Weber State’s lifeless offense licked by Lumberjacks, Northern Arizona wins 27-10
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- Weber State’s Kylan Weisser (11) tries to outrun the Northern Arizona defense on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Abraham Williams (4) steps over Northern Arizona’s Zach Lewis (3) during a kick return Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Keahnist Thompson (90) is congratulated after making a sack by Naseme Colvin on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Adrian Cormier (35) rushes the football against Northern Arizona on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Marvin Session (89) runs with a catch against Northern Arizona on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Adrian Cormier, center, rushes the football against Northern Arizona on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Tajon Evans (81) tries to stiff-arm Northern Arizona’s Alex McLaughlin (17) on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Kris Jackson, left, rushes against Northern Arizona’s David Spruiells on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Kylan Weisser (11) tries to outrun Northern Arizona’s Jhasi Wilson (10) on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
OGDEN — With all eyes on Weber State’s offense, the Wildcats started marching after WSU and Northern Arizona traded punts to open Saturday’s football game.
Over 13 plays and 6:05 of game clock, WSU mixed a zone-blocked run look and ran play-action off it, throwing positive screens to receivers.
Add on-target slants from Kylan Weisser to Jacob Sharp (14 yards) and Haze Hadley (16 yards), and Weber State appeared to have plenty of life. A 1-yard Weisser plunge capped the drive.
Weber State led 7-0 with 4:56 left in the first quarter and had 80 total yards.
But a rather bankrupt offense produced just 100 more yards for the rest of the night.
Northern Arizona answered that drive, put Weber State on its heels with a punt-return touchdown in the second quarter and went on to a conclusive, 27-10 victory at Stewart Stadium.
NAU’s first win in Ogden since 2016 knots the all-time series back up at 28-28 and gives the Lumberjacks the fledgling Red Rock Rivalry trophy for the first time.
And it gives Weber State some significant heartburn about the prospects of the 2023 season. The Wildcats are now 3-3 overall but 1-2 in the Big Sky, while Northern Arizona improves to 2-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
“We played really well in the first quarter. From there, we let it slip away from a special teams standpoint and obviously, in the second half we couldn’t generate much on offense,” WSU head coach Mickey Mental said. “Congratulations to Northern Arizona on a good win.”
Weber State’s best offensive player, sophomore running back Damon Bankston, was out with a foot injury Saturday. Freshman running back Adrian Cormier looked ready for the load early, rushing four times for 24 yards during the first-quarter touchdown drive. He’d add just 6 more yards on three carries for the rest of the game.
After an impressive, 34-17 road win at Northern Iowa, Weber State’s offense has generated 31 total points in the last four games.
“We’ve got to evaluate each position closely, what’s holding us back, and it starts with me,” Mental said. “I’ve got to put guys in better situations to be more successful. Players only do what you coach, so I’ve got to be better and I take the full blame on that. I’ve got to get these guys in a better situation to be prepared, to be more successful, to be more consistent and efficient on a daily basis.”
NAU got on the board with a 10-play drive capped with a 5-yard rush from QB specialist Angel Flores. A missed extra point kept WSU in the lead 7-6.
After rushing 21 times for 117 yards against Sacramento State, Devon Starling was somewhat tamped down by the WSU defense, totaling 94 yards on 21 carries Saturday. But Flores picked up 52 yards on six carries in key moments.
WSU’s lead didn’t hold for long. After two penalties on the same play gave Weber State a first-and-33 from its own 13, the eventual punt went to Northern Arizona’s Coleman Owen. He dashed straight up the middle of the field, breaking several tackles on the way, for an 85-yard touchdown and a 13-7 lead with 11:13 left in the second quarter.
As Northern Arizona keyed on WSU’s run game (which finished with 61 yards on 24 carries), it also eyed screens and short passes to keep the Wildcats from gaining yards after catch. So while Weisser was 13 of 15 passing at halftime, those throws gained just 64 yards.
A kickoff return in which Abraham Williams fought through a tackle and regained footing to the Weber 41 helped the WSU offense scratch out a field-goal drive. Kyle Thompson booted a career-long 52-yarder to make it 13-10 with 7:02 left in the half.
A 12-play, 75-yard answer all but put the game away for Northern Arizona. After the Lumberjacks picked up a fourth-and-1 at the WSU 37, quarterback Adam Damante and the NAU offense moved left while tight end Marcus Phillips Jr. leaked out on the right side of the play. Damante threw to Phillips at the 10 and he jogged in for a 22-yard touchdown reception.
That made it 20-10 with 2:08 left until halftime.
Freshman defensive end Keahnist Thompson was one of WSU’s bright spots Saturday. He totaled two key sacks on either side of halftime that both stopped NAU drives enough to force field goal attempts.
“With Keahnist and Bronson Childs … they’re getting better each and every game with experience,” Mental said of young defensive ends stepping up with others injured. “To do that back-to-back games now, I thought he played very well.”
One Thompson sack resulted in NAU’s Marcus Lye missing a 35-yarder as time expired on the first half, and the other preceded Lye going wide left on a 48-yarder on the Lumberjacks’ drive that opened the third quarter.
But Weber State’s offense simply didn’t have enough to threaten the game from there. NAU possessed the ball for 11:26 in the third quarter and even a Maxwell Anderson interception to stop the Lumberjacks on a short field didn’t end up mattering.
After Weisser hit Haze Hadley for 19 yards up the sideline on a play-action RPO — WSU’s longest play from scrimmage all night — he was sacked on third down to essentially end the third quarter.
In the fourth, Weisser overthrew tight end Hayden Meacham to be intercepted by Alex McLaughlin and end one possession.
A turnover on downs later set Northern Arizona up with a short field, which Flores cashed in on a 16-yard touchdown run, upping the score to 27-10 with 2:35 left in the ballgame.
The Wildcats had negative-2 yards of offense in the fourth quarter until their final possession. A few completed passes got WSU to the NAU 33, setting up Northern Arizona linebacker Tommy Ellis to pick off Weisser and ice the game.
Weisser threw 6 of 15 in the second half for 55 yards. He finished 19 of 30 for 119 yards. He’s thrown seven interceptions to two touchdowns this season, and WSU hasn’t scored a passing touchdown in the last four games.
Mental said he’d wait to watch game film before making a public evaluation of his quarterback play.
“You look at it and then go from there. It’s not fair to any player without saying that … but like I said, we’re going to evaluate each and every position and put the best guys out there to be more productive,” Mental said.
Defensively, linebacker Winston Reid totaled a career-high 16 tackles and safety Naseme Colvin added 13 to go with Thompson’s two sacks.
Kris Jackson rushed six times for 25 yards. Hadley caught six passes for 43 yards.
For NAU, Damante finished 25 of 31 for 183 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Owen caught 10 passes for 60 yards and BJ Fleming added 46 yards on four receptions.
Weber State hosts UC Davis (3-3, 1-2) next week.
AROUND THE BIG SKY
Montana 31, UC Davis 23
Idaho 42, Cal Poly 14