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OGDEN — What looked originally to be a tough defensive battle quickly turned into Weber State running all over the Cal Poly Mustangs for a 41-24 win Saturday.
“I thought that was an outstanding performance,” Weber State head coach Jay Hill said. “That’s a really, really good football team that we just beat. They’re gonna win a lot of games, and I wouldn’t be surprised at the end of the season if they're a playoff team.”
Weber State got the scoring started in the first quarter after Trey Tuttle kicked a 43-yard field goal to put the Wildcats up 3-0. Cal Poly answered back with a 22-yard field goal of their own by Colton Theaker.
The Mustangs made things interesting in the second quarter when quarterback Jalen Hamler rushed for a 47-yard touchdown to put Cal Poly up 10-3. But that's when Weber State stepped up offensively and rattled off some scores.
Rashid Shaeed caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jake Constantine and Josh Davis followed it up with a 22-yard rushing touchdown before the half expired. Kris Jackson continued the rushing attack for the Wildcats on a 3-yard rushing touchdown to open up the third quarter.
“I thought there were gaping holes,” Hill said. “I thought the running backs ran hard. I mean Josh Davis was blasting people. Kevin Smith, you saw him running through tackles. Kris Jackson had two touchdowns rushing tonight, a lot of positives out of that group. I thought coach (Quinton) Ganther did an unbelievable job getting those guys ready to play.”
And though the run game was working for the Wildcats, a fumbled ball in the end zone on a punt attempt by Weber State's Doug Lloyd gave the Mustangs life as Brandon Davis scooped up the ball for an easy Cal Poly score to make it a one-score game.
But the Cal Poly scare would be short lived as the Wilcats scored on back-to-back drives behind an 18-yard rushing touchdown by Josh Davis an a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Kris Jackson to build on the Weber State lead.
.@CoachJayHill after the win!#WeAreWeber#BigSkyFB#PurpleReignpic.twitter.com/nPHfR8WKBu
— Weber State Football 🏈 (@weberstatefb) September 8, 2019
Tuttle found the back of the net with as with just over a minute to play in regulation to give the Wildcats their final score of the night.
The Mustangs would score only one other time on the night, a 50-yard rushing touchdown with 6 minutes left to play by Lepi Lataimua. But the damage was already done and the Wildcats were on top.
“There’s obviously plenty to clean up,” Hill said. “The punt in the end zone was disappointing, especially when we have an opportunity to kind of put the game away, and at that point, we let them back in it and the late run they got was a little disappointing because we had thrown in some backups.”
The Wildcats finished the night with 457 total yards of offense, 275 of those came in the run game that desperately needed to get going after their performance last week.
Both sophomore Josh Davis and junior Kevin Smith finished the night with over 100 yards rushing, and Davis had two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Kris Jackson finished the night with 21 yards and two touchdowns.
Smith credited the win to the offensive line and the preparation they had earlier in the week following the progam's loss to San Diego State where they only totaled 49 yards rushing.
“I just seen them a lot more explosive,” Smith said. “They knew what we were going into, I seen the preparation of this week a lot better. Jitters are out, we’re in season, after that first game they just knew. They prepared so well, I just feel like it’s gonna be like this for the rest of the season.”
Constantine left the game in the fourth quarter with what looked to be a knee injury, but coaches said they didn't think it eas anything serious.
The Wildcats return to action on Sept. 14 as they travel to Reno to take on Nevada at 5 p.m.
“We’re super excited," Tesch said. “Coach Hill already mentioned it while we were in the locker room. All eyes on them, the pressure is really on them. We got a good win tonight, we’re rolling into next week. We’re gonna focus on that and take it to them.” Carra McManamon is a native of Washington State and is attending the University of Utah. Contact her at cmcmanamon@deseretdigital.com or follow her on Twitter: @curramac22
