OGDEN — Weber State’s defense came close to several game-changing plays Saturday against Idaho State, what became a 45-7 victory for the Wildcats to add one more tick to an ever-increasing blowout margin in the series with the Bengals (36-3 since 1985).

Linebackers Raoul Johnson and Winston Reid had each hit Idaho State quarterback Sagan Gronauer on sacks that forced fumbles deep on ISU’s end of the field, but one bounced out of bounds and the other was smothered by a Bengals offensive lineman.

Safety Desmond Williams had also intercepted Gronauer deep in ISU territory and danced about 10 yards across the field trying to find a seam for his second scoring interception return of the season, and might have found his way to pay dirt if not for speeding receiver Xavier Guillory flying back upfield to tackle Williams from behind at the ISU 15.

But it finally came in the opening moments of the fourth quarter when Reid drilled a different quarterback, Hunter Hays, on a blitz and jarred the ball loose again.

Sophomore linebacker Garrett Beck scooped up the ball and used a host of blocks (and impressive speed for his size) to run 66 yards for a touchdown, capped with defensive tackle Zeke Birch running interference in the final 15 yards against Idaho State’s last would-be tackler.

“First off, thank you to Winston Reid for that strip sack. It was 100% because of him, and also the rest of the defense for blocking for me,” Beck said. “I was a little winded when I picked up the ball. But the ball was clear as day when Winston got that sack and when I picked it up, it was just all the help from the defense escorting me to the end zone. It was a team effort.”

Beck said it was the first touchdown he’s scored in his football career, which kind of put him on cloud nine.

“I sat there and hugged him after he did it, I’m hugging him on the sideline and talking to him and he has no idea who’s hugging him,” WSU head coach Jay Hill said. “He finally looks over to me and is like ‘oh hey, coach!’ And I’m like, ‘dude, I’ve been talking to you for like 10 seconds.’ Anyway, I think he was pretty excited. He’s a great kid, a great player, and he’s just a (sophomore), he’s only going to get way better.”

That was the sixth defensive touchdown for Weber State in its last 14 games, adding to several before that in what has become a hallmark of a Hill-coached defense in Ogden.

It’s also part of a whole-team approach that has led the Wildcats to four kick-return touchdowns (three kickoffs, one punt) this season alone. No part of the game is an afterthought for Hill.

That means that yes, what to do when you see a fellow defender with the ball in his hands is practiced every week at Weber State.

“We practice it a lot. Interceptions, fumbles, we are taught that scheme of everyone going to block for whoever has the ball. It’s practiced very frequently,” Beck said.

It’s something many WSU players have seen in their time: trying to find their way to the end zone on a kick or turnover return and seeing teammates flying downfield to do what they can to help.

“It was a good feeling to see my teammates on my side, protecting me down that sideline and I know they would do it for me as well as I would do it for them. So it’s a great feeling,” Beck said.

That effort is also somewhat a reflection of an attitude used on the sidelines during good times or bad, something that creates buy-in for the whole roster.

So, for example, when Weber State’s offense went three-and-out on its first two possessions Saturday, it didn’t faze anyone.

“We kept staying consistent and not thinking about being negative. That’s the first thing we don’t do, we don’t like being negative toward each other,” fourth-year sophomore running back Dontae McMillan said. “We always lift each other up as a team, as a unit. Everybody did their own responsibilities, we did our one-eleventh.”

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