Winning gives Weber confidence to push forward


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OGDEN, Utah—Weber State football opened the season with nine consecutive losses, yet the Wildcats never gave up. The team focused on practice and was within a score of the opposition in five consecutive games.

Still, winning eluded the team until Nov. 8, when the Wildcats beat North Dakota, 24-13. Nov. 15 is the final home game for the Wildcats, as they host Northern Colorado.

Some coaches have said a team’s level of preparation is congruent with their level of confidence. Weber State coach Jay Hill agrees, and he credited the win to the level of preparation the Wildcats had going into the game.

“For the first time, I thought Monday through Saturday was the way we needed it," Hill said. “I thought the focus to attention was good. I thought the practices were great last week. I could tell from film study that they were much more ready to go, from their individual film study.”

The feeling of victory meant a lot to the team’s confidence. Cornerback Deontae Florence, who had an interception in the game, said the locker room scene after the game was exciting.


"Coming off the win, you could see it in guys' eyes that they're happy to actually be here," said Weber State cornerback Deontae Florence.

“It was crazy, and that’s how it’s supposed to be,” he said. “We had fun on the plane ride; we were all smiling and being happy. It’s not fun losing, but the locker room and the plane ride was definitely a time we’ll remember.”

Quarterback Jadrian Clark said the victory has given the team something to build on.

“I think it gives us momentum going into Northern Colorado,” he said. “We’ve been through the adversity, and we fought hard all the way through. We’re going to continue to keep fighting and preparing.”

Part of the team’s confidence has come from the new dual-threat at quarterback. Billy Green started much of the season, but it was Clark who led the Wildcats to their first win at North Dakota.

Hill said Clark expands the offense’s capability.

“He’s given us the component in the run game where they’ve got to honor him in the run,” Hill said. “Coming up with defenses to stop the tailbacks and the quarterbacks is hard, so that’s what he's done. Last week, he threw good, so if he’s throwing it good and running it good, we’re hard to stop on offense.”

The increased offensive options have made the Wildcats harder to prepare for offensively, but the feeling of victory has also added a hunger for more.

Florence said the positive feelings after the win make it easier to prepare.

“Coming off the win, you could see it in guys’ eyes that they’re happy to actually be here,” he said. “Honestly, with this team and this staff, we’ve been preparing to win every week, regardless. We just got the feeling of winning, but we’ve been preparing all along.”

Northern Colorado enters the game with a 3-6 record; one of those wins came against conference-leading Northern Arizona.

With that in mind, Florence said the team is focused on keeping its guard up against the Bears.

“We’re not trying to settle,” he said. “We didn’t expect to be in this situation where we’re 1-9; we thought we would be more successful. A lot of guys believe in this staff, and we thought we’d be more successful, so we come in preparing to win regardless.”

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Jon Oglesby

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