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FOOTBALL FALLS AT #15 WEBER STATE
10/17/2009
OGDEN, Utah — Tim Toone scored three touchdowns in the first half and finished with four in the game and Cameron Higgins threw five TDs to lead 15th-ranked Weber State to a 49-10 win over Sacramento State in a Big Sky Conference football game Saturday afternoon at Stewart Stadium.
The victory improved the Wildcats to 4-3 overall and 4-1 in Big Sky play. The Hornets fell to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
Toone needed just six touches in the opening two quarters to score his first three touchdowns. He scored the first points of the game with a 25-yard reception from Higgins. On Weber State's next drive, Toone pulled in a 52-yard pass on 3rd-and-19 which set up a 3-yard reception from Joe Collins to make the score, 14-0, early in the second quarter.
The biggest play of the game came with 8:08 showing when Toone was driven back to his own 5-yard line on an Augie Heath punt. Bucking conventional wisdom, he opted to return the punt and was nearly untouched on his way to a Big Sky record 95-yard punt return for touchdown.
Sacramento State responded with a 13-play, 80-yard drive which was capped by a 12-yard pass from Jason Smith to Brian Heath. The score for Heath was his first as a Hornet and was his third reception of the half.
Any momentum the Hornets had was lost when WSU returned the kickoff into Hornet territory. The Wildcats added to their lead with a 30-yard strike from Higgins to Mike Phillips with 45 seconds left. WSU then intercepted Smith and scored two plays later when Toone used some creative footwork in the end zone to catch a 5-yard touchdown against the sideline.
Toone added his fourth TD on a 6-yard reception late in the third quarter. Freshman Bo Bolen contributed to the total with an 11-yard TD run with 10:39 left in the game.
Chris Diniz made a 26-yard field goal to end the game's scoring. Diniz is now 7-for-7 on the year and set the school record for most consecutive makes in a year.
Smith was 14-of-25 for 137 yards with a score and an interception before giving way to McLeod Bethel-Thompson late in the third quarter. Terrance Dailey just missed another 100-yard game finishing with 96 yards on 22 carries. Sam McCowan, John Hendershott, Heath and Dylan Lane each had three receptions to lead the team.
Higgins was highly efficient in his three quarters of work, completing 23-of-30 passes for 290 yards and five touchdowns. Toone completed his day with eight receptions for 154 yards and had 263 all-purpose yards.
Peter Buck and Zach Schrader tied for the team lead with nine tackles. Buck's total included a career-high 3.0 tackles-for-loss.
Sacramento State returns home for back-to-back home games beginning on Saturday, Oct. 24, against third-ranked Montana at 2 p.m.
NOTES: Schrader had now led or tied for the team lead in tackles in all but one game…the Hornets are 0-7 all-time at Weber State…the 39-point loss was the worst suffered against the Wildcats in the 14-game series…eight different Hornets caught at least one pass in the game…Heath set a career high with three receptions…Ron Richardson's 12-yard punt return was the longest by Sacramento State this season…the Hornets have lost their last 13 games against a ranked FCS opponent.
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