Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Montana
Game 8: Showdown with Montana Saturday at Stewart Stadium
10/25/2022 4:01:00 PM | Football
Weber State hosts Montana in another top-10 national showdown for the Blackout Game at Stewart Stadium.
It's another nationally ranked showdown and another game against a longtime rival as Weber State returns home to host Montana Saturday.
The Wildcats and Grizzlies will kickoff at 1 p.m. Saturday from Stewart Stadium in Ogden. It will be the first of three-straight home games for Weber State.
Media coverage
Saturday's game will be televised by Scripps Network with Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg and Kyle Hansen calling the action. It will be televised in Utah on KJZZ TV and will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Weber State radio coverage will be on KLO 103.1 FM "The Wave" with Steve Klauke and former Wildcat head coach and athletic director Jerry Graybeal on the call.
Live stats available at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
Weber State losses first game of the season 43-38 at Montana State
Weber State suffered its first loss of the season in a wild 43-38 shootout against second ranked Montana State Saturday in Bozeman.
In a cold, rainy day at a packed Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Weber State jumped out to a 24-9 lead early in the second quarter, before Montana State scored 34-straight points and took a 43-24 lead. Weber State scored back-to-back touchdowns to cut the lead to five but couldn't convert on their final drive in the final minute of the game.
Weber State committed four safeties in the game and had allowed Montana State to garner 487 yards of total offense with 347 yards rushing. The Wildcats had 222 yards of offense and gave up three sacks.
The loss snapped Weber State's eight-game winning streak and snapped a school-record eight-game road winning streak. It was just the third Big Sky road loss for Weber State in the last six years.
Another national showdown for the Wildcats
This Saturday's game with Montana is the second of three-straight games for the Wildcats against teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation. This week, Weber State is ranked in a tie for fifth in the nation in the Stats Perform media poll and ranked seventh in the AFCA Coaches poll.
Montana is 10th in the coaches poll and 11th in the Stats poll.
Weber State faced Montana State last week who was ranked second and third in the polls. Next week's opponent, Sacramento State, is currently ranked second and third in the two polls.
Abraham Williams returns second 100-yard kickoff
Late in the first quarter of Saturday's game at Montana State, Weber State had two special teams touchdowns. Wildcat sophomore Abraham Williams returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown that gave Weber State a 10-9 lead. It was his second kickoff return this season and both have been 100 yards. It was the 13th 100-yard return in Weber State history.
Williams is one of four players in all of FCS football with two kickoff return touchdowns this season. Williams is also the only player in all of the NCAA (all four divisions) with two 100-yard kickoff return touchdowns this season.
He has seven returns this season for 321 yards, an average of 45.9 yards per return.
Punt return touchdown for Hudson Schenck
Later in the first quarter of Saturday's game, Weber State sophomore Hudson Schenck returned a punt 91-yards for a touchdown. It was his first career punt return touchdown and the first for the Wildcats since Josh Davis returned one in 2018.
The 91-yard return is also the third longest in Weber State history. It was only his third punt return of the season and he is now averaging 30.3 yards per return.
It was the first time Weber State has had a kickoff return touchdown and a punt return touchdown in the same game since 2000 when Herb Craft had one of each himself in a game against Montana.
Jay Hill reaches coaching milestone
Saturday's game at Montana State was the 101st career game for Jay Hill as the head coach at Weber State, giving him the most games coached in WSU history. He passed Dave Arslanian (1989-97) for the most games ever coached.
Hill is in his ninth season as head coach and is WSU's all-time leader in career wins with a record of 64-37. His .633 winning percentage is the second-highest in school history and he is 47-18 (.723) in Big Sky Conference games, the best overall winning percentage.
Hill has led the Wildcats to four Big Sky titles and five appearances in the FCS Playoffs. He has been named the Big Sky Coach of the Year and the AFCA Region Coach of the Year during his career at Weber State. Later this season he will coach his 100th career game at Weber State.
There's no place like home
Saturday will mark the return to Stewart Stadium and will be the first of three-straight home games. It will be the first time in 33 years the Wildcats will play three-straight Big Sky Conference games at home.
Under coach Hill, Weber State is 35-13 at home and 27-9 against Big Sky schools at Stewart Stadium. The Wildcats have won 17 of the last 20 home games against Big Sky opponents.
