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Game #8
Weber State vs. @University of Montana
Saturday, October 31, 2009 - 1:05 p.m.
Washington-Grizzly Stadium
Missoula, Montana
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA "Grizzlies"
HEAD COACH
Montana's BOBBY HAUCK is in his 7th season as head coach of the Grizzlies. ... Coming into Saturday's game, Hauck is 73-16 (.820) overall at the helm and 43-6 (.878) in Big Sky Conference games. ... Hauck is 6-1 vs. the Wildcats. ... All seven of his teams have either won or shared the Big Sky Conference regular season title, and all seven have advanced to the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs. Last year his squad finished with a 14-2 record, losing to Richmond in the FCS national championship game.
SERIES HISTORY
Montana, along with Idaho State, is Weber State's OLDEST CONTINUAL football rival. The teams first met in 1962 with the Grizzlies winning 25-6 in Missoula. That was WSU's first year as a four-year school. .. In 1963, both schools became charter members of the Big Sky Conference. ... Montana has dominated the series. The Grizzlies are 36-12-0 against the Wildcats and have won 16 of the last 19 meetings. ... The Wildcats are 7-19-0 overall when playing the Grizzlies in Missoula, and are 1-11 vs. Montana in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. ... Weber State's last win in Missoula, and only win in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, came back in 1987, 29-26. ... There has only been one SHUTOUT in the series. That was by Montana (10-0) back in 1973 in Ogden. ... The two teams have never played in an OVERTIME game. ... WSU's 45-28 win over the Grizzlies last year in Ogden snapped a nine-game losing streak. ... Montana gained revenge, however, with a 24-13 win over the Wildcats in the quarterfinals of the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS playoffs in Missoula.
LAST YEAR IN OGDEN - Oct. 4, 2008
Down 14-3 at the end of the 1st quarter, the Wildcats exploded for 28 2nd quarter points and went on to defeat the #3 ranked Montana Grizzlies, 45-28 before 3,753 on a windy, rainy afternoon in Stewart Stadium. ... Montana got on the board first on a 10-yd run by CHASE REYNOLDS with 8:47 left in the 1st quarter. ... WSU got a 42-yd field goal from JON WILLIAMS on the following series making it 7-3. ... WSU got a fumble recovery on the next UoM series and drove to the Grizzly 23-yard line. On first down, CAMERON HIGGINS was picked off in the end zone by SHANN SCHILLINGER for a touchback. ... Six plays later, COLE BERGQUIST completed a 75-yd TD pass to TYLER PALMER giving the Griz a 14-3 lead. ... The Wildcats scored the first of their four 2nd quarter touchdowns with 12:02 left on a 27-yd pass from HIGGINS to MIKE PHILLIPS. ... Montana answered that scored going 52 yards in six plays with BERGQUIST scoring on a 7-yd run making it 21-10. ... On the ensuing kickoff, BRYANT ETEUATI returned it 53 yards to the Montana 30 and on the first play from scrimmage, HIGGINS dumped a pass to TREVYN SMITH who went 30 yards for the score. ... On UoM's next series, BERGQUIST was picked off by TERRELL CLOUD at midfield and he returned it to the UoM 23. After a 23-yd pass from HIGGINS to CODY NAKAMURA, back up quarterback BRENDON DOYLE came in the game scored on a 20-yd run giving the Wildcats a 24-21 lead. ... WSU's defense forced and three-and-out and the Wildcats took over marching 73 yards in 13 plays and consuming 5:04 on the clock. It was culminated with an 8-yd pass from HIGGINS to PHILLPS with 15 seconds left making it 31-21 at half. ... Neither team scored in the 3rd quarter, but the Wildcats got a big break just eight seconds into the 4th quarter when CHASE REYNOLDS was tackled for a 10-yd loss, fumbled, and SCOTTY GOODLOE returned it to the UoM five where TREVYN SMITH scored on 2nd-and-goal making it 38-21. ... Montana answered with a 77-yd, 12 play drive with BERGQUIST finding MIKE FERRITER on a 4-yd pass. ... The Wildcats came back and took just three plays to go 52 yards with HIGGINS findi ng ETEUATI on a 28-yd TD strike to finish the day's scoring. ... SMITH had 22 carries for 158 yards and 4 catches for 54 yards. HIGGINS was 21-30-1 for 237 yards while COLE BERGQUIST was 14-26-2 for 273 yards. TYLER PALMER had 4 catches for 115 yards.
