Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
6-5 , 5-3
Northern Colorado
3-8 , 2-6
Wildcats return three interceptions for touchdowns in 48-17 win over Bears
11/20/2021 5:49:00 PM | Football
Weber State clinches seventh straight winning season.
It was the final home game of the season and the first home victory for the Wildcats who finished the regular season with a 6-5 record.Â
It was also Senior Day at Stewart Stadium as Weber State honored 14 seniors in their last home game. This senior class has been the winningest class in school history and led the Wildcats to four straight Big Sky titles.Â
Desmond Williams, Braxton Gunther and Conner Mortensen each had an interception returned for a touchdown in the Wildcat victory.Â
How it happenedÂ
Northern Colorado held a 10-3 lead midway through the second quarter when Williams picked off a pass and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown that tied the game 10-10.Â
Just over two minutes later, Northern Colorado regained the lead with a 63-yard touchdown pass and led 17-10 with 6:02 to play.Â
From there it was all Weber State as the Wildcats outscored the Bears 38-0 the rest of the game.Â
With 45 seconds left in the first half, Bronson Barron hit Justin Malone for an eight yard touchdown that tied the game at 17-17.Â
The 'Cats forced the Bears to punt and got one more chance late in the half. That's when Barron connected with Haze Hadley for a 53-yard touchdown as time expired, giving Weber State a 24-17 lead at halftime.Â
Braxton Gunther opened the season half with a 47-yard interception that he returned for a touchdown to make it 31-17.Â
Less than two minutes later, Clay Moss scored on an eight yard touchdown run to make it 38-17.Â
The Wildcats scored 28 points in a game stretch of five minutes.Â
Kyle Thompson added a 43 yard field goal and then with 4:54 to play in the third quarter, Conner Mortensen picked off a UNC pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. Â
Numbers to know
The Wildcats finished with 272 yards and Northern Colorado had 266. The 'Cats had 117 yards rushing and 155 yards passing.Â
In addition to the three interception returns, the Wildcat defense had 10 tackles for loss and nine pass breakups.Â
Winston Reid and BJ Taulfalele led the way with eight tackles. Mortensen had six tackles with two pass breakups and Williams had five tackles.Â
On offense, Barron was 14 of 21 for 155 yards passing with two touchdowns. Hadley had three catches for 68 yards, Ty MacPherson had two catches for 36 yards and Rashid Shaheed had two receptions for 21 yards.Â
Dontae McMillan had 10 carries for 49 yards to lead the rushing attack.Â
Weber State clinched its seventh straight winning season, a school record, and finished the regular season with a 6-5 overall record and a 5-3 record in Big Sky play. The Wildcats ended the season winning four of the last five games and outscored the last two opponents 110-17.Â
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Team Stats
UNC 0, WSU 3
WSU - Thompson,Kyle 27 yd field goal 8 plays, 73 yards, TOP 03:50
UNC 3, WSU 3
UNC - Raybon,Ben 25 yd field goal 12 plays, 66 yards, TOP 05:37
UNC 10, WSU 3
UNC - Woods,Kassidy 29 yd pass from Lewis,Alec (Raybon,Ben kick) 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 03:57
UNC 10, WSU 10
WSU - Williams,Desmond 65 yd interception (Thompson,Kyle kick)
UNC 17, WSU 10
UNC - Thomas,Dylan 63 yd pass from Lewis,Alec (Raybon,Ben kick) 4 plays, 78 yards, TOP 02:10
UNC 17, WSU 17
WSU - Malone,Justin 8 yd pass from Barron,Bronson (Thompson,Kyle kick) 6 plays, 47 yards, TOP 02:02
UNC 17, WSU 24
WSU - Hadley,Haze 53 yd pass from Barron,Bronson (Thompson,Kyle kick) 2 plays, 55 yards, TOP 00:12
UNC 17, WSU 31
WSU - Gunther,Braxton 47 yd interception (Thompson,Kyle kick)
UNC 17, WSU 38
WSU - Moss,Clay 8 yd run (Thompson,Kyle kick), 1 plays, 8 yards, TOP 00:07
UNC 17, WSU 41
WSU - Thompson,Kyle 43 yd field goal 7 plays, 28 yards, TOP 02:10
UNC 17, WSU 48
WSU - Mortensen,Conner 50 yd interception (Thompson,Kyle kick)
