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Show Monday, September 8,2008 SPORTS | , r THE SIGNPOST FILE PHOTO BY MATT CLASS | THE SIGNPOST Weber State University outside hitter Chelsea Bair floats a ball over a block in a match earlier this season. Bair led the Wildcats in kills in all four of their matches at the Baylor Classic last weekend and was named to the All-Tournament Team. i'l I O I O HY KENT N1SHIMURA j M (CO O HAWAI'I The Wildcats travelled to Hawai'i to play the University of Hawai'i on Saturday evening. WSU lost 36-17, after giving up the lead they had in the first half. Tough loss on the road for 'Cats Wildcats starts strong, but can't keep the lead at University of Hawai' By Gentry Reinhard asst. sports editor I The Signpost HONOLULU, Hawaii - If football games only lasted 30 minutes, the Weber State Wildcats would have stunned the University of Hawai'i and walked away with a 17-7 victory on Saturday night. Unfortunately, a traditional game of football lasts 60 minutes. 30 minutes too long for the 'Cats. It was a typical Hawaiian evening complete with a break dancing warrior mascot, a rainbow that appeared over Aloha Stadium in the second quarter and the theme song from Hawai'i 5-0 playing throughout the night. The Wildcats came into Saturday night's game facing a University of Hawai'i team that had won 16 of their last 17 home games. The first half was all Weber State with WSU sophomore quarterback Cameron Higgins completing 14 of 18 passes for 145 yards including a 3-yard touchdown pass to WSU running back senior defensive lineman Bryce Scanlon said. "The fans were loud but we came out and scared 'em in the first half." University of Hawai'i quarterback Inoke Funaki was sacked twice, one of which resulted in a fumble recovery by WSU freshman Caldwell Trevyn Smith with nine minutes left in the half. Taylor at the Hawai'i 3-yard line which led to the "We were catching them off guard in the go-ahead score from running backTrevyn Smith. first half," Higgins said. "We ran The Wildcat defensive line four and five wides and a lot of continually pressured Funaki into play-action, we just seemed to bad passes and short scrambles and really catch them on their tails." the Weber State secondary turned WSU junior Trevyn Smith rushed in solid performances from WSU for 46 first half yards on 16 carries junior cornerback Thyrel! Lewis and including a one-yard touchdown freshman cornerback Antwain Stutson. run at the beginning of the second WSU 17 The second half was a different Hawaii 36 quarter to give Weber State the lead. story. Everything that had gone Tim Toonc catches four parses WSU junior wide receiver Tim Toone for 81 yrdsin Is! half right for the Wildcats in the first half also had phenomenal night, catching suddenly shifted to favor the Warriors. four passes for 81 yards in the first half Hawai'i replaced quarterbacks at including a miraculous 40-yard over the shoulder the half bringing in veteran Tyler Graunke for grab on a second-and-long in the second.quarter. the struggling Funaki. Graunke proceeded The Wildcats defense stepped up as to pick apart the Weber State secondary well, shutting down Hawaii's offense and opening up the Warriors running game. holding the Warriors to 121 first half yards. "The difference was that Inoke (Funaki) "It was a crazy environment," WSU See Football page 6 Wildcats relish chance to play in paradise appreciated logo at the 50-yard line that read, "Weber S." Even with all the distraction and laid back atmosphere, WSU wide receiver Tim Toone wasn't before embarking on the hour- concerned about the mental long drive to the North Shore state of the team. area and Turtle Bay Resort. "I don't think it's hard to But it wasn't all work. After stay focused," Toone said. "I all, it's Hawaii. think we're more relaxed going "Since practice we've been into the game. You're not all seeing the sights, seeing what's stressed out about it, but you cool," said WSU junior running have to be careful not to tire out back Trevyn Smith Friday. "We beforehand." got to see some of the native The heat and choking stuff, and we're going snorkeling humidity was a constant later." throughout the weekend, but On Friday, the 'Cats went it didn't seem to slow down the ^ back to work for a short practice Wildcats who were eager and 9 on a small field sandwiched motivated during each of the 5 between a world-class golf en course and a stable that housed See Paradise page 6 £ horses the resort uses for tours and beach-front rides. Players practiced minus shirts and In board shorts and bare feet shoes on a practice field that Weber State University quarterhad been painted specifically back Cameron Higgins airs out a for the Wildcats, including pass during a run through Friday a rudimentary, yet greatly in Kahuku, Hawaii. Football team careful to stay relaxed, yet focused in Hawaii By Gentry Reinhart asst. sports editor 1 The Signpost KAHUKU, Hawaii -Traveling can be an enriching experience. However, stress is an activity that accompanies any trip. Plane tickets, rental cars, hotels and restaurants can pose problems for even the most seasoned traveler. Imagine coordinating all of that for a college football team and, oh yeah, there's practices and a game too. For the Weber State University Football Team this was a reality over the weekend as the Wildcats prepared to meet the University of Hawaii Warriors in Oahu, Hawaii. After landing in Honolulu on Thursday afternoon, the Wildcats drove directly to Aloha Stadium for a light practice Volleyball team still winning on the road Wildcats now 5-3 after Baylor tournament split By Jon McBride sports editor I The Signpost The Weber State University Volleyball Team went 2-2 at the Baylor Classic last weekend in Waco, Texas. Combined with a win over Utah State University last Tuesday, the Wildcats went 3-2 in a very busy week. "Looking back, we might have overscheduled the week a little bit," said WSU Head Coach Al Givens. The 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-23 victory over Utah State started the week off strong, as it was the Wildcats' first win over the Aggies in nine years. Winning the game in Logan made it even more impressive. Afterlosingthefirstset,a.414hittingpercentage in the second set propelled the 'Cats to win the next three. The Aggies fought hard in the fourth set, fighting to eight ties, but the Wildcats never trailed and broke a 23-23 tie with back-to-back kills by Chelsea Bair and Amy Dunford. After a few days off, the Wildcats were back in action Friday against the host Baylor University Bears in their first match of the Baylor Classic. Baylor swept WSU 25-20, 25-22, 25-20 despite the Wildcats holding 18-16 and 19-15 leads in the first two sets respectively. Key errors are critical times proved costly for the 'Cats. "Overall, I think we all know that it could have very easily been a 3-1 or even a 4-0 weekend if we would have been able to reduce our errors at critical times," Givens said. WSU faced Rice University in their second match of the day. It was a similar match for the Wildcats as their first. Rice won 31-29, 25-20. 2518. Again, the Wildcats had opportunities to win .; those sets, battling to a total of 30 ties and 10 : lead changes in the match, but again, errors at : inopportune moments were too costly. : "I thought all of the matches we played were winnable," Givens said. "We played them close and then just made some errors at a critical point. . But I think we rebounded really well. By getting the split we kind of salvaged the weekend." On Saturday, the Wildcats looked like a different team. In the morning match WSU beat : San Diego State University 25-18, 25-16, 21-25, \ 25-19. The Wildcats hit .238 in the match with 52 \ kills, while the Aztecs hit. 103 with 42 kills and 29 hitting errors. WSU faced the University of Texas at San Antonio in its afternoon match and continued its winning ways with a 25-19, 14-25, 25-16, 1625,15-8 win in a back-and-forth battle. It was the Wildcats' second five-set match of the season, the 'Cats winning both of them. "I was thinking that if we were able to go 2-2 it would be a good weekend," Givens said. "If we went 3-1 it would have been a great weekend." Bair led the Wikicats in kills in each match See Volleyball page 6 |