LAST TIME IN MISSOULA - Dec. 6, 2008
The two co-champions of the 2008 Big Sky Conference met in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs. ... Montana scored twice in the first quarter following Weber State turnovers and CHASE REYNOLDS rushed 33 times for 185 yards and two touchdowns as the Grizzlies avenged the 45-28 regular season loss to WSU with a 24-13 win before 21,583 on a partly cloudy, 36 degree afternoon in Missoula. ... The Wildcats got the opening kickoff and drove to the Montana 35 where on 2nd-and-seven CAMERON HIGGINS was sacked for minus seven yards, fumbled, and ROGER METTLER recovered. Montana then went 55 yards in seven plays with COLE BERGQUIST scrambling out of the pocket and going 35-yds for the touchdown. ... The ‘Cats got the ball back and again drove into Montana territory at the UoM 30. On 3rd-and-six, HIGGINS completed a pass to CODY NAKAMURA for 5-yds but RYAN FETHERSTON forced a fumble which was recovered by SHANN SCHILLINGER. ... The Grizzlies then marched 76 yards in 10 plays with REYNOLDS scoring from one-yard out. ... WSU scored its only touchdown of the game on a 2-yd run by TREVYN SMITH at the 9:24 mark. It was set up when SMITH caught a swing pass and went 63 yards to the Montana 16. ... Both team's got 3rd quarter field goals. Montana's BRODY McKNIGHT hit on a 38-yarder with 8:30 left and WSU's JON WILLIAMS kicked a 32-yarder with 45 seconds left after the ‘Cats had driven to the UoM five-yard line. ... Montana sealed the victory on its next possession, going 75 yards in 10 plays and consuming 5:04 on the clock with REYNOLDS scoring on a 12-yd RUN. ... The Wildcats' last drive stalled at the UoM 45 when HIGGINS threw a 14-yd pass to ETEUATI on a 4th-and-18 situation. The Grizzlies took over and ran out the clock. ... TREVYN SMITH had 19 carries for 104 yards and one TD and had 7 catches for 129 yards. ... UoM's defense held CAMERON HIGGINS to just 19-40-1 passing for 270 yards. It was the first time all season HIGGINS was held without a touchdown pass in a game. ... The Grizzlies, who had four turnovers vs. WSU in the 45-28 loss in Ogden, did not have single turnover in the playoff game.
SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
Montana comes into Saturday's game ranked SECOND in both The Sports Network and The FCS Coaches polls this week. They are 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Big Sky Conference play. ... Since losing to the Wildcats, 45-28, on Oct. 4, 2008, the Grizzlies have won 17 of their last 18 games. The lone loss was a 24-7 setback to the University of Richmond in the 2008 FCS Championship game. ... The Grizzlies are ranked first in the Big Sky this season in Scoring Offense (38.0), Rushing Offense (160.9), Punt Return Average (23.7), PAT Kicking (34-34), Sacks Allowed (1.29), Opponents' 1st Downs (20.5 pg), 3rd Down Conversions (49-101 .485), and Red Zone Offense (29-33 .879). ... Individually, CHASE REYNOLDS (6-0, 195 Jr. RB), leads the Big sky in Scoring with 13 touchdowns (78 pts.) and is 5th in Rushing at 83.0 ypg. ... MARK MARIANI (6-0, 185 Sr. WR) has 29 catches for 578 yards and six touchdowns, but is a huge Punt Return threat where he is the NCAA Division I FCS NATIONAL LEADER with nine returns for 247 yards (27.4 ypr) and one touchdown. ... Their offensive line is HUGE, averaging 6-6, 304 per man. ... Defensively, SHAWN LEBSOCK (6-0, 225 Sr. MLB) is averaging 7.4 tackles per game and ranks 9th in the Big Sky.
WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY "Wildcats"
COACH RON McBRIDE
Weber State head coach RON McBRIDE enters into his 5th season as head coach of the Wildcats and his 18th overall as a head coach on the NCAA Division I level. ... McBride is now 30-25 (.545) at WSU and 118-88 (.572) overall. ... Mac is 23-15 (.605) in Big Sky Conference regular season games and is 1-4 vs. Montana and 0-3 vs. UoM in Missoula. ... In 2008 McBride was named the Big Sky Conference Coach-of-the-Year after leading the Wildcats to a 10-4 record overall and a 7-1 mark and the conference co-championship in Big Sky Conference play. It marked the first time since 1968 that the Wildcats had captured the Big Sky Conference championship. ... McBride guided his Wildcats to a 45-28 win over #2 ranked Montana during the regular season and a stunning 49-35 road win over #3 ranked Cal Poly in the first round of the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs. Twelve of McBride's athletes earned First Team All-Big Sky Conference, the most by any team in a single season in the 47-year history of the league. Twenty Wildcats earned some type of all-conference honor in 2008. ... Ten Wildcats earned Second or Third Team All-America honors either by The Associated Press or The Sports Network.
TRAVEL PLANS
Team and travel party are set to leave Ogden, Utah on Thursday, October 29th at 5:00 p.m. by charter buses. ... Team will leave immediately after the game and bus back to Ogden on Saturday, October 31.
RADIO / TV
Back for his 11th season as the football radio voice of Weber State football is Wildcat CARL ARKY. He will be joined in the broadcast booth by former WSU standout defensive back TY SPARROW. ... Once again, all Weber State football games will be carried LIVE on KLO (1430 AM) with the Pre-Game Show beginning 30 minutes for each kickoff. ... New this year is the NCAA Division I FCS Round Up Show which airs 30 minutes before each Pre-Game Show. Saturday's game will be carried LIVE on KJZZ-TV Channel 14 in Salt Lake City, Utah. KJZZ is picking up the game feed from KPAX-TV in Missoula, Montana
WEEKLY POLLS - ‘CATS MAKE A MOVE UP
There will be TWO major weekly top 25 polls for NCAA Division I FCS this season. ... THE SPORTS NETWORK poll is voted upon by sports information directors from all 125 FCS schools plus members of the media who cover those schools. ... THE FCS COACHES poll is just that. Coaches from various FCS schools representing each conference and independents vote each week. Both polls are released each Monday afternoon. ... The Wildcats moved up in both polls after it's 28-20 road win at Northern Colorado. They are 13th in the FCS Coaches poll and 14th in The Sports Network poll. ... WSU's last three opponents of the 2009 season are each ranked in this week's top 25. ... Montana is 2nd in both polls; Northern Arizona is 21st in The Sports Network and 22nd in the FCS Coaches poll; Cal Poly is 16th in the Coaches poll and 18th in The Sports Network poll.
48th SEASON OF WEBER STATE FOOTBALL
This is the 48th season of Weber State University on the four-year level, and the 47th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. ... Weber State attained four-year status in 1962 and played as an NCAA Division II member until 1978 when, along with the rest of the Big Sky Conference, moved up to the newly created NCAA I-AA (now FCS) level. ... Weber State's all-time football record stands at 249-262-3 (.484) coming into this week's game vs. Montana. The Wildcats are seeking THEIR 250TH VICTORY in school history this week. ... In BIG SKY CONFERENCE regular season games, the ‘Cats are 142-167-2 (.457).
TEAM CAPTAINS
The 2009 DEFENSIVE CAPTAINS will be: Brighton Barkdull (6-3, 250 Sr. DE), Beau Hadley (6-0, 185 Sr. Safety), Kevin Linehan (6-3, 245 Sr. DE), Josh Morris (6-0, 190 Sr. CB) and Taylor Sedillo (5-11, 235 Jr. MLB). .. The OFFENSIVE CAPTAINS will be: Cameron Higgins (6-2, 210 Jr. QB), Kyle Mutcher (6-3, 300 Sr. OC), Treyvn Smith (5-9, 210 Sr. RB) and Tim Toone (5-10, 175 Sr. WR). ... The SPECIAL TEAMS captain will be Mike Snoy (6-2, 180 Sr. Punter).
