Complete Notes

Game #6 Information

Date: Saturday, October 18, 2008

Kickoff: 1:05 p.m.

Location: Ogden, Utah

Stadium: Stewart Stadium

Capacity: 17,500

Series: WSU, 2-0

Last Meeting: Oct. 13, 2007, WSU 23-0

Radio: Northern Colorado Radio Network

     Greeley: 1310 KFKA

     Troy Coverdale, play-by-play

     Anders Nelson, color analyst

Video Streaming: www.bigskytv.org

Storyline

     For the first time this season, Northern Colorado will be facing a nationally-ranked team as they play at #20 Weber State on Saturday... Two of the team's last three victories have come against teams ranked in a national poll as the last two seasons the Bears have defeated #19 Montana State and #23 Texas State... The game pits the Big Sky Conference offensive player of the week in Weber State quarterback Cameron Higgins against the co-defensive player of the week in sophomore safety Max Hewitt... The Bears are looking for their first back-to-back victories since the last two games of the 2003 season, while the Wildcats are hoping to hold onto a share of first place in the league standings... Weber State has the best scoring offense in the conference, while the Bears have the best red-zone defense.

The Matchup

     Surprisingly, the team that is the closest in proximity in the Big Sky Conference to Northern Colorado is the team the Bears have played the fewest times in school history as 2008 marks just the third meeting. Weber State has won the previous two games, 23-0 last season and 26-21 in 2006.

2007               L       0-23        Greeley

2006               L      21-26       Ogden

Last Meeting

     Last season, the Bears were shutout 23-0 by the Wildcats in their first home game in four weeks, which also marked Homecoming for NC. Running back David Woods led the team with 43 yards of rushing and 64 yards of total offense, while wide receiver Cory Fauver caught a team-high three passes for 33 yards and also had 17 yards on punt returns. Eric Brown notched 48 yards on kickoff returns and Max Hewitt returned an interception for 20 yards. Stephen Michon led the team with 12 tackles, while linebacker Joe Kenney tallied 10. Weber State was led by Trevyn Smith with 113 rushing yards and one touchdown, while Bryant Eteuati caught eight passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 78 yards on returns, 56 on punt returns and 22 on one kickoff return. Bryce Scanlon led the Wildcats with eight tackles.

Connecting The Dots

     Weber State cornerback Josh Morris is a transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma, where he played in 2006 under the direction of current Bears' secondary coach Kendrick Shaver. Sophomore safety Max Hewitt, freshman defensive tackle Dominique Ceja, sophomore halfback Sam Sewell and sophomore defensive end Josh Mack all played high school ball with Weber State running back Bo Bolen.

Wrapping Up Wildcats

     In two games against Weber State, both senior linebackers Cristian Sarmento and Joe Kenney have performed well. Sarmento has 23 total tackles, while Kenney has 20 in the pair of contests. Sarmento and junior defensive end John Eddy also each have a sack against the Wildcats.

Honored

     Sophomore safety Max Hewitt became the first Bear to earn a weekly honor in 2008 after being named the Big Sky Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week after the win over Idaho State. Hewitt was second on the team with five tackles and tallied two interceptions, one on the one-yard line saving a Bengal score. He also broke up one pass. Hewitt now has six interceptions for his career, needing six more to appear on the career top-10 chart at Northern Colorado.

Fun With Numbers

     The Northern Colorado offense has improved every season under third-year head coach Scott Downing. The 2008 attack has been impressive when stacked against past totals. The Bears total offense per game of 376.80 is the highest average since the 2003 club averaged 481.6 and the points scored is just three shy of the entire output for 2006 and 10 shy of the 2007 mark.

Year      Pass Efficiency            NCAA Rank       Total Offense  NCAA Rank   Scoring    NCAA Rank

2008     118.1 (106-195-6)       81                     376.80             42                 25.20       63

2007     107.2 (207-372-10)     91                     276.1               107               11.33       113

2006     100.2 (164-295-17)     NR                    279.4               NR                11.73       NR

Quickly, Quickly

     Northern Colorado has had 19 scoring drives this season and 11 have taken less than two minutes to complete. The Bears have also struck the scoring column nine times in less than one minute, with four taking less than 30 seconds. The quickest score came against Texas State, 11 seconds when junior quarterback Bryan Waggener found sophomore wide receiver Brandon Smith for a 75-yard touchdown strike.

Driving School

     Four different times this season, Northern Colorado has scored on a play of 75 or more yards. Against Idaho State, junior running back DC Wilson scored on a 75-yard rush, while sophomore wide receiver Brandon Smith scored on an 80-yard rush and 75-yard reception from junior quarterback Bryan Waggener against Texas State and junior cornerback Quincy Wofford went the length of a field, 100-yards on a kickoff return against Northern Arizona.

