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FLAGSTAFF, ARIZ. -- Weber State University capitalized on opportunities late in the game Saturday, scoring a touchdown in the final minute of play to defeat the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks 27-26.
WSU quarterback Cameron Higgins entered the game tied for the Big Sky Conference all-time touchdown passes record. His opportunity to set the record came early, on WSU's first offensive possession.
On the first Wildcat offensive play, Higgins found WSU receiver Joe Collins for a 64-yard touchdown pass. Higgins, who now has 97 touchdown passes, surpassed former WSU quarterback Jamie Martin's record of 96.
"He's a good guy," Collins said of Higgins. "He's so humble. He didn't even celebrate about it. It wasn't really on his mind. He just wanted to win the game."
At halftime, WSU trailed NAU 10-20
In the third quarter, Higgins was forced to leave the game after aggravating a knee injury sustained in last week's game against the University of Northern Colorado. Backup quarterback Mike Hoke took the reins of the offense, and composed a second-half comeback for the Wildcats.
"(Hoke) came in and kept his composure," Collins said, "and that's what we needed from him. We needed him to step up and make plays for us. We needed him to lead our team, and he proved that he could do it. That was a big step for him."
Hoke opened the fourth quarter with an 80-yard touchdown pass to bring the Wildcats to within six points of NAU. Trailing 20-26, WSU held the Lumberjacks scoreless through the entire quarter. With just more than a minute left on the game clock, the Wildcats made their way into the red zone. WSU running back Vai Tafuna scored a touchdown on a two-yard run to tie the game at 26 with 38 seconds remaining. WSU kicker Shaun McClain scored the extra-point, and the Wildcats took a one-point lead.
NAU took control of the ball, and the Wildcat defense went to work keeping the Lumberjacks out of field goal range.
"Basically, what we were trying to do was keep them out of field goal position," said WSU cornerback Jordan Brown. "Their kicker can usually kick 50-yard field goals, so we knew we couldn't give them any yards. We just wanted to keep them inbounds, and make sure we were under all the crosses they were going to throw at us."
The defense stopped the Lumberjacks' forward progression, and WSU walked off the field with the one-point victory.
According to Collins, the win kept WSU's FCS playoff hopes alive.
"If we would have lost that," he said, "we would have had no chance at the playoffs. It was a hard, tough win. And we knew it was going to be tough going into it."
Next week, the Wildcats will travel to Lubbock, Texas, to face the Red Raiders of Texas Tech University in the final game of the regular season. WSU will need a strong showing against Texas Tech if it hopes to have a shot at earning an FCS playoff berth.
"We've just got to keep doing the same things we're doing every week," Brown said. "Every week we prepare the same. We've just got to get down what they're doing and what their tendencies are, and just stick with it. They're going to come out doing something different every game, but if we're doing what we need to do, there's always a chance."
Collins agreed, saying the team needs to focus on eliminating mistakes.
"We've just got to have a lot of heart at practice," Collins said. "We need to fix some of the mistakes we had tonight. We can't make mistakes against them, because they're a big team. They capitalize on mistakes, so we've got to play mistake-free to go win it."
