OGDEN — Though they trailed by a field goal, the Weber State Wildcats had trouble fending off smiles. As soon as they broke huddle, the Wildcats were confident a rollercoaster game featuring four overtimes would end with one more play — a halfback pass from Johnnie Gray III to Damon Greenberry.
"You've got to pull something out of the bag, and that was the play we worked on all week," Weber State quarterback Tate Bennett said of the 25-yard throw that lifted the Wildcats to a thrilling 43-40 victory over Cal Poly at Stewart Stadium. "I felt like that was going to be the game winner. I kind of had that sense.
"Any time you give the ball to Johnnie Gray, something good is going to happen," he continued. "That play, at that time, we knew was going to work."
And it did.
On first down, Bennett handed the ball to Gray. He then dropped back and threw a pinpoint pass to Greenberry, who was wide-open in the end zone.
"I knew it was a touchdown," said Gray, who also finished with 131 yards rushing and two scores. "I just threw it and it was over."
As seniors playing their final home games, Gray and Greenberry were determined to make something happen.
"When I saw the ball in the air, I wasn't trying to catch it," said Greenberry. "I cradled it."
The touchdown pass capped a contest that Cal Poly coach Rich Ellerson said was filled with a million woulda's, coulda's and shoulda's.
"It was a great lesson in what wins football games," said Ellerson. "There was no lack of fight on either side. It was a hard-fought contest."
Trailing 17-3 at halftime, Weber State roared back into contention with three straight touchdown drives to open the second half. Bennett, who was enlisted when starter Tyler Gladwell suffered a minor concussion just before the intermission, opened the outburst with a 4-yard scoring strike to Michael Hale. Gray then added touchdown runs of 30 and 1 yards to give the Wildcats a 24-17 lead.
An exchange of scores followed in the fourth quarter — Cal Poly on a 6-yard run by Chris Peterson and Weber State off a 25-yard throw from Bennett to Ryan Nath — before the game took another crazy turn. On the last play of regulation, Cal Poly pulled even when Peterson heaved a desperation pass downfield as time expired. It bounced off three Weber State defenders before landing in the hands of Adam Herzing. He then ran in for the score to cap an 86-yard pass play.
Though pleased with the eventual outcome, Weber State coach Jerry Graybeal wasn't happy his defensive unit didn't just bat the ball to the ground. He vows it'll be worked on in practice this week as the Wildcats (3-6) prepare to visit top-ranked Montana on Saturday.
Whatever transpires in Missoula, however, may be anticlimactic.
Besides the late score, there were several other unusual occurrences.
After intercepting a Weber State pass in the third overtime, Cal Poly opted to run a play instead of kicking a game-winning field goal. Big mistake. A fumble on first down was recovered by Spencer Sigoda and sent the game into a fourth extra session.
Other notable plays include a 94-yard kickoff return by Cal Poly's Darrel Jones for a touchdown and a combined seven field goals — four by Cal Poly's Navid Niakan and three from Weber State's Jason Zur.
"We've been up and down," said Zur, who made two of his kicks in overtime. "But this team is coming around."
And around . . . and around . . . and around.
EXTRA POINTS: The attendance was 4,383. In five home games this season, the Wildcats drew a total of 32,055 fans . . . Cal Poly's staff includes three coaches with connections to Utah. Ellerson was head coach at SUU in 1996; offensive coordinator Gene McKeehan is a former Murray HIgh coach and Utah State assistant; and quarterbacks coach Joe DuPaix was a star player at Skyline High and SUU . . . Weber State is 3-0 all-time against Cal Poly.
E-mail: dirk@desnews.com