Taking Care of Business

     For the second time this season, Northern Colorado did not commit any turnovers. The Bears did not fumble the ball or throw an interception against either Purdue or Idaho State and have a +1 mark in turnover margin. In five games, the Bears have fumbled four times and been intercepted six times, while they have recovered four fumbles and intercepted seven opponent passes.

Knowing When To Go For It

     The Bears have done a great job of deciding when to go for it on fourth downs, converting a Big Sky Conference leading 62.5 percent of fourth downs. The Bears are 5-for-8 through the first five games

Around The Block

     Junior safety Ryan Lutz became the fifth different player on the Northern Colorado team with a block when he blocked the first punt of the game for UC Davis. Lutz joins Martin Awachie, Cristian Sarmento, Mike Van Portfliet and Quincy Wofford on the list who have blocked either a field goad, point-after attempt or punt in their time with the Bears. Both Van Portfliet and Wofford have two blocks in their career, with both of Van Portfliets coming back-to-back against Northern Arizona.

Now Appearing

     Senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento had his string of 12 straight games against FCS teams with double figures in tackles snapped against Idaho State, though he still did manage eight in the game, bringing his career total to 293. He now ranks 10th in school history with that mark. His total of 275 in his three seasons in the Big Sky also ranks 11th and he needs just three more to tie Taylor Joyce of Montana (2004-07) with 278.

Kicking The Habit

Junior kicker Michael York is tied for first in the Big Sky Conference statistics with a perfect 11-for-11 mark on point-after kicks this year. York added a two-point conversion to his record on Saturday when he picked up a bad snap and ran it in. He is also 5-for-7 on field goals, which is the third-best percentage in the conference.

Nose For The Ball

     Senior linebacker Joe Kenney has a talent for finding the loose football, as he recovered the sixth fumble of his career against Idaho State on Saturday. Kenney's total is tied for eighth in school history with Tyrone Adams (1988-91) and Reed Doughty (2002-05). He is also tied for the conference lead, averaging 0.5 recoveries per game. The school record for fumbles recovered is 10 by both Duane Hirsch (1978-81) and Tom Langer (1987-90).

Rewriting The Books

        Several different players have made a name for themselves in the record books already this season. Those accomplishments follow:

• Junior cornerback Quincy Wofford tied the Big Sky and Northern Colorado records, returning a kickoff 100 yards against Northern Arizona. It is the fourth time in school history and the 17th time in the Big Sky a player has gone end zone to end zone.
• Junior quarterback Bryan Waggener's 66-yard run is the second longest ever by a quarterback in school history. In 1972, Gerry Dattilio scampered 68 yards for a touchdown against Fort Hays State.
• Against Texas State Waggener threw for 402 yards, which is the second-most in a single game in school history behind Nick Henkowski's 436 yards against North Dakota in 1983. Waggener also amassed 395 yards of total offense, which is the fourth-highest total in Bears history. Waggener also had 31 completions against Texas State, which is one shy of the school record of 32 against Central Oklahoma in 1978 and North Dakota State in 1987.
• Sophomore safety Mike Van Portfliet tied the school record for blocked kicks in a game, blocking back-to-back punts against Northern Arizona. He is the fourth player in school history and the first since 1996 to block two kicks in a contest.
• Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Smith had an 80-yard rush on the first play from scrimmage against Texas State for the fourth longest rushing play in school history.
• Junior running back DC Wilson went 75-yards for a touchdown run against Idaho State, marking the ninth longest rushing play ever at Northern Colorado.
• Junior kicker Michael York tied for the sixth most field goals in a game at NC, when he made three at UC Davis.
• Wofford's 124 kickoff return yards against Northern Arizona is the ninth-best single game total in school history.
• Senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento now ranks 10th in career total tackles with 293, while senior linebacker Joe Kenney is now tied for eighth in fumble recoveries with six in his career.

Points A-Plenty

     Northern Colorado scored 35 points in the home opener against Texas State, the first time since Oct. 29, 2005 the Bears scored more than 30 in a game when they defeated Fort Lewis on Homecoming, 45-14. The Bears have now scored 97 points this year in four games for an average of 24.2 per game. Last year, it took NC nine games to get to the 97 point mark.

Oh Captain, My Captain

     At the conclusion of the spring practices, the team voted and named senior offensive lineman Jacob Thornbrue and senior linebackers Joe Kenney and Cristian Sarmento as captains for the 2008 team. This is the second year in a row Kenney has served as a captain and the first season for the other two.