Big Sky Conference

Weber landslides Griz in first half, cruises to key win

on

Jay Hill harbored no worries about his defense’s ability to handle Montana’s high-powered offense. Weber State proved its fourth-year head coach right with a dominant first-half performance to bury the Grizzlies early Saturday in Ogden.

Montana punted after three plays on its first two possessions, the second solidified a sack by sophomore Jonah Williams. Weber State scored 10 points on its first two, including senior Stefan Cantwell’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Tui Satuala to give WSU a 10-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Then Weber State manufactured a barrage of turnovers to avalanche Montana. The Wildcats forced five turnovers, including intercepting Montana quarterback Gresch Jensen three times. WSU forced two turnovers in a short span to turn the 10-0 lead to 24-0, then scored again on a fourth-down plunge for a 31-point advantage just 20 minutes into the game.

All told, Weber State scored on all six of its first half possessions to built a 34-6 halftime lead before cruising in the second half to a 41-27 victory.

Montana running back Jeremy Calhoun is tackled by Weber State’s defense/ WSU athletics

Everything that could go wrong did for Montana in the first half. The Wildcats scored on all six of their first-half possessions to stake out to a 34-6 halftime lead.

“Unbelievable first half. I thought we played very well in all phases of the game,” said Hill, who became the first coach in Big Sky Conference history to defeat Montana in his first two games against the Griz. “I don’t know if we got into conservative mode in the second half, but bottom line, you’ve got to win the game, and we did. It’s a great team win.”

Senior Xequille Harry’s leaping tip to himself led to an interception in his own end-zone before he raced to a 64-yard return, the fifth-longest in WSU history. Drew Batchelor caught a touchdown shortly after to give Weber a 17-0 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Cameron Hansen smacked Kobey Eaton, forcing a fumble recovered by Alema Key. On the very next play, WSU executed a tight end pass as senior Andrew Vollert threw a touchdown to Cantwell to give WSU a 24-0 lead two minutes into the second quarter.

By the time the first half was over, Montana seniors Korey Alexander and Tucker Schye had been ejected from the game for targeting penalties.

“We dealt with, possibly, the worst first half of football we could ever possibly experience,” Montana head coach Bob Stitt said.

The 22-ranked Wildcats improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in Big Sky play. No. 24 Montana dropped to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in conference action and will likely drop out of the FCS Top 25 this week.

Montana quarterback Gresch Jensen and head coach Bob Stitt, pictured here last week in Missoula

Montana put up 503 yards of total offense, 316 after halftime marking the the most WSU has allowed this season as Jensen threw for 347 of UM’s 395 passing yards. After halftime, Weber forced two more turnovers, including Jordan Preator’s second interception, a pick he returned 23 yards for a touchdown and WSU’s last score. Weber’s defense also notched five total sacks, including one by All-Big Sky cornerback Taron Johnson. Williams, Adam Rodriguez, Cardon Malan and Jared Schiess also had sacks for the Wildcats.

Offensively, Weber totaled 298 yards but took advantage of good field position all afternoon. Cantwell finished 17-of-31 for 197 yards and two touchdowns. Batchelor finished with seven catches for 53 yards while Vollert had two catches for 56, including a 32-yard catch that set up Satuala’s touchdown.

Montana got on the board on Jensen’s one-yard run four plays after Keenan Curran’s 55-yard catch, UM’s longest gain of the first half. A 12-yard touchdown pass from Jensen to Justin Calhoun marked the only score of the third quarter by either team. Samori Toure’s 81-yard with 12 minutes to play cut the Weber lead to 34-20.

Preator’s pick-six thwarted any idea of a Griz comeback.

Montana out-gained Weber State 316-63 in the second half, allowing just 1.9 yards per play despite missing three starting defenders — senior safety Justin Strong is suspended for two games after an altercation during UM’s bye week last week.

Weber State’s seven scoring drives, all but one started in Montana territory. The Wildcats needed an average of just 36.9 yards per scoring drive.

Montana running back Jeremy Calhoun is tackled by Weber State’s defense/ WSU athletics

“Our special teams really hurt us today,” Stitt said. “We couldn’t flip the field and we had a fumble on a kickoff return. “Still, everyone stuck together and fought together, and we had so many situations that, a thing here or there goes different and we’re in great shape.”

Griz linebackers Connor Strahm and James Banks led all players with 10 tackles apiece, while Josh Buss had nine, including 4.0 tackles for loss.

Jensen finished 21-of-42 for 347 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions before going down late with an undisclosed injury. Junior Caleb Hill got his first extended action of the season, completing 2-of-6 passes for 48 yards. Jensen’s status is unknown as UM prepares to host Big Sky leading Northern Arizona on Saturday. Weber plays at reigning Big Sky champion Eastern Washington next week.

“I’m disappointed, I hurt for our team, because they deserve better on the scoreboard, but I’m proud of them,” Stitt said. “I love what this team is all about. These guys stick together and keep fighting.”

 

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

Recommended for you