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1 Comment [ View ]'Cats claim share of Big Sky title, worry about Mac
By JASEN ASAYPOCATELLO -- It was almost the perfect moment.
With the Big Sky Conference championship trophy in hand, Weber State celebrated its 59-27 win Saturday over rival Idaho State with numerous fans dressed in purple in the corner of Holt Arena.
They sang the school fight song with index fingers in the air, symbolizing WSU's place in the Big Sky. Players lifted offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven above their shoulders, giving him the respect he earned all season and especially on Saturday following a wonderfully-called game.
"We're living in the moment now," WSU wide receiver Tim Toone said. "It's amazing. Now we've got our last game against Eastern Washington in a few weeks to seal the deal and then the playoffs."
But something was missing.
When it came time for the No. 9-ranked Wildcats to hear the postgame speech from coach Ron McBride, it was his son, Dan, who spoke to the players. McBride suffered from lightheadedness and a high heart rate during the second half of the game and was taken to the Portneuf Medical Center, along with WSU team physician Dr. Stephen Scharmann, for precautionary measures.
"He's fine," Dan said. "He's resting comfortably and he's OK."
But McBride, who stayed overnight at the medical center for observation and is supposed to be released today, wasn't far from the Wildcats' thoughts.
"He's a tough old man and he's going to fight through this," said WSU assistant coach and defensive coordinator Kevin Clune, who took over for McBride. "He's one of the toughest old men I've ever met."
It was too bad McBride wasn't there to celebrate with the Wildcats (9-2, 7-0 Big Sky) after such an important win. With the victory over the winless Bengals (0-10, 0-6 Big Sky), WSU clinched the league's automatic berth to the FCS playoffs and at least a share of the league title. Having defeated Montana, the only team that could tie WSU in the league standings, the Wildcats were given the championship trophy. WSU plays its final regular-season game in two weeks at home against Eastern Washington.
Two key turnovers helped turn the game into a rout for the Wildcats, who scored touchdowns on seven straight possessions.
After the teams traded field goals on their respective opening drives, WSU's Josh Morris snagged the first of his three interceptions. WSU immediately took advantage when Cameron Higgins hit Toone for a 65-yard touchdown pass. Toone, who finished the game with five catches for 179 yards, tied Wade Orton's school record of 18 career touchdowns.
Higgins threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns, with his other scoring passes going to Mike Phillips and Cody Nakamura.
The Wildcats got the ball back on the kickoff following Toone's touchdown when Sam North forced a fumble and Blake Keller jumped on the ball on ISU's 30-yard line. Four plays later, Smith scored on a 1-yard run and the rout was on.
Smith, who became the school's all-time leading rusher during the game, finished with 143 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the 'Cats with seven catches for 86 yards.
Backup quarterback Brendon Doyle added an 8-yard run to the end zone. And after the Bengals got to within 52-27 late in the game, Justin White exploded for an 80-yard touchdown to finish the scoring.
"The offense just never gave them any life," Clune said. "They just took it away."
The defense, led by safeties Beau Hadley and Scotty Goodloe, who had 11 and eight tackles respectively, never allowed the Bengals to get back in the game. WSU finished with 666 total offensive yards, compared to ISU's 349. ISU quarterback Russel Hill started the game and threw for 139 yards before giving way to Kyle Blum in the second half.
"The defensive line did a really nice job of rushing the quarterback and making him make decisions he didn't want to make," Morris said. "That frees the secondary to wander around, which sometimes comes back on us and sometimes is rewarding."
That was just one of the ways WSU was rewarded, with the biggest being the trophy now residing in Ogden.
No. 9 Weber State 59, Idaho State 27
At Pocatello, Idaho
Weber State 3 28 14 14 -- 59
Idaho State 3 7 7 10 -- 27
First quarter
Weber State--Williams 30 field goal, 7:55.
Idaho State--Ramos 30 field goal, 3:27.
Second Quarter
Weber State--Toone 65 pass from C. Higgins (Williams kick), 13:19.
Weber State--Smith 1 run (Williams kick), 11:16.
Idaho State--Knickrehm 10 run (Huk kick), 7:09.
Weber State--Smith 13 run (kick failed), 4:56.
Weber State--Nakamura 10 pass from C. Higgins (C. Higgins run), 1:14.
Third quarter
Weber State--Doyle 8 run (Williams kick), 11:00.
Weber State--Smith 41 run (Williams kick), 5:12.
Idaho State--Blum 2 run (Huk kick), :50.
Fourth quarter
Weber State--Phillips 17 pass from C. Higgins (Williams kick), 13:36.
Idaho State--Safety, 8:18.
Idaho State--Messersmith 7 pass from Blum (Knickrehm pass from Blum), 7:34.
Weber State--White 80 run (Williams kick), 7:26.
A--5,514.
WSU ISU
First downs 26 19
Rushes-yards 37-306 23-113
Passing 360 236
Comp-Att-Int 19-25-0 25-51-3
Return yards 0 18
Punts-avg. 3-34.7 4-48.8
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 13-135 8-76
Time of possession 31:31 28:29
Individual statistics
Rushing--Weber State, Smith 20-143, White 6-113, Phillips 1-30, C. Higgins 4-10, Doyle 2-5, Lee 2-5, Team 2-0. Idaho State, Knickrehm 12-75, Blum 5-25, Blue 5-12, Hill 1-1.
Passing--Weber State, C. Higgins 18-23-0-369, Doyle 1-2-0-(minus 9). Idaho State, Hill 16-26-2-139, Blum 8-23-1-88, Vanderwielen 1-1-0-9, Team 0-1-0-0.
Receiving--Weber State, Smith 7-86, Toone 5-179, Phillips 4-73, M. Mailei 1-21, Nakamura 1-10, White 1-(minus 9). Idaho State, Burel 7-38, Thompson 5-28, Knickrehm 4-55, Messersmith 3-22, Ponciano 2-42, Logan 2-10, Taylor 1-26, Blue 1-15.
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