Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
9-2 , 6-2
Northern Arizona
3-8 , 2-6
Wildcats survive for a wild 33-31 win over NAU
11/19/2022 4:48:00 PM | Football
Weber State beat the Lumberjacks in the first Red Rock Rivalry trophy game.
The Wildcat finish the regular season at 9-2 overall and 6-2 in Big Sky play and now await word of the FCS Playoff selection on Sunday.
The win was the first in new Red Rock Rivalry trophy with NAU.
Kyle Thompson made four field goals in the second half, including a 23-yard field goal with five seconds left to seal the win for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats finished the game with 367 yards of offense, compared to 340 for the Lumberjacks.
The 'Cats got the scoring started as Bronson Barron found Ty MacPherson for a 5-yard touchdown pass just over five minutes into the game.
A few minutes later, the Wildcats put together a 7-play, 61-yard drive, capped by a one-yard run by Creyton Cooper to make it 14-0.
After an NAU touchdown made it 14-7 with 11:10 to play in the second quarter, Weber State's Abraham Williams worked his magic again. Williams returned the kickoff 100-yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats a 21-7 lead. It is the fourth kickoff return for Williams this season, a WSU school record, and all four have been 100 yards.
NAU scored back-to-back touchdowns to close the half and the game was tied 21-21 at the break.
Weber State made three field goals in the second half. Kyle Thompson made two field goals in the third quarter and led 27-21 as the Wildcat defense held NAU to just nine yards of total offense in the third quarter.
But early in the fourth quarter, NAU took the lead at 28-27 with 11:40 to play.
Thompson made a 41-yard field goal with 7:12 remaining to regain the lead for the Wildcats at 30-28. NAU went back on top after a 39-yard field goal and led 31-30 with 2:50 to play.
WSU dove down the field and set up the game-winning field goal by Thomspon with five seconds left.
On offense, Josh Davis had nine carries for 80 yards and moved into second place on the Weber State career rushing list and fifth on the all-purpose list.
MacPherson had eight catches for 97 yards and a touchdown to lead the WSU receivers. Barron finished the day 19 of 33 passing for 220 yards and a touchdown.
Eddie Heckard and Winston Reid each had 11 tackles to lead the Wildcats.
Weber State has now won nine games for the fourth time under head coach Jay Hill who won his 50th Big Sky game.
The Wildcats will now advance to the FCS Playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven years.
The NCAA FCS Selection Show will be broadcast on Sunday, November 20 at 10:30 a.m. Mountain time on ESPNU.
Team Stats
WSU 7, NAU 0
WSU - MacPherson,Ty 5 yd pass from Barron,Bronson (Thompson,Kyle kick) 4 plays, 18 yards, TOP 01:49
WSU 14, NAU 0
WSU - Cooper,Creyton 1 yd run (Thompson,Kyle kick), 7 plays, 61 yards, TOP 02:27
WSU 14, NAU 7
NAU - Johnson,Hendrix 45 yd pass from Martinez,RJ (Robbins,Collin kick) 6 plays, 85 yards, TOP 01:52
WSU 21, NAU 7
WSU - Williams,Abraham 100 yd kickoff return (Thompson,Kyle kick)
WSU 21, NAU 14
NAU - Hall,Draycen 8 yd run (Robbins,Collin kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:18
WSU 21, NAU 21
NAU - Gerena,Isaiah 5 yd pass from Martinez,RJ (Robbins,Collin kick) 12 plays, 66 yards, TOP 06:15
WSU 24, NAU 21
WSU - Thompson,Kyle 39 yd field goal 9 plays, 53 yards, TOP 03:29
WSU 27, NAU 21
WSU - Thompson,Kyle 29 yd field goal 8 plays, 30 yards, TOP 03:27
WSU 27, NAU 28
NAU - Johnson,Hendrix 6 yd pass from Martinez,RJ (Robbins,Collin kick) 4 plays, 16 yards, TOP 01:54
WSU 30, NAU 28
WSU - Thompson,Kyle 41 yd field goal 10 plays, 45 yards, TOP 04:19
WSU 30, NAU 31
NAU - Robbins,Collin 39 yd field goal 10 plays, 53 yards, TOP 04:22
WSU 33, NAU 31
WSU - Thompson,Kyle 23 yd field goal 11 plays, 65 yards, TOP 02:37
