yards on the ground.
Individually, Clark threw for 210 yards one touchdown with two interceptions and was WSU's top rusher with 28 yards. He finished his WSU career third in school history in career total offense yards and fourth in career passing. Drew Batchelor was WSU's top receiver with eight catches for 79 yards and Andrew Vollert had five catches for 83 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, the Wildcats had a season-high four sacks with Jonah Williams recording two sacks and Tre'von Johnson and Cardon Malan each with one. LeGrand Toia led the 'Cats with nine tackles while Josh Burton and Landon Stice each had nine.
Chattanooga will advance to play at Sam Houston State next Saturday in the second round.
The loss ends Weber State's season at 7-5 overall. WSU was 6-2 in Big Sky play, finishing third in the league standings. It was also the final game for 17 Wildcat seniors.
Team Stats
WSU 0, UTC 7
UTC - A. Bennifield 16 yd run (H. Ribeiro kick), 12 plays, 71 yards, TOP 5:24
WSU 0, UTC 14
UTC - A. Stewart 20 yd pass from A. Bennifield (H. Ribeiro kick) 9 plays, 85 yards, TOP 3:06
WSU 0, UTC 17
UTC - H. Ribeiro 41 yd field goal 5 plays, 17 yards, TOP 1:39
WSU 0, UTC 24
UTC - Montrell Pardue 99 yd fumble recovery (H. Ribeiro kick)
WSU 0, UTC 31
UTC - A. Stewart 30 yd pass from A. Bennifield (H. Ribeiro kick) 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:57
WSU 7, UTC 31
WSU - Tui Satuala 21 yd pass from Stefan Cantwell (Taylor Hintze kick) 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 7:05
WSU 7, UTC 38
UTC - Derrick Craine 39 yd run (H. Ribeiro kick), 1 plays, 39 yards, TOP 0:09
WSU 7, UTC 45
UTC - Trevor Wright 41 yd interception (H. Ribeiro kick)
WSU 14, UTC 45
WSU - Andrew Vollert 31 yd pass from Jadrian Clark (Taylor Hintze kick) 7 plays, 69 yards, TOP 2:04
