Tough night for Weber State in 44-0 blowout loss


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

OGDEN — It was a tough night to be a Weber State quarterback.

Starting quarterback Jadrian Clark and true freshman Justin Shaw combined for 12 completions and five interceptions in a 44-0 blowout loss to Southern Utah University Friday night.

The loss ended Weber State's bid to win three straight games for the first time in five years.

Freshman quarterback Justin Shaw was 0-for-4 including three interceptions and a lost fumble. Weber State head coach Jay Hill was not concerned about the performance from Shaw, who was playing in only the second college football game of his young career.

"I take all that responsibility on me," he said. "He plays because I like him, and I think he is going to be a very good player. We need to bring him along and quite frankly, he needs to be in situations like he was in tonight, against a good defense that puts pressure on him."

The Thunderbird defense forced six turnovers in the game, including two pick-sixes. Hill was quick to credit Southern Utah on its defensive performance.

"Their defense forced turnovers tonight and ours didn't," he said. "I really feel like that is the stat of the game. We have got to do a better job forcing turnovers."

At halftime, SUU looked firmly in control after a 68-yard punt return by junior wide receiver Naia Ursua, and a 26-yard interception return by defensive back LeShaun Sims. The half closed with a 33-yard SUU field goal, putting the T-Birds up 17-0.

"The game was not over at 17-0, far from over," Hill said. "Southern Utah came out and did a good job getting out of the first drive, putting points up on the board. Then it becomes hard. So give all the credit to Coach Lamb and Southern Utah. They did a good job, and we have got to do a better job making plays."

Southern Utah didn't lose any steam during the break. The T-Birds came out and scored on their first drive of the half, going 73 yards in 10 plays. Weber State was never able to recover as the Thunderbirds cruised to an easy victory.

SUU starting quarterback Ammon Olsen was extremely productive in throwing for 242 yards on the night.

The silver lining of the night for Weber State came in the form of sophomore running back Eric Wilkes. The power back picked up 59 yards on the ground and 138 return yards, including a 41-yard return in which he spun past several defenders. Wilkes has 214 rushing yards on the season and looks to be a solid piece in the WSU offensive plans going forward.

The Wildcats came into the game on a two-game winning streak, winning their Big Sky Conference opener against Northern Colorado last Saturday. The loss drops Weber State to 2-3 on the season.

Weber State faces another difficult task as it heads out on the road next week to face No. 12 Montana on Saturday, Oct. 10.

Southern Utah improves to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in league play. The T-Birds have a week off before hosting Sacramento State Oct. 17. Mark Douglas is a graduate of Weber State University and lives in Ogden, Utah. Contact him at markdouglasmail@gmail.com

Photos

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsWeber State Wildcats

ARE YOU GAME?

From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast