OGDEN — The 2008 football season didn't end the way the Weber State Wildcats wanted it to when they were defeated by Big Sky rival Montana 24-13 in the Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinals on Saturday.
But their breakthrough year will be remembered for much more than how it ended. The Wildcats are hoping that the 2008 season raised the bar of expectations at the school and that a solid foundation for future success has been built.
Weber State (10-4) won 10 games for just the second time in school history, and the Wildcats won just their second FCS playoff game. They reached the playoffs for the first time in 17 years and won a share of the Big Sky championship for the first time in 40 years.
The Wildcats had a formidable mix of seniors and younger players contribute to their success in 2008. While the team returns several explosive players in 2009, those returning players realize that seniors such as Derek Johnson, Bryce Scanlon, Marcus Mailei, Scotty Goodloe, Bryant Eteuati, J.D. Folsom, Ryan Galovic, Biff Swan, Pate Moleni, Lawaia Naihe and Paul Carpenter helped set the tone for what was arguably the best season of football in Weber State history.
"I want to thank the seniors," said junior safety Beau Hadley. "They've done something that will really help us to continue to expect to win and get to these type of games (the FCS quarterfinals). The seniors were great leaders on and off the field. They never missed workouts. They set the tone for us, and that's something the underclassmen coming back need to do next year."
Younger players will need to take leadership roles to keep Weber State among the Big Sky elite next season. Their production in 2008 was undeniable.
Quarterback Cameron Higgins had an outstanding sophomore year, as he set a Big Sky single-season record with 4,477 passing yards. He was second in the nation with 36 touchdown passes, a total that was also a Weber State single-season record. He completed 65 percent of his passes and finished sixth in the voting for the Walter Payton award.
Running back Trevyn Smith rushed for at least 100 yards in each of Weber State's final seven games. He became the Wildcats' all-time leading rusher this season in just his junior year, and won his third consecutive Big Sky rushing title. He scored 28 touchdowns, which tied him with two other players for the conference's single-season record.
The Wildcats also return standouts such as receiver Tim Toone, who's already the school's all-time leader in touchdown receptions, center Kyle Mutcher, defensive end Kevin Linehan, cornerback Josh Morris, Hadley, tight end Cody Nakamura, guard J.C. Oram, receiver Mike Phillips and defensive lineman Ryan Eastman.
Despite a tougher conference schedule that will feature road games at Montana and Eastern Washington next year, the Wildcats will be burdened with much higher expectations than usual prior to the 2009 season. While that will be the case, the Wildcats will have no trouble getting motivated to prepare for next year, especially after failing to play their best in a frenzied environment at Montana last Saturday.
"We feel like this (the Montana loss) is one where we could have played better and had a different outcome," Hadley said. "Down the road, we'll look at this as something we can learn from and not let happen next year. We can build off the momentum of this year."
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