Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Southern Utah
Game notes: Wildcats hit the road at Southern Utah Saturday
3/30/2021 4:20:00 PM | Football
• After an incredible, miracle finish for a victory, the Weber State football team is back on the road to face in-state rival Southern Utah this Saturday in Cedar City. The Wildcats, ranked second in the nation, and the Thunderbirds will kickoff at 2 p.m. at the Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City. The game will be streamed on Pluto TV 1055 and WatchBigSky.com. It will also be broadcast on the radio on 103.1 FM "The Wave".
The Miracle in March
It's never over until it's over. Weber State used every second it could for an epic win in last Saturday's game against Northern Arizona. The Wildcats led throughout the game before an NAU touchdown gave the Lumberjacks a 23-22 lead with 17 seconds remaining.
With two seconds left on the clock, Weber State's Randall Johnson connected with Justin Malone for a 50-yard Hail Mary touchdown that gave the Wildcats an incredible 28-23 win. With the win, the Wildcats improved to 3-0 in the spring season, now with two scheduled games remaining.
WSU remain second in the nation in coaches poll
Weber State remained second in the nation in the AFCA Coaches national poll, and third in the Stats Perform poll. The second place ranking is the highest in school history. Weber State has been ranked in at least one of the national polls every week since November 2016. The 'Cats have been in the top 10 in every poll since October 2018.
James Madison is first in both polls with North Dakota State ranked second in the Stats poll and third in the coaches poll.
50th career win for Jay Hill
Not only did the Wildcats win in dramatic fashion last Saturday, the win made history for Weber State head coach Jay Hill. Hill won his 50th career win in his seven seasons at Weber State and now has an overall record of 50-30 and is 37-14 in Big Sky play. He is just the third coach in Weber State history to reach 50 career wins, joining the father-son combo of Sark and Dave Arslanian. Sark Arslanian was 50-26-2 in eight seasons as head coach from 1965-72, and Dave Arslanian was 53-47 in nine seasons as head coach from 1989-97.
Hill is already WSU's all-time leader in career Big Sky wins with 37 and his overall winning percentage of .625 is second only to Sark Arslanian at .654. Over the last four seasons, Hill has led the Wildcats to a 24-3 record in Big Sky games.
Randall Johnson start at quarterback
The Wildcats played without Bronson Barron who missed the game with an injury in his left wrist. Barron's status this week is unknown. Junior quarterback Randall Johnson came in for his first career start after transferring from Middle Tennessee State. Johnson finished the game 11 of 19 passing for 133 yards with three touchdowns and he rushed for 70 yards.
Rashid Shaheed returns fifth kickoff for touchdown; earns Big Sky weekly honors
After another record-setting kickoff return for a touchdown, Weber State senior Rashid Shaheed has been recognized as the Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. Shaheed earned the honor after his 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in helping Weber State in Saturday's win.
Shaheed returned the kickoff to open the third quarter 100 yards for a touchdown. It was his fifth career kickoff return for a touchdown which is the Weber State school record and now tied for the Big Sky Conference record. It was also his third career 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He totaled three returns for 136 yards in the win.
In addition, Shaheed had three receptions for 55 yards and one touchdown. The San Diego, California native ranks fourth in WSU history in career kickoff return yards and moved into seventh in career all-purpose yards with 3,703 yards. This is his third career Big Sky Player of the Week honor.
Wildcat defense comes up with three interceptions
The Wildcat defense forced three NAU turnovers in Saturday's game, all interceptions. Senior Preston Smith had two interceptions and Desmond Williams had one. Weber State's defense leads the Big Sky in interceptions with seven through three games, and Smith has three picks in just two games played.
The 'Cats also had seven tackles for loss and seven pass breakups in the win.
Big Sky rankings
The Wildcats lead the Big Sky in scoring defense, allowing just 19 points per game. WSU is also first in pass defense efficiency, interceptions and kickoff coverage. The Wildcats rank second in rushing offense, turnover margin and passing defense.
Individually, junior Josh Davis is first in the Big Sky and 14th in the nation in rushing offense, averaging 106 yards per game. Davis had a season-high 141 yards rushing in Saturday's win. Davis is also second in the conference in all purpose yards.
Rashid Shaheed leads the conference and is now third in the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 32 yards per return.
Conner Mortensen is fifth in the league in tackles at 9.3 per game and fifth in tackles for loss at 1.8 per game. Eddie Heckard is first with eight passes defended
Team captains
Weber State has named six captains for the 2021 spring season, as voted on by the Wildcat players. This year's captains are sophomore offensive lineman Noah Atagi, junior running back Josh Davis, junior wide receiver Ty MacPherson, senior linebacker Conner Mortensen, senior wide receiver Rashid Shaheed and senior defensive lineman Jared Schiess.
About Southern Utah
Southern Utah enters Saturday's rivalry game with a 1-3 record but the three losses are by a combined four points and all three have come in the final seconds of the game.
The Thunderbirds opened the season with a 34-33 loss at Southern Utah when NAU scored with no time remaining. They lost 26-24 to Idaho State on March 6 when the Bengals made a field goal with five seconds left. They are coming off a 33-32 loss at Idaho last week when the Vandals scored the winning touchdown with seven seconds left.
Through three games, Southern Utah leads the league in pass efficiency and is second in passing offense. They are also first in sacks with 17 and first in sacks allowed with three.
SUU is coached by Demario Warren who is in his fifth season at SUU. Warren enters this weekend with a 20-30 overall record and is 16-20 in Big Sky play.
Series history
Weber State holds a 19-8 all-time series lead against Southern Utah and the Wildcats have won the last three and four of the last five games. SUU last beat the Wildcats in October 2017 in Ogden, but since then, the Wildcats have won in the 2017 Playoffs in Cedar City, in 2018 in Cedar City and 2019 in Ogden.
In games at Eccles Coliseum, Weber State is 7-2 and has won three straight games.
Since 2011, the road team is 8-2 in the series.
April 17 game at Cal Poly canceled
Weber State's final scheduled football game has been canceled. Cal Poly has elected to opt out of the remainder of its 2020-21 spring football season, effective immediately.
The Mustangs and Wildcats were scheduled to play on March 6 in San Luis Obispo, but the game was postponed to April 17 due to COVID-19 protocols in the Cal Poly program.
Cal Poly played three games in the spring season, losing to Southern Utah, UC Davis and Eastern Washington.
Up next
With that cancelation, Weber State has just one game remaining after this Saturday's game at Southern Utah. The Wildcats will host Idaho State on April 10 at Stewart Stadium in the final regular season game.
The 16-team FCS Playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 24.
