Wildcat football begins 2017 season Saturday

GAME #1

Sat., Sept. 2, 2017 • 6 p.m.
Ogden, UT • Stewart Stadium

TV: none
Online: PLUTO TV 235
Radio: KLO 1430 AM
Live audio: WeberStateSports.com
Live stats: WeberStateStats.com
Series: Weber State leads 3-0
Streak: Weber State 3-0
In Ogden: Weber State leads 3-0
Last game: 8/28/08 - WSU 62-6

THE GAME

• The No. 22 ranked Weber State football team will open the 2017 season this Saturday with a home game against Montana Western at Stewart Stadium.

• Saturday's game will kickoff at 6 p.m. at Stewart Stadium. The game will not be televised but will be streamed online for free on Pluto TV channel 235 and the Pluto app. It is also available at WatchBigSky.com.

• Radio broadcast will be on 1430 KLO radio and kloradio.com with Steve Klauke and former Wildcat All-American Bo Bolen on the call.

• Live stats will be at WeberStateSports.com.

FIRST AND 10

• The Wildcats enter the 2017 season after posting a 7-5 record in 2016 and advancing to the FCS Playoffs for the first time in seven years.

• Weber State is ranked 22nd in the country in the preseason FCS coaches poll, the first time WSU has entered the season nationally ranked since 2010.

• Montana Western is an NAIA school located in Dillon, Montana. The Bulldogs have already played a game, opening the season with a 16-14 home win over the College of Idaho last Saturday.

• Head coach Jay Hill is in beginning his fourth season as head coach at Weber State. He enters the year with a 15-20 career record and is 13-11 in Big Sky games.

• Ryan Nourse is in his third season as head coach at Montana Western.

• This will be Weber State's first time opening the season at home since 2013.

• Three Wildcats, Andrew Vollert, Jacob DeMaio and Taron Johnson, all earned STATS Preseason All-America honors.

• This will be the fourth ever meeting between the two teams with Weber State leading 3-0 all-time. The two teams last meet in 2008, a 62-6 Weber State win in Ogden.

BLACKOUT NIGHT SATURDAY
Saturday's home and season opener will be Blackout Night. The Wildcats will wear black jerseys and helmets and all Wildcat fans are encouraged to wear black. Plus, the first 3,000 fans will receive a free Blackout T-shirt, courtesy of America First Credit Union. Show your America First credit or debit card at the ticket office by Friday and receive four tickets free to the game.

WILDCATS NATIONALLY RANKED
Weber State is ranked 22nd in the nation in the FCS Coaches Preseason poll. It marks the first time WSU has entered the season nationally ranked since 2010.

WEBER STATE PICKED FIFTH IN BIG SKY PRESEASON POLLS
Weber State was selected to finish fifth in the Big Sky preseason media and coaches polls, released in July. North Dakota was picked to finish first in both polls, followed by Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona and Cal Poly. The Wildcats were fifth with Montana sixth and Southern Utah seventh.
WSU was 6-2 in BSC play last season and finished third in the league standings.

THREE WILDCATS EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Three Wildcats received preseason honors and were named to the STATS FCS Al-America Preseason team. Senior tight end Andrew Vollert was named to the Second Team, while senior punter Jacob DeMaio and senior cornerback Taron Johnson were named to the Third Team. Vollert earned Third Team All-America honors last season.
All three players were also named to the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference list, in addition to junior linebacker Landon Stice

RETURNING WILDCATS
Weber State returns 34 letterwinners and 15 starters off last year's FCS Playoff team. In addition, six Wildcats return after earning All-Conference honors last season.
Senior tight end Andrew Vollert returns after winning First Team All-Big Sky honors and being named Big Sky Newcomer of the Year. Vollert led the Wildcats in receiving, receiving yards and touchdowns last season.
Senior punter Jacob DeMaio and senior cornerback Taron Johnson earned Second Team All-Big Sky honors last season. McKay Murphy, Iousua Opeta and Landon Stice earned Honorable Mention All-Conference honors.

SCHEDULE
The Wildcats kickoff the season at home this Saturday against Montana Western. WSU will then play back-to-back non-conference games in northern California, playing at Cal on Sept. 9 and at Sacramento State on Sept. 16.
The Big Sky opener is Sept. 23 at home against UC Davis, which will also be the annual Homecoming game. WSU also hosts Southern Utah (Oct. 14), Montana (Oct. 28), and Idaho State (Nov. 14). The Wildcats will play conference road games at Montana State (Sept. 30), Cal Poly (Oct. 21), Eastern Washington (Nov. 4) and Portland State (Nov. 11). The Wildcats will not play North Dakota, Northern Arizona or Northern Colorado this season.

