Weber State struggled early on without its leader, falling two straight times to begin a season foreshadowed with heightened expectations. Since the 0-2 start however, the Wildcats are suddenly surging, winning three straight nail biters to enter the third Saturday of October with a 2-0 record in Big Sky Conference play, one of just three members of the 13-team league without a conference loss this season.
Junior linebacker Emmett Tela, a two-time All-Big Sky selection who is the leader of Weber State’s defense, has been on the shelf with a knee injury since fall camp. In Weber State’s 45-6 loss to FBS Utah State, WSU gave up 428 rushing yards and another 310 to South Dakota. Against USD, the Wildcats built a 21-0 first quarter lead as sophomore Landon Stice, Tela’s replacement, took an interception 64 yards for a touchdown and Cardon Malan returned a fumble for a score.
WSU linebacker Tre’Von Johnson
Weber’s lead swelled to 42-21 on Cory Thompson’s 1-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter before the Coyotes came storming back. Chris Streveler threw three touchdown passes in the foruth quarter to help USD push the game in Vermillion, South Dakota into overtime. The teams traded touchdowns in the first extra period before the hosts got a stop, then kicked a field goal in a 52-49 win that dropped Weber to 0-2.
Since then, Stice has found his footing, Weber’s defense has shown better efficiency in its alignment and the Wildcat offense has done enough to win as WSU has strung together three straight wins for the first time under third-year head coach Jay Hill.
Weber State held Sacramento State to 270 yards of offense and used a 10-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Jadrian Clark to cap a 12-play, 87-yard game-winning drive with 1:42 to play in a 14-7 non-conference triumph against a Big Sky opponent.
Weber built a 32-10 lead at UC Davis midway through the third quarter only to see the Aggies go on a 25-3 run to push the action to the brink. Ben Scott hit Luke Williams for a 14-yard touchdown with 1;35 left to tie the game at 35, then Davis earned a stop. But Isiah Olave muffed the ensuing punt, Weber recovered on the UCD 23 and three plays later, true freshman Taylor Hintze kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired for a 38-35 win.
by Brooks Nuanez
After taking its bye week the second week of conference play, Weber hosted Portland State in Ogden on Saturday. The Vikings were fresh off a 45-20 win over Idaho State in which they rushed for 531 yards and did not complete a pass. The Wildcat defense proved to be stout however, stuffing PSU to 136 yards on 42 carries, or 3.2 yards per carry. Portland State managed just two runs of more than 10 yards. Clark’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Vollert with 8:44 to play proved to be the difference in Weber’s 14-10 win.
Eastern Washington and North Dakota are both 3-0 in league play, the only other two schools without a Big Sky loss this season.
Weber State hosts Montana State (0-3, 2-4) on Saturday afternoon.
QUICK HITS
Location: Ogden, Utah
Nickname: Wildcats
Founded: 1889. The university was founded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became an accredited college in 1962.
Stadium: Stewart Stadium. Opened in 1966, the 17,312-seat stadium sits at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. The Wildcats are averaging 9,982 fans in two home games this season.
THE TEAM
The Coach: Jay Hill, third season at Weber State. In his first year as a head coach, the former Utah player and assistant coach kept Weber competitive but the wins were elusive. Hill posted a 2-10 mark in 2014, the third straight year Weber has managed just two victories. Last season, Weber was one of the league’s most improved teams, positing a 6-5 record that included five Big Sky victories. Weber enters Saturday’s game against MSU with a 3-2 record, including 2-0 in league play.
THE OFFENSE
Jadrian Clark, quarterback, 6-3, 225, senior — Clark earned his first significant action when he came off the bench and led Weber State to two scores in WSU’s 23-13 loss to Montana State in Bozeman in 2014. He has not relinquished the starting role since.
The athletic, competitive gunslinger can be inconsistent at times. But he has one of the strongest arms in the league and this season, he has come up in the clutch, from his game-winning touchdown run against Sac State to his long run to set up a field goal against Davis to his go-ahead scoring strike last week.
This season, Clark has thrown for 1,061 yards (212.2 yards per game) and six touchdowns. He has completed 60.1 percent of his passes but has been picked off seven times. He is second on the team with 204 yards rushing, is averaging 4.9 yards per rush and has two of Weber’s seven rushing touchdowns.
