Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Arizona
Game 6: Red Rock Rivalry with NAU Saturday at Stewart Stadium
10/3/2023 3:41:00 PM | Football
Weber State hosts Northern Arizona Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Red Rock Rivalry. It will also be a Blackout at Stewart Stadium.
• Weber State football is back home for a Big Sky showdown and a rivalry game Saturday night when the Wildcats host Northern Arizona.
• Weber State is 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Big Sky play after a wild 28-21 comeback win at Northern Colorado on Saturday. The Wildcat s remain 13th in the country in the Stats Perform poll and 14th in the AFCA Coaches poll.
• Northern Arizona is 1-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Lumberjacks are coming off a win over Montana and a 1-point loss at top-10 Sacramento State last Saturday.
• Weber State's Winston Reid was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week for his performance, including a 40-yard interception return touchdown in Saturday's win.
• This week's game will be a Blackout Game and also the second game of the Red Rock Rivalry series between Weber State and Northern Arizona.
Media coverage
Saturday's game will kickoff at 6:00 p.m. from Stewart Stadium in Ogden. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with Tony Parks calling the action.
Weber State's radio coverage will be on 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.
Wildcats rally for wild comeback win at Northern Colorado
Weber State trailed by 14 points with 6:34 to play in Saturday's game at Northern Colorado before putting together an historic comeback with 21 points and three interceptions to clinch the 28-21 win. WSU had interceptions on each of UNC's final three possessions.
Kylan Weisser scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 21-14. Abraham Williams picked off a UNC pass that set up a Kris Jackson 5-yard TD with 2:28 to play to tie the game 21-21. Then Winston Reid intercepted a Northern Colorado pass with 1:46 to play and returned it 40-yards for a touchdown to put the 'Cats up 28-21. Garrett Beck sealed a win with a third interception with 56 seconds left.
Red Rock Rivalry game Saturday against Northern Arizona
It will be the second game of the new Red Rock Rivalry game this Saturday night when Weber State hosts Northern Arizona. Prior to last season's game, the two teams announced a new trophy and rivalry game between the two schools, who will play each other each year in the future.
Weber State won the inaugural Red Rock Rivalry game 33-31 last November in Flagstaff. WSU holds a 28-27 all-time series lead over the Lumberjacks.
Blackout Night at Stewart Stadium
Saturday's game will also be a Blackout game at the new-look Stewart Stadium. The Wildcats will wear all black for the game and 2,000 Blackout t-shirts will be distributed to fans at the game, courtesy of UCCU.
Winston Reid earns Big Sky Player of the Week honors
After leading a comeback to win on the road, Weber State's Winston Reid was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week.
Reid led the Wildcats with 10 tackles and had the game-winning score on a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown.
With the score tied 21-21, Reid picked off a UNC pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown with 1:46 remaining in the game. It was Reid's first career touchdown and his second career interception.
He had five solo tackles and five assisted tackles for his 10 tackles. Reid currently leads Big Sky and is 10th in the country in tackles at 10.8 per game. He is also second in the conference in tackles for loss with 5.5.
He has played in 40 games in his Wildcat career which began in 2018 as a walk-on. He earned All-America honors last season and was named the Big Sky Preseason Defensive MVP. Reid now has 217 career tackles and 22 tackles for loss. In addition, Reid has been named to the watch list for the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl, the prestigious pre-draft game next February. He is one of five players from the Big Sky on the preseason watch list.
Two touchdown day and milestone for Kris Jackson
Weber State senior running back Kris Jackson ran for a season-high 105 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's road win. Jackson had 20 carries for the 105 yards, his second career game rushing surpassing 100 yards. On the season, Jackson has 49 carries for 204 yards and five touchdowns.
Jackson, a native of Mesa, Arizona, has played in 40 games over his Wildcat career that began in 2018. In Saturday's game, he became the 34th player in Weber State history to reach 1,000 career rushing yards and currently has exactly 1,000 yards. He also now has 25 career rushing touchdowns, which is tied for the seventh-most in WSU history.
Wildcats one of seven ranked Big Sky teams
The Big Sky Conference once again has seven teams nationally ranked in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll, and has three teams in the top four.
Weber State remains ranked 13th in the poll. Montana State is now ranked second, Idaho is third and Sacramento State is fourth. Montana is ranked 17th, UC Davis is 20th, and Eastern Washington is 22nd.