Quarter scoring
The Wildcats gave up a season-high 43 points to Montana State. It was the first time WSU had trailed after halftime and the third quarter this season. The Wildcats have led after the first quarter in all seven games.
Through seven games, WSU is outscoring its opponents 121-39 in the second half and 51-7 in the fourth quarter.
In addition, Weber State is getting off to a fast start. The Wildcats are outscoring their opponents 100-35 in the first quarter of games this season.
In the nine years under Jay Hill, Weber State is 38-6 when leading after the first quarter, 49-8 when leading at halftime and 55-5 when leading after three quarters. However, WSU is 11-26 when trailing at halftime and 5-30 when trailing after three quarters.
Defensive rankings
Weber State is first in the nation in red zone defense, allowing opponents to score on 55.6 percent of attempts in the red zone. WSU has allowed opponents to score on 10 of 18 attempts in the red zone with seven touchdowns.
Weber State junior Eddie Heckard had a first quarter interception in Saturday's game, the 13th interception by Weber State this season, which is the second-most interceptions by a team in all of FCS football.
Wildcat junior Maxwell Anderson leads the nation with five interceptions.
WSU is also third in the country in turnovers gained with 16 and ranks third in team pass efficiency defense. The 'Cats are fifth in the country in scoring defense at 15.6 points per game and rank eighth in third down conversion defense at 28.3 percent. Weber State is also 15th in the nation in total defense.
Records watch
Eddie Heckard is second in career pass breakups with 30, trailing only former Big Sky MVP and current Buffalo Bill Taron Johnson at 42.
Josh Davis has not played in the last two games due to an ankle injury. Davis needs 91 yards to pass Nick Chournos for second in all-time rushing yards. He also needs 67 all-purpose yards to pass Tim Toone for fifth all-time.
Kyle Thompson is now ninth in school history with 26 career field goals.
Team captains
As selected by their teammates, Weber State has five captains for the 2022 season. This year's captains are junior offensive lineman Noah Atagi, junior cornerback Eddie Heckard, senior wide receiver Ty MacPherson, junior linebacker Winston Reid and senior safety Desmond Williams. MacPherson also served as a team captain during the spring 2021 and the 2021 seasons.
About Montana
The Montana Grizzlies enter Saturday's game with a 5-2 overall record and 2-2 mark in Big Sky play. Montana started the season with five-straight wins but have since lost the last two, falling at home to Idaho on October 15 and are coming off a 31-24 overtime loss at No. 2/3 Sacramento State last Saturday.
Like WSU, Montana boasts a strong defense. The Grizzlies rank third in the country in team tackles for loss and are eighth in sacks. UM is also ninth in the nation in rushing defense and ninth in turnover margin. The Grizzlies are also second in the country in net punting, seventh in punt returns and eighth in kickoff return defense.
Head coach Bobby Hauck
The Grizzlies are coached by Bobby Hauck who is in his second stint as head coach at Montana. In his 12th year overall as head coach, he enters Saturday's game with a 113-31 overall record and a 65-16 record in Big Sky play. He was the head coach from 2003-09 at Montana and won seven-straight Big Sky titles. He then spent five seasons as the head coach at UNLV, then two seasons as the associate head coach at San Diego State before returning to Montana prior to the 2018 season. Hauck ranks second in Big Sky history in career coaching victories.
Series history
This will be the 57th all-time meeting between the two longtime rivals and charter members of the Big Sky Conference. Montana holds a 40-16 all-time series lead over the Wildcats but Weber State has won three of the last four games, under coach Hill.
In games in Ogden, Montana leads 18-9 all-time but the Wildcats have won the last two games.
Last meeting - Dec. 13, 2019 - Ogden - WSU 17-10
The last game played between the two schools was nearly three years ago on December 13, 2019, at Stewart Stadium in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
Weber State defeated Montana 17-10 in that game to advance to the semifinals for the first time in school history. The Wildcats had six sacks in the game and recorded five interceptions in the win.
Up next
After Saturday, Weber State continues its homestand and faces another top-10 matchup with Sacramento State on Saturday, November 5. The final regular season home game will be against Idaho State on November 12, before the regular season finale on November 19 at Northern Arizona.