Treshawn Garrett, running back, 5-11, 200, sophomore — Garrett and junior Eric Wilkes, who has missed most of the first half of the season with an injury, split carries and starts last season as Weber ran the ball with as much dedication to the ground game as anyone in the league in 2015.
As a true freshman, Garrett rushed for 562 yards and five touchdowns. He rushed for 152 yards against UC Davis, the most by a Wildcat freshman in six years and went over 100 yards against Sacramento State.
With Wilkes out, Garrett has been WSU’s feature back. He rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown against Utah State, went for 141 yards and a score against South Dakota and rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown against Davis. He was limited to 31 yards on nine carries last week but Emmanuel Pooler picked up the slack with 75 yards and a score. This season, Garrett has 423 yards and three touchdowns.
Andrew Vollert, tight end, 6-5, 245, junior — The former two-sport athlete at San Jose State — he also played basketball for the Trojans in 2014-2015 — was SJSU’s starting tight end as a freshman in 2014. He caught 22 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown that fall.
He spent last season at San Francisco City College, catching 23 balls for 231 yards and three scores. This season, Vollert has become one of the Big Sky’s most productive tight ends. He is averaging almost 70 yards per game, one of the top 10 marks in the league. His 21 catches are the second-most on the WSU roster behind senior Cam Livingston and his 318 yards are almost 100 more than any other Wildcat. Vollert has caught three of Weber’s seven passing touchdowns.
Cameron Young, offensive guard, 6-3, 315, senior — The four-year starter is working on a streak of 40 straight starts and counting entering Saturday’s showdown with MSU.
The mammoth from Texas earned second-team All-Big Sky honors last fall and was named to the preseason All-Big Sky team. He is a key cog in a WSU run game averaging 161 yards per game and a line that has given up seven sacks in five games.
THE DEFENSE
Tre’von Johnson, outside linebacker, 6-1, 235, senior — Montana State head coach Jeff Choate said on Monday that Johnson is the best player in the Big Sky Conference that he has seen on film yet this season. By his disruptive performance thus far this season, Choate might be right.
The converted safety spills the run as well as any player in the league and his ability to set the edge is noticeable. He was a second-team All-Big Sky selection last fall and he is well on his way to more all-league accolades this season. He has 47 tackles, second on the team, and his 5.5 tackles for loss lead the Wildcats. He also has a team-high 1.5 sacks and he has broken up two passes.
Josh Burton, safety, 5-11, 190, senior — Two years ago, North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman said Burton was the most diverse, athletic safety he’d seen at the FCS level. As Burton reaches the midpoint of his final season, he is starting to put it all together.
The 2014 All-Big Sky performer entered his senior season with four career interceptions. While he still doesn’t have a pick, his 47 tackles are among the best totals in the Big Sky for a safety and his 16-tackle performance against Portland State helped preserve WSU’s third straight win.
Taron Johnson, cornerback, 6-0, 180, junior — Former WSU corner Devontae Johnson took his talents to the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons. If Taron Johnson can keep progressing, many close to the Weber program think he could be the next Jay Hill defensive back to go to the league.
Taron Johnson finished in the top 10 in the league with nine pass breakups and an interception as a true freshman in 2014. Last season, he earned All-Big Sky honors by setting a Weber State record with 12 pass breakups, the third-most in the league. One of the best man-to-man corners in the league, Johnson entered his junior year with three career interceptions.
This season he has 22 tackles, including 14 solos and two tackles for loss. He has broken up seven passes already, the most in the league, as Weber leads the league by allowing 173.8 passing yards per game.
Landon Stice, linebacker, 6-3, 200, sophomore — Stice, who played in 10 games primarily on special teams as a true freshman last season, has been a tackling machine since moving into the starting lineup.
Stice notched nine tackles against Utah State, 16 and an interception he returned for a touchdown against South Dakota, 12 and a tackle for loss against Sac State, five and a forced fumble against Davis, and nine plus a sack against Portland State.
Stice is one of three players in the league averaging more than 10 tackles per game and his four tackles for loss is among the top 20 totals in the Big Sky.
Photos courtesy of Weber State Athletics. All Rights Reserved.