THYRELL LEWIS NAMED BIG SKY DEFENSIVE P O W
Weber State cornerback THYRELL LEWIS (5-9, 175 Sr.) has been named the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The senior from Hawthorne, California had five tackles, two pass break ups and a game clinching interception late in the 4th quarter to thwart a potential game-tying drive by Northern Colorado. ... Lewis leads the Big Sky Conference this season in Passes Defended with eight break ups and two interceptions for a total of 10 or 1.43 per game. ... Lewis is tied for 8th on the Weber State career Pass Break Ups list with 16.
BOLEN THEM OVER
Weber State running back BO BOLEN (5-9, 200 RsFr.) made the most of his first opportunity as the starting running back for the Wildcats. ... It was announced on Friday night that starting RB TREVYN SMITH would be suspended for the 1st half of the Northern Colorado game for violation of team rules. Bolen was called to step and carry the burden, and carry he did. ... Playing in front of family, friends and against former high school teammates, the Aurora, Colorado native carried 37 times for 207 yards and scored one touchdown. ... Bolen had 20 carries for 105 yards in the first half, so the coaching staff decided to keep him the line up and Smith did not see any action. ... Bolen also had three catches for 43 yards and three kickoff returns for 45 yards giving him 295 All-Purpose Yards, the 6th most in a single game in WSU football history.
A BIT OUT OF TOONE
Weber State wide receiver TIM TOONE (5-10, 175 Sr.) was pretty much held in check by the Northern Colorado defense which had two players around him for most of the afternoon. Toone had just three catches for 64 yards with a long reception of 39. ... Toone came into the game ranked 2nd in Division I FCS and the Big Sky in Punt Return Average at 22.7, but the Bears clamped down and held him to just two returns for a minus three yards. ... Toone now has 176 career receptions for 3,216 yards and 26 touchdowns. He is WSU's career leader in Receiving Yards and needs just two more catches to move past Peter Macon (177) in to 2nd place on the WSU Career Receptions chart. Toone is 31 catches away from passing Trevor Shaw (206) as WSU's all-time leader. That would require just over 10 catches per game in WSU's last three regular season games and would most likely need one or two playoff games to achieve that goal. ... He is WSU's career leader in TD Receptions with 26.
TOONE's career Yard Per Reception mark of 18.27 per catch is nearly two yards better than anyone on the 3,000 yard list. ... He now ranks 7th on the WSU Career Punt Return list with 35 returns for 475 yards and two touchdowns.
BEAU KNOWS TACKLES
WSU strong safety BEAU HADLEY (6-0, 195 Sr.) now has 201 career tackles to his credit with 105 of them the UNASSISTED variety. ... Hadley has 15 career pass break ups, tied for 9th on the WSU career list. ... His EIGHT career FORCED FUMBLES ranks 2nd all-time by a WSU player, just one behind the nine by All-America defensive end Brady Fosmark. .. He also has three career fumble recoveries and seven career interceptions.
SNOY IS WSU ALL-TIME PUNT LEADER
With four punts for 169 yards (42.2 avg.) last Saturday at Northern Colorado, MIKE SNOY (6-2, 180 Sr.) became WSU's career leader in Number of Punts (202) in a career. ... The senior from nearby Northridge High now has 202 career punts for 8,209 yards (40.63 avg.).
... Another former Northridge High star, Wyatt Kennah, had held both records with 201 punts for 7,971 yards (39.65 avg.)
ROAD WARRIORS
Weber State comes into Saturday's game at Montana with a SEVEN-GAME WIN STREAK ON THE ROAD in Big Sky Conference REGULAR SEASON games. ... The Wildcats were 4-0 in Big Sky play on the road in 2008 and have won their first two in 2009. ... Going back to the 2007 season, the Wildcats have now WON EIGHT of their last 11 ROAD games against NCAA Division I FCS opponents. The three losses came @Montana (18-10, 2007), @Eastern Washington (38-16, 2007) and @Montana (24-13, 2008 in the FCS playoffs).
