Weber State University football extended its winning streak at the Homecoming Game on Oct. 8 as they took down the Portland State Vikings, 14-10, at Stewart Stadium.
“We knew going into this game it was going to be a war, and it was,” head coach Jay Hill said. “It was a physical battle — our guys will feel that one tomorrow. That’s just good old-fashioned college football.”
Both teams struggled to get anything going offensively in the first half — until Portland State’s senior quarterback Alex Kuresa put points on the board with just 17 seconds left before halftime.
Weber State responded quickly in the second half, with a scoring drive ending with a three-yard touchdown run by senior running back Emmanuel Pooler to tie the game at seven apiece.
“We made a few plays that weren’t really clicking in the first half,” Wildcat senior quarterback Jadrian Clark said. “It was huge to come out in the second half and make some plays when it counted the most and win the game.”
Portland scored what would be their final points of the game off a field goal with 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter — regaining their lead over WSU 10–7.
Weber State answered with seven after Clark threw a 12-yard pass to junior tight end Andrew Vollert, taking the lead 14–10 with eight minutes left to play.
“We ran the same play we scored on last week against UC Davis,” Clark said. “Andrew sold it well … great play call.”
PSU found themselves in scoring position with under four minutes to play. After miscommunication between Kuresa and a receiver, Portland turned the ball over to WSU with under three minutes to play.
After Portland burned its last two timeouts, WSU just needed a first down to keep possession and keep the clock rolling. Weber secured the win as Clark rushed for four yards to the gain the first.
Weber State totaled 271 offense yards and held PSU to 317 total offensive yards.
Clark threw 12-of-25 for 86 yards and one touchdown, while picking up 77 yards on seven carries.
Running back Emmanuel Pooler stepped up after an early injury to sophomore running back Treshawn Garrett in the first half, totaling 75 yards for 14 carries and a touchdown. Pooler also had one reception for 24 yards.
On the defensive side, senior safety Josh Burton earned a career-high with nine solo tackles and seven assisted tackles for a total of 16 for the night.
“Today was nothing different,” Burton said. “We ran a scheme a little differently than we usually do today, and it had me more in the box, and that is why I got a lot of plays.”
Weber State football is on a three-game winning streak, the longest streak since 2010.
This win puts the ‘Cats at 2–0 in conference play, 3–2 overall. After beating both UC Davis and Portland State, Weber is one of the three Big Sky Conference teams that remains undefeated in conference play.
Wildcat football will be back in action at home on Oct. 15 as they take on Montana State (0–3) at 1:30 p.m.
