Weber State football: Washington wears down Wildcats 35-3 in opener | News, Sports, Jobs

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

Hopes and dreams aside, Saturday’s late, national nightcap went just about how most would expect.

Will Rogers was as advertised, Denzel Boston showed the promise Washington wants, and the Huskies may have a star in running back Jonah Coleman.

Still, a young Weber State squad can watch the film and see missed opportunities during a game in which Washington outclassed the Wildcats 35-3 to open the college football season for both teams.

Weber State held serve for 1 1/2 quarters, then Washington scored touchdowns on what was functionally four straight possessions to create space and cruise to victory.

“I think I’ve got a team that will fight to the end, they’re a special group and they’re going to stay together,” WSU head coach Mickey Mental said. “Now it’s about watching film, seeing where we can improve and put our guys in better situations to be successful.”

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

Damon Bankston’s return was as needed as it was anticipated. The junior running back rushed 16 times for 105 yards to lead Weber State’s inconsistent offense.

Bankston’s efforts to open the game helped WSU drive to the Washington 31 before a pair of Richie Muñoz incompletions stalled the progress. Kyle Thompson’s 48-yard field goal stayed just right and the Wildcats went without points.

“I thought the guys up front did a tremendous job with the run game,” Mental said. “Steve (Belichick, defensive coordinator) throws a multitude of looks and we tried to handle that the best we can.”

WSU’s defense turned Washington over on downs the first time it had the ball, then came up with a play that, combined with Thompson’s missed kick, created a strong what-if proposition for the first quarter.

Rogers converted a third down to Boston for a 17-yard gain, and replay showed WSU safety Kao Hansen stripped Boston and clutched possession before either player hit the ground.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

“That ball is out,” said Big Ten Network analyst Jake Butt when watching the replay — but the play was not reviewed.

Though Ishaan Daniels provided an excellent third-down tackle for loss in the flat, flying up to stop a dump-off pass and forcing a Washington punt, the 29-yard field Weber State might’ve inherited on the missed fumble remained hypothetical in what was a 0-0 ballgame.

Washington found success the next time out, going 65 yards in seven plays and taking a 7-0 lead on a 5-yard plunge from Coleman at the 12:15 mark of the second quarter.

Coleman finished with 16 carries for 127 yards and three touchdowns, the first player to eclipse 100 rushing yards in their debut with the Huskies since 1960. Coleman led Arizona in rushing last season and transferred to UW with his head coach, Jedd Fisch.

Hansen had his second near-turnover at midfield, jumping a Rogers throw to the middle on third down but ultimately seeing the ball slip through his fingers.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

With Bankston runs the only thing going for WSU’s offense, the Huskies soon began to put the game away. Using a lightning quick hurry-up offense, Rogers completed four passes on four tries, marching Washington to a 14-0 lead with 2:53 left in the half when he threw 33 yards to an open Decker DeGraff on a play-action pass.

Rogers finished the game 20 of 26 for 250 yards and the touchdown. He transferred to Washington for his fifth season after becoming the all-time career passer (in yards and touchdowns) at Mississippi State.

That opened the gates for the home team. The only thing that stopped the Huskies over the next several possessions was Angel King, the Weber safety who sacked Rogers on first down at the UW 9-yard line with 1:10 left; the Huskies had no timeouts and then saw the game to halftime, ready to receive the second-half kickoff.

Coleman rushed five times for 34 yards out of halftime, punching in another 5-yarder to make it 21-0 for the home team.

One of two 10-yard sacks from senior end Kemari Bailey helped Weber state in what seemed to be a stop, but the Wildcats were flagged with a horse-collar penalty on a third-down tackle near midfield. That helped Washington continue marching and Coleman rushed in his third score from 1 yard out, making it 28-0 with 3:50 left in the third quarter.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

The Wildcats then took the ball across the Washington 50 for one of its five times doing so, and found itself in striking distance after Muñoz avoided pressure and dumped a fourth-down pass to running back Adrian Cormier, who scampered 16 yards for a first down.

Muñoz added 12 more on a completion to Jaden Thrower (who had three catches for 25 yards), setting WSU up with a first down at the Washington 13.

Two incompletions and a short rush later, however, and Weber State had to settle. Thompson put through a 28-yard field goal for a 28-3 score with 19 seconds left in the third.

“We’ve got to do a better job of staying on schedule so we’re not in so many third-and-longs, after the first couple of drives — just maintain drives and stay on schedule,” Mental said. “It’s on me. I’ve got to do a better job of making sure we’re more efficient in the passing game, get those guys free releases so they can get into routes and Richie can put it on target.

“That’s my goal going into next week is developing opportunities for those guys to be successful on the outside.”

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

Muñoz finished 11 of 32 for 98 yards.

Washington finished its string of touchdown drives to open the fourth quarter on the debut of freshman quarterback Demond Williams Jr. He avoided what looked like a sure sack and rushed for 5 yards to key the drive early, and passed a 6-yard score to Boston to end it. That provided the final 35-3 margin with 11:52 left.

Bankston gave WSU one last shot at a touchdown drive with a 35-yard run on the next play. Muñoz picked up a fourth-down conversion with a 7-yard rush, but couldn’t find a receiver on fourth-and-1 from the Washington 21, throwing incomplete for a turnover on downs with 7:23 left.

For Washington, Boston caught six passes for 76 yards, and Giles Jackson had 10 catches for 98 yards.

Cormier rushed 11 times for 22 yards. Jayleen Record caught four passes for 16 yards, and Tajon Evans hauled in a 26-yarder.

Bailey’s two sacks were part of a five-tackle night for him, joining Daniels, Garrett Beck and Brayden Wilson with five tackles apiece.

“Another dimension off the edge,” Mental said about Bailey. “I thought he played a tremendous game. High-motor kid who answered the bell and played very hard throughout the game.”

Weber State regroups for its home opener, also its Big Sky opener, with Portland State coming to Stewart Stadium at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7.

“We’ll get ready for our home opener, and we can’t wait to play in front of Stewart,” Mental said.

AROUND THE BIG SKY

The Big Sky went 4-8 in Week 1.

Montana survived a scare from Missouri State at home for a 29-24 win, Montana State dispatched Utah Tech 31-7 in St. George, Eastern Washington beat Monmouth 42-27, and Northern Arizona romped over Lincoln (California) 66-6.

Idaho had the perhaps the biggest game of the week, putting a scare in Oregon with a touchdown to make it 17-14 with 9:45 left before falling 24-14.

Other scores:

California 31, UC Davis 13

San Jose State 42, Sacramento State 24

Washington State 70, Portland State 30

Oregon State 38, Idaho State 15

San Diego 27, Cal Poly 21

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