The Weber State football team will play the final game of the 2012 season this Saturday when the ‘Cats take on Big Sky rival Idaho State. Game time is set for 4:00 this Saturday at Holt Arena in Pocatello. Weber State enters the game 1-9 overall and 1-6 in Big Sky play following a 42-34 loss to Northern Colorado last Saturday. 

Idaho State also enters the game 1-9 and is 0-7 in Big Sky play. The Bengals have lost eight straight games including a 70-14 loss to Cal Poly last week. 

Weber State has won nine straight and 15 of the last 17 games played against Idaho State. 

MEDIA INFORMATION

Saturday’s game will air live on FM-106.9 “The Zone” with Carl Arky, the 2011 Utah Sportscaster of the Year, and former Wildcat standout Ty Sparrow calling the action. 

The game can be seen live online at bigskytv.org. Live stats are available at isubengals.com.

WILDCATS DROP FINAL HOME GAME TO BEARS

Weber State lost 42-34 to Northern Colorado on a snowy day last Saturday at Stewart Stadium. The Wildcats gave up 540 yards of total offense to the Bears, including 418 passing yards by NC quarterback Seth Lobato. The Bears led 28-17 at halftime and Weber State never got closer than eight points the rest of the way. The 34 points scored by Weber State was a season-high as was the 473 yards of total offense by the Wildcats. 

The game was senior day for 14 Wildcats who were playing their final home game of their careers. The loss dropped the Wildcats to 0-5 at home this season, marking just the second time in school history the Wildcats failed to win a home game during the season. The loss was also the first time WSU has ever lost to Northern Colorado.

Weber State scored a touchdown in the first quarter for the first time all season in Saturday’s loss to the Bears. On WSU’s first possession of the game Mike Hoke found Xavian Johnson for a 26-yard touchdown pass to give the ‘Cats a 7-0 lead and their first touchdown in the first quarter. 

On the season WSU is being outscored 56-13 in the first quarter and 116-57 in the second quarter for a total of 172-70 in the first half. WSU has won the third quarter this season 60-57 but has been outscored 109-69 in the fourth quarter.

Weber State senior quarterback Mike Hoke threw for a season-high 310 yards and a season-high four touchdowns in Saturday’s game against Northern Colorado. Hoke finished the day 24-46 passing with the four touchdowns and one interception. Playing in his final game at Stewart Stadium Hoke threw touchdowns to four different receivers during the game (Xavian Johnson, Erik Walker, Brian Jankowski, and Jordan Clemente). He also rushed 11 times for 39 yards in the game. 

On the season the Kailua, Hawaii native ranks seventh in the Big Sky in total offense with an average of 218.9 yards per game and is ninth in passing at 195.7 yards per game. In 10 games he has thrown for 1,957 yards and 12 touchdowns. Entering the final game of his career Hoke has played in 36 career games with the Wildcats and currently ranks eighth in school history in career passing yards with 4,456. He needs 145 more passing yards to pass Dave Stireman and Ian Pizarro and move into sixth place in career passing yards. Hoke has thrown for 34 career touchdowns and has nearly 5,000 yards of total offense.

Weber State junior defensive captain Anthony Morales continues to lead the Big Sky in tackles and ranks fifth in the nation in the category, now with an average of 12 tackles per game. He posted 13 tackles with five solo and unassisted in Saturday’s loss to Northern Colorado. He is averaging 13.9 tackles per game in Big Sky games. 

Morales has recorded 108 total tackles in nine games this season. He has recorded double figures in tackles in six of the last seven games. 

In his 30 career games at Weber State the Edmond, Oklahoma native has recorded 242 career total tackles, leaving him 31 short of the WSU career top 10 list. 

WILDCATS STILL THIRD IN THE NATION IN NET PUNTING

Weber State continues to rank third in the nation in net punting at 39.0 yards per punt. On the season the Wildcats have 57 punts for 2,543 yards, an average of 45.4 yards per punt, which is the second best in the nation. After the return yards the ‘Cats have a net punt average of 39.0.

Weber State ranks third in the Big Sky in red zone offense. The Wildcats are 23-25 in scoring while in the red zone this season, a 92 percent scoring percentage. WSU has scored 19 touchdowns in the 25 times they have been in the red zone.

Weber State was sacked twice in the loss to Northern Colorado and now has given up 36 sacks on the season, which is tied for the third most sacks allowed by any team in the country. WSU is being sacked an average of 3.6 sacks per game.

Weber State junior wide receiver Xavian Johnson left the game against Northern Colorado with a shoulder injury and will be a game-time decision for Saturday’s game against Idaho State. Johnson leads the Wildcats with 499 receiving yards this season. 

WSU wide receivers Shaydon Kehano (leg) and Chase Nakamura (arm) will both miss the rest of the season with injuries along with sophomore linebacker Luke King (shoulder). Junior punter and safety Tony Epperson, who was leading the nation in punting, will also be out for the rest of the season (knee). 

BIG SKY RANKINGS

After nine games the Wildcats rank last in the Big Sky in scoring offense and total offense and rank 12th in passing offense, 11th in rushing defense and 10th in scoring defense.

AROUND THE BIG SKY

Northern Arizona lost its first Big Sky game of the season last week falling 35-29 in triple overtime to Southern Utah. The loss dropped the Lumberjacks into a four-way tie for first at 6-1 heading into the final week of the season. Montana State, Cal Poly and Eastern Washington are all in the race for the conference title.

