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OGDEN — As the weeks have gone on, Weber State’s offense hasn’t gotten better. Instead, it has gotten worse.
The Wildcats scored 50 points in week one, and have scored 22 points in the four week since. Weber State ‘s only score in its Big Sky Conference opener against Sacramento State was courtesy of a field goal in a 31-3 loss for its homecoming Saturday in Ogden.
Now, there has been some progress, and the Wildcats did rack up 143 rushing yards against the Hornets’ defense.
However, if it isn’t one thing for the Wildcats, it’s another as Weber lost four fumbles, including one in the red zone.
This week’s struggles also continued the trend of good practices leading to poor game-day performances.
“We had a great week of practice, but that doesn’t guarantee anything,” Weber State coach Jody Sears said. “We’ve got to have the mental fortitude, the mental leadership and the mental toughness to carry over from practice to game situations. It’s hard to win a college football game.”
Sears said the continuing mistakes, including the turnovers, need to be corrected by the coaching staff.
“As coaches, we’ve got to take the responsibility of making sure these kids are taking care of the ball and we’re putting the kids in situations where they can execute,” Sears said.
Again, the Wildcats played two different quarterbacks, but freshman Austin Chipoletti played the majority of the game and completed 10 passes for 87 yards.
Chipoletti said his team needs to focus more on details if it is to be successful.
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“We’ve got to come out and focus and finish the little things,” he said. “Coaches are making great calls, and we’re just not finishing through.”
As far as the two quarterback system, Chipoletti said his focus is on the team winning games.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes to win, whether that’s me playing, Jordan [Adamczyk] playing or Jadrian Clark playing,” the freshman quarterback said. “I got the start, I fumbled the ball, and when you make mistakes, you’ve got to expect consequences.”
He also said playing both quarterbacks doesn’t bother him.
“I’m fine with it,” Chipoletti said. “As long as we’re putting ourselves in the position to win, I’m 100 percent fine with it.”
Sears specifically noted Chipoletti’s youth in his analysis of his starter.
“He’s a freshman,” Sears said, with a chuckle. “He did some good things, but we’ve got to go back and as coaches, we have to simplify things and put him in positions to make plays.”
Overall, Sears said the turnovers will negate the positives the team registered.
“We’ve got to take the responsibility of the ball getting on the ground,” he said. “We’ve got to play good football, and if we’re asking too much of them and we need to spend more time on ball security, then obviously we need to do that.”
However, the coach said the team still appears to be positive as it prepares for a road contest against Eastern Washington on Saturday.
“The guys in the locker room were good,” Sears said. “The defense was good; offensively there was some good talk in there. There were a lot of positive things we’re going to see on that film tomorrow.”
