#18 Weber State heads to Montana State Saturday

GAME #5

Sat., Sept. 30, 2017 • 1:40 p.m.

Bozeman, MT

Bobcat Stadium (17,777)

TV: ROOT / AT&T Sports Network

Online: none

Radio: KLO 1430 AM / kloradio.com

Live stats: WeberStateStats.com

Series: Montana State leads 30-21-1

Streak: Weber State 1 win

In Bozeman: MSU leads 15-9-1

Last game: 10/15/16 - WSU 45-27

THE GAME

• The 18th ranked Wildcats hit the road for a Big Sky Conference showdown at Montana State Saturday afternoon in Bozeman.

• Saturday's game will kickoff at 1:40 p.m., from Bobcat Stadium and will be televised throughout the region on ROOT Sports, AT&T SportsNet and DirecTV's Audience Network with Tom Glasgow, Jason Stiles and Jen Mueller on the call.

• The game will NOT be streamed online.

• Radio broadcast will be on 1430 KLO radio and kloradio.com with Steve Klauke, the 2016 Utah Sportscaster of the Year, on the call.

• Live stats will be at WeberStateStats.com.

FIRST AND 10

• Weber State is 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in Big Sky play, following a 41-3 win over UC Davis last Saturday in the conference opener.

• The Wildcats are ranked 18th in the nation in this week's FCS Coaches poll and are 20th in the country in the STATS FCS poll.

• Montana State is 1-2 on the season and 1-0 in conference play after opening the Big Sky season with a 49-21 win at North Dakota Saturday. This will be MSU's fourth-straight game against a nationally ranked opponent.

• Head coach Jay Hill is in his fourth season as head coach at Weber State. He enters Saturday with an 18-21 career record and is 14-11 in Big Sky games.

• The Bobcats are coached by Jeff Choate who is in his second season at MSU.

• Weber State leads the Big Sky in 11 different statistical categories.

• Montana State holds a 30-21-1 all-time series lead over Weber State and the Bobcats have won 12 of the last 14 games. WSU has not won in Bozeman since 2008.

WILDCATS ROLL TO 41-3 HOMECOMING WIN OVER UC DAVIS
Weber State opened Big Sky Conference play with a bang as the Wildcats rolled to a 41-3 win over UC Davis in the annual Homecoming game Saturday at Stewart Stadium. After UC Davis jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, Weber State scored 41 unanswered points with several highlight reel touchdowns.
The Wildcats ran just 49 offensive plays and had just 13 first downs but totaled 430 yards of offense. The 'Cats held UC Davis to just 13 rushing yards and had two interceptions and five sacks.

WSU RANKED 18TH AND 20TH IN NATIONAL POLLS
Weber State is off to a 3-1 start, its best start since the 2008 season. The Wildcats are now ranked 18th in the FCS Coaches poll and 20th in the STATS FCS poll. WSU is one of just two Big Sky teams nationally ranked with Eastern Washington eighth and ninth in this week's polls.

TRESHAWN GARRETT WITH RECORD-SETTING RUN
Weber State junior running back Treshawn Garrett had a season-high 122 yards on just 10 carries in Saturday's win. The highlight came when Garrett broke off a 98-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. It marks the longest play from scrimmage in Weber State history. It also ties the Big Sky Conference record for longest run. The 98-yard run is also the longest in all of FCS football this season. Garrett averaged 12.2 yards per game in the game.
On the season, the Palmdale, California, native is seventh in the Big Sky in rushing at 71.8 yards per game. He has 42 carries for 287 yards and two touchdowns in four games this season. He has played in 26 games in his three years at Weber State and currently ranks 22nd in Weber State history in career rushing yards with 1,380.

XEQUILLE HARRY WITH A PUNT RETURN FOR A TOUCHDOWN
Weber State senior Xequille Harry added to the excitement as he broke off an 84-yard punt return in the second quarter of Saturday's game. The return was his first career touchdown and marked the first punt returned for a touchdown by a Weber State player since Tim Toone in 2009. The 84-yard return is also tied for the fourth longest punt return in Weber State history.
Harry is currently second in the nation in punt return average at 21 yards per return. He has 10 returns for 210 yards in the four games this season.

