Complete Statistics

Post-Game Notes

Greeley, COLO. - A snap over the head of Idaho State's punter, Jon Vanderwielen, early in the first quarter was kicked out of the back of the end zone giving Northern Colorado the first two points of the football game on Homecoming, and the Bears never looked back, defeating the Bengals 29-9 for the first win of the year. The Bears even their conference record at 1-1 and move to 1-4 on the season, while Idaho State falls to 0-6 on the year and 0-3 in Big Sky action.

"Obviously it was a great game for our players," said head coach Scott Downing. "We set a goal of starting fast and finishing strong and I think we started fast. I'd have liked to see us finish a little bit stronger but, hey, the guys at Idaho State are on scholarship too. I thought it was a good game, well played. I thought our offense did some really good things early in the game and our defense did a good job of holding a team like Idaho State to 262 yards of offense."

On a cold, wet and dreary day, the Bears led from wire to wire, using a balanced offensive attack and a pressuring defense to keep Idaho State off balance. The Bears rushed for a season-best 265 yards and threw for 138, while holding the Bengals to just 25 rushing yards and 262 total offensive yards.

Celebrating his birthday in a big way, junior running back Tyron (DC) Wilson rushed for a career-best 125 yards, including a 75-yard scamper for a touchdown with just under 13 minutes remaining in the first half.  His rushing total is the most for a Bear since Andre Wilson rushed for 136 in the final game of the 2006 season against Northern Arizona. Senior running back David Woods and sophomore Andy Muns, competing in his first game since Purdue, rushed for 65 and 47 yards, respectively.

"I thought our running backs, Tyrone and David, came out and played really, really well today," continued Downing.

Junior quarterback completed 13-of-25 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, hitting eight different targets on the afternoon. Senior Cory Fauver and sophomore Brandon Smith each caught three passes, while senior Jason Caprioli and junior Alex Thompson each caught one of the touchdown throws.

Defensively, senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento led the Bears with eight tackles, while junior defensive end John Eddy, playing in his first game this year after a knee injury, notched five tackles and one sack. Eddy has now had at least one sack in each of his last four games played.

Sophomore safety Max Hewitt picked off two passes, bringing his career interception total to six and his second one of the game coming with 7:07 left in the game, saved as a touchdown as he caught the ball on the one-yard line. Senior cornerback Myles Hayes and junior corner Quincy Wofford also each intercepted a pass.

Junior kicker Michael York scored seven points on the afternoon, making one field goal, two kicked extra-points and one two-point conversion on a bad snap that he ran in.

The two teams combined for three safeties, tying the FCS record for safeties in a game. Northern Colorado opened the game with a safety and then with 8:51 in the second quarter scored two points when ISU quarterback Russel Hill was tackled in the end zone by Hayes and Josh Mack. A blocked punt gave Idaho State its safety with 7:09 remaining in the first half to put a cap on the scoring.

The Bears marched down the field on their first offensive possession, going 60 yards on nine plays in 3:46, and was capped off with the Waggener pass to Caprioli from three-yards out for the 9-0 lead. Idaho State returned the favor, going 56 yards in five plays, using just 1:30 off the clock.

On the next Idaho State drive, senior linebacker Joe Kenney recovered a fumble which led to a 28-yard touchdown pass to Thompson two plays later and the 16-7 advantage for the scoring in the first quarter.

The Bears added 13 points in the second quarter on a field goal by York, the long run by Wilson and another safety.

The two teams did not score a single point in the second half, marking the first time since Nov. 10, 2007 against Sacramento State the Bears have held a team off the scoreboard in a half (first half).

Next week, the Bears hit the road to take on Weber State in Ogden. The Wildcats are 5-2 on the year after defeating Montana State 35-12 earlier today. Game time is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.