Weber State beat Eastern Washington No. 2 35-34 to win Cheney

CHENEY, rinse. – Weber State forced three spins and had three successful fake hits along with four hasty touchdowns, as the Wildcats knocked out No. 2 East Washington 35-34 in a wild game Saturday afternoon at ” Inferno” by Roos Field.

The win gave Eastern Washington its first loss of the season and broke EWU’s 20-game winning streak at home. Weber State was the last team to beat EWU at home in 2017.

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The Wildcats totaled 482 yards of attack and kept the top offensive team in the nation to 434 yards.

Weber State improved to 3-4 in the off-season and 2-2 in the game on Big Sky.

How did it happen?

East Washington took to the table first with a 13-yard touchdown by Eric Barriere to take a 7-0 lead with 7:49 to play in the first half.

Winston Reid was forced to compete and recovered after a month at the end of the first quarter. WSU then opened the second half with a 1-yard touchdown by Kris Jackson after a 44-yard catch from Rashid Shaheed, and the Wildcats finished the game 7-7.

East Washington drove right back with an 88-yard run and scored the winning goal in the 14-7 midway through the second quarter.

‘The cats scored on the next possession after Kyle Thompson’s 31-yard goal made it 14-10.

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Thompson hit a 45-yard goal late in the first half and the Eagles took a 14-13 lead after the break.

Weber State had the ball to open the second half but the Eagles were forced to fumble, then score a goal to take a 20-13 lead.

The Wildcats returned to the 60-yard track, ending with a seven-yard touchdown by Dontae McMillan to make it 21-20.

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The ‘Cats opened the fourth half with a fourth conversion on a 20-yard pass from Mackenzie Morgan to Jared Schiess to score the Wildcats’ first goal. WSU then took the lead in a nine-yard touchdown by Kris Jackson to lead 27-21 with 12:39 to play.

On the next drive, Eddie Heckard blocked a pass from East Washington and the ‘Cats switched possession next as Jackson scored on a 13-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion was fine and Bang Weber led 35-21 with 8:42 to play.

The Eagles returned with two consecutive touchdowns to close the game. They scored over a 78-yard run, then forced Wildcat to fumble and score again. However, the Eagles missed one more point to take a 35-34 lead.

Dave Jones converted on a 32-yard run in third to mark the victory.

It’s a happy dressing room! #WeAreWeber pic.twitter.com/IKVqtnPSoN

– Weber State Football (@weberstatefb) October 24, 2021

Numbers you need to know

• East Washington entered the game with the top foul rate in the nation, averaging 54 points per game and fouling 628 yards. Wildcat’s defense held the Eagles to 434 yards of attack with 189 yards of charge.
• Weber State had 482 yards of fouls with 269 passes and 213 dashes.
• EWU senior midfielder Eric Barriere was held to 245 yards and two touches on the ball. Bronson Barron threw 226 yards before leaving the match due to injury,
• Jackson had 19 makes for 93 yards and three touchdowns to lead the rush attack. Jones added nine takes for 69 yards and another touchdown.
• There were a total of nine different Wildcats passes led by Rashid Shaheed with six catches for 109 yards. Ty MacPherson had five catches from 67 yards,
• In terms of defense, ‘Cats were forced to fumble twice and intercept once. Eddie Heckard forced a fumble and intercepted, along with seven tackles. Preston Smith had 10 tackles and Desmond Williams added eight. Winston Reid.
• WSU also dominates in possession times 35:20 to 24:40.

Head Coach Jay Hill

“Unbelievable win. So proud of the team for the outstanding efforts. We were able to make attacks and defend and get the turnover ratio we needed. I love to play. on this field and I really want to win this.”

Next

The Wildcats will be back on the road again next Saturday at 1pm in Pocatello, Idaho to take on Idaho State. The next home game is set for November 6 against Portland State.