Idaho State enters Saturday’s game with a 1-9 overall record and a 0-7 mark in Big Sky Conference games. The Bengals have lost eight straight games coming in with their only victory a 38-5 win over NAIA school Black Hills State on Sept. 8. 

Idaho State ranks last in the nation in four categories. They are last in scoring defense, allowing an average of 55.2 points per game. They have given up 70 or more points four times this season, including two of the last three weeks. In Big Sky games they are allowing an average of 60.7 points per game. ISU is also last in the country in rushing offense at 50.7 yards per game and last in rushing defense, allowing 357.3 yards a contest. They are also last in total defense, giving up 575.4 yards a game. 

The Bengals have put up some impressive offensive numbers and lead the Big Sky and are sixth in the nation in passing offense with an average of 356.1 yards a game. They are also third in the league in passing defense at 218.1.

Individually, senior quarterback Kevin Yost leads the conference and ranks fourth in the country in total offense, averaging 333.4 yards per game. He also leads the Big Sky in passing average at 338.9 per game. Yost has thrown for 3,389 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. Senior Rodrick Rumble leads the league in receptions per game and is second in receiving yards at 104.4 per game. 

Head Coach MIKE KRAMER

The Bengals are coached by legendary Big Sky coach Mike Kramer who is in his second season at Idaho State. Entering Saturday’s game he has compiled a record of 3-18 at Idaho State and has a career record of 80-93 in 15 seasons as a head coach in the Big Sky. The 80 wins ranks him third in conference history in career victories. 

Idaho State is the third school in the Big Sky in which Kramer has been the head coach. He spent six seasons as head coach at Eastern Washington from 1994-99 and led the Eagles to the Big Sky title in 1997. He then spent seven seasons as head coach at Montana State where he led the Bobcats to three Big Sky titles.

Saturday’s game will be the 52nd meeting between Weber State and Idaho State. The Wildcats hold a 37-14 all-time series edge and Weber State has won nine straight games against the Bengals. WSU has also won 15 of the last 17 and 25 of the last 28 against Idaho State. The last loss to the Bengals was a 34-0 loss in 2002 in Pocatello. 

In games played in Pocatello Weber State leads 18-9 all-time and the ‘Cats have won four straight and seven of the last eight.

Weber State defeated Idaho State for the ninth straight time 39-12 last October 15 in a Homecoming game at Stewart Stadium. Weber State ended the day with 508 yards of total offense, compared to just 283 for Idaho State.

Trevor Pletcher recorded four sacks in the game, tying a WSU school record. Anthony Morales posted a then-career-high of 14 tackles. Mike Hoke finished the day 7-12 passing for 200 yards and four touchdowns.

Weber State held on for a 16-13 win Oct. 16, 2010 in Pocatello, the last meeting of the two teams in Holt Arena. After WSU took a 16-13 lead early in the fourth quarter, Idaho State missed three field goals in the final minutes of the quarter and the ‘Cats held on for the win. 

Cameron Higgins was 16-33 passing for 200 yards but had no touchdowns and four interceptions. Freshman Josh Booker led the Wildcats with 68 rushing yards. Nick Webb recorded 12 tackles, including one sack. 

FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACH JODY SEARS

WSU is under the direction of first-year head coach Jody Sears who brings nearly 20 years of coaching experience to Weber State. He joined the WSU staff in January as the defensive coordinator and was named head coach in April. He is the 10th head coach in Weber State history. Sears will also be the defensive coordinator and coach the safeties for the Wildcats.

Before coming to Weber State he spent the past three seasons at Washington State where he spent the last three seasons as the co-defensive coordinator with the Cougars under head coach Paul Wulff, a former college teammate at Washington State. 

He is no stranger to the Big Sky Conference as he spent five seasons (2003-07) as the defensive coordinator at Eastern Washington, also under Paul Wulff. During his time with the Eagles he coached safeties, linebackers and defensive backs. In his five seasons at Eastern Washington he coached seven players to Big Sky All-Conference honors.

Prior to his time at Eastern Washington Sears spent three seasons (2000-02) as an assistant coach at Army where he coached cornerbacks and the defensive line. He also spent time as an assistant coach at St. Ambrose University, an NAIA school in Davenport, Iowa and Iowa State.

Sears played football at Washington State where he was a two-year letterwinner with the Cougars after walking on as a wide receiver. He played under head coaches Jim Walden, Dennis Erickson, and former Weber State head coach Mike Price. He graduated from Washington State in 1991 and received his master’s degree from Iowa State in 1996. 

Sears, 45, is a native of Pullman, Washington. He and his wife Molly are the parents of five children.

QUOTING COACH SEARS

“I think our offense probably played its best game of the year we weren’t able to make some defensive stops when we needed to which was disappointing. Our kids played their hearts out we just didn’t have the consistency we needed.

“We’re looking forward to playing a rivalry game at Idaho State this week. Our defense will have to be ready to play against their passing offense. “

Coach Sears has selected four team captains for the season. Mike Hoke, Brian Jankowski, Anthony Morales, and Trevor Pletcher will serve as the Wildcat team captains for the year.

The 2012-13 Weber State Athletics season marks 50 years since Weber State became a four-year institution and began athletics competition at the Division I level. Events and festivities are planned throughout the year to celebrate 50 years of Division I athletics at Weber State.