The Weber State Wildcats sure picked a bad time to end their 10-game winning streak against the Idaho State Bengals.
Weber State's playoff hopes and season came to an end as Idaho State earned some revenge with a 35-25 win over the Wildcats at Holt Arena."We made a good run at the playoffs, but we should have won this one," said Wildcat senior Jacob Belmont. "We beat them 10 times in a row, so I guess it was just their turn."
It took ISU all of 91 seconds to drive 80 yards on seven plays for an early 7-0 lead.
A lucky bounce helped the Bengals get into the end zone, though, as Weber's Weston Weaver deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage only to have the ball fall into the hands of Alfredo Anderson. He waltzed 32 yards untouched for a TD.
The Bengals took a 14-0 lead on a 29-yard touchdown reception by Justin Young from Gary Anderson, who had his first start of the season.
They proved to be a deadly combination against the Wildcats.
After a 38-yard field goal by Scott Shields trimmed the lead to 14-3 in the second quarter, Anderson connected with Young for another long TD toss. This one went for 38 yards to put ISU up 21-3 at the half.
ISU racked up 262 yards of total offense with 173 coming in the air in the first half.
Weber, meantime, could only muster 159 yards of offense despite having possession of the ball two minutes longer than the Bengals (16:02 to 13:58).
A seemingly different Wildcat team came out of the locker room.
WSU cut the lead to 21-10 at the 10:37 mark of the third on a 2-yard rush by Clemente Sainten. The TD run was set up by a 41-yard pass play from Roger Cook to Norvel Young.
Sean Tufuga then made a spectacular diving interception to give the Wildcats the ball right back. But WSU had to settle for a 27-yard field goal to bring the score within eight at 21-13.
The Wildcats' defense then forced the Bengals to punt on their ensuing possession. Pokey Eckford returned that punt 19 yards to give the Wildcats excellent field position at the ISU 33.
Five plays later the WSU offense again found paydirt as Young hauled in a 10-yard touchdown strike from Cook.
The Wildcats decided to go for the two-point conversion but Young couldn't hang onto a Cook pass to keep the score at 21-19.
That blown conversion proved to be the beginning of the end for the Wildcats.
After again forcing ISU to punt, the Wildcats blew an opportunity to take the lead when Bengal linebacker Mark Fisher intercepted a Cook pass at the Weber 22.
ISU made the Wildcats pay dearly as Young caught his third touchdown pass, a 19-yard catch, to give the Bengals a 28-19 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats still had a chance to get into the game, but on their first drive in the fourth quarter Eckford fumbled the ball after making a reception.
ISU then marched 56 yards for an insurance touchdown and a 35-19 lead with just under six minutes remaining.
Weber State still fought back to score a touchdown - a 5-yard catch by Eckford - but the Wildcats again weren't able to convert the two-point conversion.
Weber State finished its season with a 6-5 record, 4-3 in the Big Sky.