Wildcats exit playoffs early

A week after crushing California Polytechnic University 47-14 to secure a playoff berth, the Wildcats’ hopes for a national championship were crushed. Weber State University was held scoreless against the FCS’s No. 1 ranked rushing defense, the final score being 38-0 in favor of the College of William and Mary. With the loss, the Wildcats’ final record for the season falls to 7-5.
WSU senior Trevyn Smith only managed to average 1.7 yards in his 13 rushing attempts, and the team had -6 total rushing yards after quarterback Cameron Higgins was sacked four times for a loss of 27 yards. CWM, however, was able to run on the Wildcats; running back Jonathan Grimes who had 139 yards on 23 attempts. Grimes also led the Tribe with 66 yards on four receptions.
Senior safety Beau Hadley had a team-high eight tackles, seven of which were unassisted, safety Jordan Brown had seven tackles and both defensive end Caldwell Taylor and rover Nick Webb had six tackles.
WSU turned over the ball five times, four or which were interceptions, while the Tribe had no turnovers. Two of the interceptions were returned for touchdowns, one by Jake Trantin and one by B.W. Webb.
Senior Tim Toone, who played in his final game as a WSU Wildcat, had six receptions for 46 yards and ended his career by breaking the WSU record for most career receptions. Receiver Joe Collins had four receptions for 44 yards.
Quarterback R.J. Archer ran for two touchdowns for the Tribe and running back Terrence Riggins ran for a third.
On special teams, WSU running back Bo Bolen returned seven kickoffs for 168 yards, and kicker Mike Snoy had six punts for 257 yards.
Both WSU and CWM began the game with strong defensive series. It took the Tribe’s offense until their sixth possession to score, although the team’s defense scored off of an interception with nine minutes left in the first half.
WSU dominated the ball for the first half, having possession for almost two-thirds of the first quarter and well over half for the second quarter. In the second half CWM took control. WSU only had possession for 7:27 in the second half and only had one drive that lasted longer than four plays.
Throughout the whole game, the closest the Wildcats came to the end zone was on their second drive, which lasted for 10 plays and covered 37 yards, bringing them to the CWM 30-yard line. The Wildcats missed the field goal attempt, and also couldn’t connect on a field goal on their next series when they drove the ball to the 32-yard line.
The Wildcats have 19 seniors on the roster, but there is the possibility that tight end Cody Nakamura will be allowed an extra year of eligibility after missing most of this season due to a knee injury. Notable losses include Smith, Toone, Snoy, corner Josh Morris, Hadley, receiver Joe Collins and corner Thyrell Lewis.
Last year the Wildcats made it into the second round of the playoffs, beating Cal Poly 49-35 before losing to the University of Montana 13-24 in the second round of the playoffs.