SPY VS. SPY
Saturday's game has some intriguing match ups on both sides of the ball. ... Montana comes in ranked 1st in the Big Sky in SCORING OFFENSE (38.0), while Weber State is ranked 1st in SCORING DEFENSE allowing 21.0. ... On the flipside, WSU is 3rd in Scoring Offense (31.3) and Montana is 2nd in Scoring Defense (21.1). Weber State ranks 1st in TOTAL OFFENSE (440.8), Montana is 2nd in TOTAL DEFENSE (378.4). ... Again on the flipside, Montana is 3rd in Total Offense (422.4) and Weber State is 3rd in Total Defense (380.9). Montana is the league's top RUSHING team averaging 160.9. WSU is 4th at 133.8. ... Montana is 2nd in RUSHING DEFENSE holding opponents to just 93.4 ygp. while the Wildcats are 4th in allowing 130.2.
IT MAY COME TO PASS
The Wildcats enter Saturday's game at the Big Sky's leader in PASS OFFENSE averaging 307.0 yards per game. ... The Grizzlies rank 8th out of nine teams in the league in PASS DEFENSE yielding an average of 285.0 yards per game. ... However, Montana ranks 2nd in PASSING EFFICIENCY DEFENSE, holding opponent to a rating of 126.0 per game. Weber State is 3rd at 129.3. ... Montana is 2nd in PASSING EFFICIENCY with a team rating of 158.1. ... Weber State is 4th at 144.5.
ONE -TWO, ONE-TWO
The Wildcats rank 1st in PUNTING with an average of 43.1 per kick and 41.3 in NET PUNTING. ... Montana is 2nd in PUNTING (41.1) and in NET PUNTING (39.5). The Grizzlies rank 1st in PUNT RETURNS with an average of 23.7 per return. Weber State is 2nd averaging 18.2 ypr. Weber State is the Big Sky leader in INTERCEPTIONS this season with NINE in eight games. ... Montana ranks 2nd with EIGHT in seven games. Montana leads the Big Sky in 3rd Down Conversions with 49-101 (.485). ... Weber State is 2nd with 61-129 (.473).
IF IT'S A FIELD GOAL, WHO WILL GET IT?
If the game comes down to a field goal on either side, it may present a tense situation. ... Montana is 8th in the Big Sky in FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE this season. The Grizzlies have kicked 6-12 (.500) this season. ... Weber State ranks 9th having made just 7-15 (.467).
CLOCK EATERS
Weber State is the Big Sky leader in TIME OF POSSESSION this season by a full 3:18. ... The Wildcats are averaging 33:18 per game, while Montana is tied with Idaho State for the LEAST average possession time this season at 27:56. ... WSU had the ball for 36:01 last week at Northern Colorado. The ‘Cats had 10:26 of possession time in the 2nd quarter and 10:37 in the 4th quarter.
ODD'S AND END'S
The Wildcats have been out scored 55-39 in the 1st Quarter this season, but HAVE NOT ALLOWED a 1st Quarter point in its last two games. WSU has out scored it's opponents 119-37 in the 2nd Quarter this season. . . . JOE COLLINS (6-3, 185 Sr. WR) had a career high NINE catches in the game at Northern Colorado.
NEXT WEEK
Weber State has a BYE on Saturday, November 7. ... The Wildcats finish the regular season with two home games on Nov. 14 vs. Northern Arizona and Nov. 21 vs. Cal Poly.
COACH RON McBRIDE QUOTES
ON MONTANA: "They are solid in every phase of the game. Number one, they just don't make mistakes and they really take advantage of your mistakes. Two, they have a huge NFL-size offensive line which gives opens a lot of big holes for their running backs and gives grea t protection for their quarterbacks. Third, they know how, and what it takes, to win games. They have what all teams strive for - belief in self and team, confident in any situation. Fourth, they obviously have great fan support. We will need to keep ourselves focused on what is happening on the field and not in the stands."
ON THE WILDCATS: "We obvious overcame some team issues last week and had some players step up who haven't necessarily been in the limelight but were ready for the call and came through. Bo Bolen's performance was incredible under the circumstances he was presented. It was a great lesson to all those on our team that you need to be ready and prepared at almost a moment's notice."