RASHID SHAHEED LEADS THE NATION IN YARDS PER RECEPTION
WSU red shirt freshman Rashid Shaheed had another big game for the Wildcats as he had three receptions for a career-best 163 yards and one touchdown. He started the WSU scoring with a 67-yard touchdown reception early in the game. He also had a catch of 54-yards in the second quarter that set up another touchdown.
After four games, Shaheed, a native of San Diego, leads the nation in yards per reception at 36.2. He has nine catches for 326 yards and two touchdowns, mostly coming in two games. He also had 149 receiving yards at Cal on Sept. 9. He is fourth best in the Big Sky in all purpose yards at 131.2 per game, and ranks sixth in receiving yards at 81.5 per game.

CANTWELL WITH THREE MORE TOUCHDOWNS
Senior quarterback Stefan Cantwell threw for a season-high three touchdowns on just 11 passing attempts in Saturday's win. He completed seven passes with three of them touchdowns and finished with 205 yards passing. He's thrown at least one touchdown in each game this year.
After four games, Cantwell, a native of South Jordan, Utah, has passed for 908 yards and seven touchdowns. He ranks second in the Big Sky in pass efficiency and is completing 60.1 percent of his passes. He is also sixth in the league in passing yards per game at 227 yards per game and is sixth in total offense at 263.2.

DEFENSIVE DOMINATION
The Wildcat defense had one of its best games of the season as the 'Cats allowed just three points. It was the fewest points allowed by Weber State against a Division I team in two seasons.
The Wildcats had a season-high five sacks, 13 tackles for loss and forced three turnovers. Parker Preator led the way with nine tackles and three pass breakups the most in a game this season. LeGrand Toia, Jonah Williams, Taron Johnson, Alema Key and Cardon Malan each had sacks, while Trey Hoskins and Keilan Benjamin each had interceptions. The 'Cats lead the Big Sky in total defense this season.

WILDCATS LEAD BIG SKY IN 11 DIFFERENT CATEGORIES
After four games this season, Weber State leads the Big Sky in 11 different statistical categories. The Wildcats are first in the conference in scoring offense, scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense, pass efficiency, pass efficiency defense, punt return average, field goals, PAT kicks, time of possession and red zone defense.
The Wildcats are averaging 42 points per game and allowing just 15 a game. The 'Cats are also allowing just 292.8 yards of offense per game, including allowing just 89.2 rushing game.
Individually, senior McKay Murphy is second in the conference in tackles for loss at 1.75 per game.

NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Nationally, the Wildcats are seventh in the country in red zone defense at 55.6 percent and rank 10th in scoring offense. WSU is also ninth in the country in time of possession and 12th in turnover margin. Weber State is also 13th in the nation in third down conversion at 50 percent, despite going 0-of-9 on third down attempts in Saturday's win over UC Davis.

COACHING STAFF
Jay Hill returns for his fourth season at the helm of the Wildcats. He has led WSU to a 18-21 overall record and a 14-11 record in Big Sky play. Hill also serves 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.

WEBER STATE PICKED FIFTH IN BIG SKY PRESEASON POLLS
This year Weber State was selected to finish fifth in the Big Sky preseason media and coaches polls. 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.

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.

AROUND THE BIG SKY
Big Sky Conference play began last week with six conference games. The Wildcats have the best overall season record at 3-1. Only two Big Sky teams are nationally ranked this week with Eastern Washington ranked eighth and ninth in the polls after a comeback win at Montana last week.

EXTRA POINTS
Weber State is looking to start the season 4-1, which the 'Cats haven't done since 2003...Freshman kicker Trey Tuttle is perfect so far this season, going 18-of-18 on extra point attempts and 6-of-6 on field goals. He leads the Big Sky in scoring this season with 36 points...Senior wide receiver Drew Batchelor needs just one more reception to become the 25th player in Weber State history with 1,000 career catches...The Wildcats are outscoring their opponents 63-10 in the first quarter of the four games this season.

LOOKING AHEAD
After Saturday, the Wildcats will get the week off next week with a bye. The next game will be a home game on Saturday, October 14 against Southern Utah.

Weber State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Drew Batchelor

Keilan Benjamin

Stefan Cantwell

Treshawn Garrett

Xequille Harry

Trey Hoskins

Taron Johnson

Alema Key

Cardon Malan

McKay Murphy

Parker Preator

Rashid Shaheed

Trey Tuttle

Andrew Vollert

Jonah Williams

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