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Weber State players Tre Turner (1) and Bones Marks, right, celebrate Turner's 67-yard touchdown return of a blocked field goal in a game against Northwestern State on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber State cornerback Tre Turner returns what became a 67-yard touchdown off a blocked field goal against Northwestern State in a game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber State running back Spencer Ferguson, right, sizes up Northwestern State defensive back Brandon Ross (24) during a game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber State safety Trevian Tribble, right, brings down Northwestern State running back Myion Hicks (0) during a game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber State defenders Tommy Romano (7), Raimoana Tinirauarii (11), Mapa Vaenuku (6) and Trevian Tribble (3) celebrate Tinirauarii's fumble recovery during a game against Northwestern State on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber State running back Spencer Ferguson eyes the goal line during a 23-yard touchdown run in a game against Northwestern State on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber State receiver Marvin Session avoids Northwestern State defenders after a reception on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber State quarterback Nate Dahle pulls back to pass the football against Northwestern State in a game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber State students cheer and gesture during a football game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber State running back Seth Rigtrup hits the turf as he finishes a short touchdown run against Northwestern State in a game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber State running back Spencer Ferguson carries the football in a game against Northwestern State on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

❮ ❯

OGDEN — Who knows if it was long travel, altitude or attitude, but Northwestern State was apparently not ready for Saturday’s kickoff and Weber State was.

The Wildcats created a turnover, blocked a kick and scored three touchdowns in the opening 5 minutes, and cruised to a 49-20 victory at Stewart Stadium in WSU’s 2026 home opener.

In a sign of things to come, sophomore running back Seth Rigtrup returned the game’s opening kickoff 45 yards. Six plays later, Nate Dahle threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Session.

Northwestern State (0-4) drove inside WSU’s 30 but linebacker Teni Worthen broke through the middle to block a Demons field goal attempt. The ball bounded off the turf, WSU cornerback Tre Turner scooped it with ease and, with late blocking help, returned it 67 yards for a touchdown.

Moments later, linebacker Raimoana Tinirauarii was jumping on a fumbled NSU option pitch, setting up running back Spencer Ferguson for a 23-yard scoring scamper.

Weber State led 21-0 with 9:42 remaining in the first quarter, giving something for the 7,738 fans to cheer about.

“We were just so excited to play at home and play in front of the fans,” Rigtrup said. “We came out with energy and I think we just got a good jump from the start. … We were just moving the ball, having fun.”

That start virtually guaranteed the Wildcats (2-2) a win over the lowly Demons from Louisiana, but WSU didn’t do much to prove that hypothesis the rest of the half.

Late in the first quarter, Dahle tallied one of two interceptions he threw on ill-advised decisions, and kicker David Dellenbach missed a 43-yard field goal.

Northwestern State, meanwhile, took Dahle’s first pick at midfield and turned it into a TD drive when Zach Wilke threw a 4-yard touchdown to Brandon Webb early in the second quarter. Ashden Oberg blocked the PAT, which Pierre Hunter nearly had for another scoring return, but a bobbled pickup resulted in Hunter stumbling to the turf.

That was Weber State’s fifth blocked kick this season (three PATs, one punt, one field goal). WSU has returned both non-PAT blocks for touchdowns.

The Demons took their next drive to the WSU 15-yard line before a Turner pass breakup forced a turnover on downs.

Ferguson rushed nine times for 83 yards in the first half. But after missing the game at Colorado with a sprained MCL, he was knocked out again Saturday with the same injury, head coach Eric Kjar said, during a play with 3 minutes left in the first half.

Rigtrup took over and finished a 10-play drive with a 1-yard plunge, giving Weber State a 28-6 lead at halftime.

Out of halftime, a sharper WSU offense marched often and Rigtrup added rushes of 24 and 34 yards on consecutive drives. The former led to his own 6-yard touchdown run, and the latter set up Dahle to tight end Ammon Munyer for a 37-yard TD pass.

WSU led 42-6 with 6:29 left in the third quarter and, at that point, had put the game away.

“So far, it’s kind of been a trend that I haven’t loved from an offensive standpoint … being more consistent in our execution so we aren’t having droughts like (the second quarter),” Kjar said. “They were off the field for a little while there, but you’ve got to be able to lock back in and be ready to go.”

Dahle threw his second interception late in the third quarter, setting up Northwestern State with a 10-yard field after linebacker KB Anderson-Ross returned the pick about 15 yards.

It took until fourth down, but the Demons rediscovered the end zone on a 5-yard Wilcke pass to Joseph Moreland.

Rigtrup responded with an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, but the score was negated by a holding penalty near the NSU 30. Credited with a 55-yard return, that meant Rigtrup finished with 205 all-purpose yards: 105 yards on 12 carries, and 100 kick-return yards on two returns.

Semisi Kinikini and Robert Young each caught 20-yard passes from Dahle, setting up Kinikini for a 1-yard TD and WSU’s final points of the night with 10:36 left.

Northwestern State responded with a 75-yard drive it completed with a clever double-reverse flea-flicker from Wilcke to Zay Davis for a 38-yard touchdown. That made it 49-20 with 6:18 left.

NSU’s two second-half scoring drives were emblematic of how the game turned out. The Demons ran a whopping 20 third-down plays, converting eight for first downs, and went for it on fourth down seven times.

The trick-play touchdown provided a clear statistical marker. At that moment, both teams had gained 389 yards, but Northwestern State had run 87 offensive plays to Weber State’s 55.

“There were times when I felt like we mis-executed some of our assignments and what we wanted to do from a scheme standpoint,” Kjar said. “Probably more so offensively than defensively, even though I think there were times we need to get off the field on third down and be a little more sound there.”

In the end, WSU totaled 441 yards on 6.6 yards per play, while NSU had 389 yards on 4.5 yards per play.

The game ended with Weber State on the NSU 5. After the final Demons TD, freshman and Weber High alum Dyson Parker returned the kickoff 19 yards, caught a 10-yard pass, and rushed five times for 17 yards. The 10-yard reception, on a pass thrown by Cash McCollum, gave WSU first-and-goal at the 1 at the two-minute timeout, but the second- and third-string unit could not punch it in.

Wilcke did a lot for NSU, throwing 26 of 52 for 291 yards while adding 49 yards on 17 carries.

Dahle finished 14 of 26 for 178 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, looking more like a freshman than the gunslinger from the previous two games.

Kjar said too often, Dahle passed up easier throws for bigger shots downfield.

“Just taking easy things and completing easy stuff in our pass game has probably been one of our more frustrating points as a head coach, and as a coordinator, too,” Kjar said. “I felt like a few times — which I love about (Dahle) — he just went vertical too much when we had stuff underneath today that I think really would’ve helped him get going a little bit, too, and get into a groove.

“I think he was out of sync most of the game from a passing standpoint and we never really got into a good passing groove like he, at times, has been. Feel like we missed a lot of easy throws today that we need to get better at.”

Eleven Wildcats caught passes, with Munyer (36 yards) and Session (33) leading the way. After a hot start through three games, Noah Kjar caught two passes for 20 yards and Tate Kjar returned from injury late, catching a 12-yard pass.

Weber State remains home and resumes Big Sky Conference play next week, hosting Portland State. The Vikings are 0-4 after playing two ranked FCS teams and two FBS opponents, including an 84-0 loss at Oregon over the weekend.