Wildcats win 42-41 thriller at McNeese for first victory

LAKE CHARLES, La. - Weber State took a 21-point lead, then held off a McNeese rally for a thrilling 42-41 win over the Cowboys Saturday night at Navarre Stadium. It was WSU's first win of the season and the last of three straight road games to start the year.

The two teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of offense, with McNeese totaling 537 yards and Weber State posting 447. The 'Cats had 218 yards passing and 229 yards rushing.

The 'Cats scored in the first quarter for the first time this season when Jackson Gilkey found Jayleen Record for a 78-yard completion to put the 'Cats up 7-0.

Early in the second quarter, Gilkey did it again with a 50-yard touchdown run that made it 14-0.

Less than two minutes later, McNeese got on the board with a 68-yard touchdown run.

On a fourth down with 21 seconds left in the first half, Weber State ran a fake field goal attempt, and Sloan Calder ran for a 10-yard touchdown run, and the Wildcats lead 21-7 at halftime.

The Cowboys scored early in the third quarter on a 57-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 21-14, but the 'Cats responded with a two-yard run by Davion Godley to make it 28-14.

McNeese scored with 2:21 to play in the third quarter to cut the lead to 28-21.

The 'Cats opened the fourth quarter with a 12-yard touchdown by Godley, then on the next series, BJ Carey intercepted a McNeese pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown, and Weber State led 42-21 with 9:45 to play.

But that's when McNeese scored 20 straight points.

Less than a minute after the WSU interception return, McNeese scored on a 79-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 42-28, then after an interception, the Cowboys drove down and scored a 3-yard touchdown on fourth down to make it 42-35 with 4:56 remaining.

The Cowboys scored on a 19-yard touchdown run with 42 seconds left to make it 42-41. McNeese went for a two-point conversion and the win when Matt Herron blocked a pass that sealed a Wildcat win.

Gilkey threw for 218 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 114 yards and another touchdown. He's the first Wildcat quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards in a game in eight seasons.

Godley had 22 carries for 59 yards and the two touchdowns, while Zach Hrbacekk had eight carries for 38 yards.

Noah Bennee had three catches for 32 yards, while freshman Kelton Wafer had two receptions for 53 yards, and Noah Kjar had two catches for 34 yards.

On defense, Mayson Hitchens and Ishaan Daniels each had six tackles. WSU had six tackles for loss and four pass breakups. Carey and Angel King each had an interception.

After starting the season with three straight games on the road, the Wildcats will finally play a home game next Saturday. WSU will host Butler in the home opener on Saturday night.

Kickoff has been changed to 7 p.m. for the lighting of the "W" on the mountain behind Stewart Stadium at halftime.

Wildcats win 42-41 thriller at McNeese for first victory

Players Mentioned

Noah Bennee

Sloan Calder

BJ Carey

Ishaan Daniels

Jackson Gilkey

Davion Godley

Matt Herron

Mayson Hitchens

Zach Hrbacek

Angel King

Noah Kjar

Jayleen Record

Kelton Wafer