National rankings
Weber State leads the country in kickoff returns, averaging 29.5 yards per return. Abraham Williams is second in the nation at 35.2 yards per return. WSU is also second in the nation in net punting. The Wildcats are now eighth in the nation in interceptions with six and are 18th in turnovers gained.
Jack Burgess first in Big Sky and third in nation in punting
Wildcat junior punter Jack Burgess continues to lead the Big Sky and ranks third in the nation in punting. Burgess had three punts for an average of 48.7 yards in Saturday's win. Through five games this season, he has 25 punts for 1,158 yards for an average of 46.3 yards per punt. He has a long punt of 70 yards and eight punts of at least 50 yards.
Burgess, a native of Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia, has 75 punts in his two seasons with the Wildcats and has an average of 43.0 yards per punt, which is currently the fourth-best career average in school history.
Four All-Americans and eight All-Big Sky performers returning
Weber State has four returning All-Americans from last year's squad. In addition to Abraham Williams and Winston Reid, Maxwell Anderson and Noah Atagi also return as All-Americans. Atagi was an All-American last year and earned first-team All-Big Sky honors for the third-straight year.
Also returning are four other players that earned All-Big Sky honors in 2022. Haze Hadley (punt returner) and Jordan Lutui (offensive line) earned second-team honors, Ethan Atagi (offensive line) earned third-team honors and Damon Bankston (running back) earned honorable mention honors in 2022.
Mickey Mental takes over as new Wildcat head coach
Weber State is under the direction of first year head coach Mickey Mental who was named the 12th head coach in Weber State history in December. Mental served as the offensive coordinator for the Wildcats in 2022 before being named head coach. He took over for Jay Hill who left for BYU in December after nine seasons as head coach. Hill is Weber State's all-time leader in coaching wins with 68 and led the Wildcats to four Big Sky titles and six trips to the FCS Playoffs.
This is not the first time for Mental as a head coach. The Olmstead Falls, Ohio native spent two seasons as head coach at Division II Notre Dame College in Ohio, prior to coming to Weber State. In two seasons as head coach he posted a 16-2 overall record and a 13-1 record in conference play. In the spring 2021 season, he led the Falcons to a conference championship.
Wildcats fourth in Big Sky preseason polls
The Wildcats were also ranked fourth in the Big Sky preseason media and coaches polls for the second-straight year. Montana State was selected as the preseason favorite in both polls with UC Davis second and Sacramento State third in the coaches poll and Idaho second and Montana third in the media poll.
Oh brother
This year's Wildcat squad includes six sets of brothers. LJ and Maxwell Anderson, Ethan and Noah Atagi, Garrett and Trevor Beck, Bronson and Jagger Childs, Ishaan and Rishi Daniels, and Jordan and Masi Lutui are all on the Wildcat team this season.
Team captains
As selected by their teammates, Weber State has named four captains for the 2023 season. This year's captains are senior offensive lineman Noah Atagi, senior cornerback Maxwell Anderson, senior cornerback Marque Collins, and senior linebacker Winston Reid. This is the third-straight year for Atagi as a captain and Reid was also a captain in 2022.
About Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona enters Saturday's game with a 1-4 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Big Sky play. The Lumberjacks lost their first three games, falling at Arizona, at North Dakota and home to Utah Tech. They opened Big Sky play with a 28-14 win over Montana and suffered a 31-30 loss at No. 6 Sacramento State last week. Saturday's game against Weber State will be the fourth FCS ranked opponent in the last five games for NAU.
Through five games, NAU is second in the conference in passing offense at 251.2 per game. They are also second in rushing defense, allowing 117.4 yards per game and third in sacks with 14.
The Lumberjacks are coached by Chris Ball who is in his fifth season as head coach at NAU. He has a career record of 16-28 at NAU and is 12-19 in Big Sky play.
Series history
This will be the 56th all-time meeting between the two rivals and the second game since the Red Rock Rivalry trophy was created prior to last season. Weber State holds a 28-27 all-time series lead and the Wildcats have won the last three games, including a 33-31 road win last November.
In games in Ogden, Weber State is 19-8 all-time and has won the last two meetings. The last game at Stewart Stadium against NAU was in March of 2021, a 28-23 Weber State win that ended with a 50-yard Hail Mary touchdown.
Up next
After Saturday the Wildcats will be back home for another game at Stewart Stadium hosting UC Davis on October 14 at 6 p.m. in the annual Homecoming game at Weber State University.
WSU then hits the road for two-straight playing at Eastern Washington on October 21 and at Idaho State on November 4.
Players Mentioned