LET'S START AT HOME
This will mark Weber State's first time opening the season at home since 2013, when the Wildcats beat Stefen F. Austin 50-40 in the opener. It will also be just the second time in the last nine years Weber State has opened at home.
Weber State is 27-28 all-time in season opening games, and hasn't won a season opener since 2013. The Wildcats are 40-15 all-time in home openers and have won three of the last four home openers.

COACHING STAFF
Jay Hill returns for his fourth season at the helm of the Wildcats. He has led WSU to an 15-20 overall record and a 13-11 record in Big Sky play. Hill will also serve as defensive coordinator for the Wildcats this season.
Fesi Sitake is in his fourth year at Weber State and his second season as offensive coordinator for the Wildcats.
Associate head coach Brent Myers returns for his fourth season at Weber State. Also returning are assistant coaches Kite Afeaki (defensive line), Kelly Bills (wide receivers), Quinton Ganther (running backs), Preston Hadley (secondary) and Colton Swan (special teams, outside linebackers). New assistant coaches this year are Grant Duff (inside linebackers) and former Wildcat All-American Al Pupunu (tight ends). Ryan Milus (cornerbacks) and Skyler Ridley (offense) are graduate assistants and Derrick Luken is the Director of Football Operations.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Coach Hill has named five captains for the Wildcats for this season, two on offense and three on defense. The two offensive captains are senior quarterback Stefan Cantwell and senior tight end Andrew Vollert. The three defensive captains are senior cornerback Taron Johnson, senior defensive tackle McKay Murphy and junior linebacker LeGrand Toia.

ABOUT MONTANA WESTERN
Montana Western has already played one game this season. The Bulldogs opened the season Saturday with a 16-14 home win over the College of Idaho. Montana Western totaled 350 yards of offense in the game, with 269 yards coming through the air. Senior quarterback Bennett Gibson threw for 243 yards and one touchdown and freshman kicker Mark Kharchenko made three field goals. They were both named Frontier Conference Players of the Week for their performances. The Bulldogs did fumble the ball four times but also picked off three College of Idaho passes.
Montana Western is an NAIA school located in Dillon, Montana. The Bulldogs are members of the Frontier Conference, which includes
Last season Montana Western was 7-4 overall and finished 6-4 in Frontier Conference play.

HEAD COACH RYAN NOURSE
The Bulldogs are coached by Ryan Nourse who is in his second stint as head coach for Montana Western. He also serves as the offensive coordinator and coaches the Bulldog quarterbacks.
Nourse was the head coach at Montana Western in 2011 and 2012 then stepped away to serve as the athletic director at the school from 2013-16.
In his first stint as head coach he posted a 6-15 record and coached 10 players to all-conference honors. Nourse has also spent time as the defensive coordinator at Truman State University in Missouri and spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Morningside College.
Nourse played wide receiver at Montana Western and was part of two Frontier Conference Championship teams. He is a native of Libby, Montana.

SERIES HISTORY
Weber State holds a 3-0 all-time series lead over Montana Western. The Wildcats beat the Bulldogs 28-0 in 1962 in Weber State's first season as a four-year and NCAA Division I school. WSU also won 30-12 in 1994, and beat the Bulldogs 62-6 in the season opener in 2008.
This will be Weber State's first game against a non-Division I team since 2008. It will be Montana Western's first game against an FCS opponent since losing 41-9 at Eastern Washington in August 2014.

AROUND THE BIG SKY
Two Big Sky opponents opened the season last week. Portland State lost 20-6 at BYU while Cal Poly fell 20-14 at home to Colgate.
All 13 conference teams are in action this weekend with three games Thursday and 10 games on Saturday.

QUOTING HEAD COACH JAY HILL
"We are excited to get the season started. I like the look of our team right now. We have a lot of veterans returning on both sides of the ball and have the most returning starters since I've been here.
"Montana Western is a good NAIA school that will have our full attention and we'll have to play well. We're excited to get going and see what the season has in store for us. We're also really looking forward to opening the season at home."

LOOKING AHEAD
After Saturday's game, the Wildcats will hit the road for back-to-back games in northern California, beginning next Saturday when they take on the Cal Bears in Berkeley.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stefan Cantwell

Jacob DeMaio

Taron Johnson

McKay Murphy

Landon Stice

Andrew Vollert

Weber State University Athletics