OCR Text |
Show Friday, September 5, 2008 THE SIGNPOST SPORTS Time for a challenge 'Cats will have hands full in Hawaii By Matt Gerrish asst. sports editor I The Signpost I'lLE PHOTO BY MATT CLASS I THE SICNPOSI The Weber State University Football Team got off to a great start last Saturday, pounding the University of Montana - Western 62-6. But this Saturday at 10 p.m. (MDT), the Wildcats face a tougher and perhaps more familiar foe in the University of Hawaii. The Warriors are the defending Western Athletic Conference Champions, fresh off an appearance in last year's Sugar Bowl, and return a total of nine starters from last year's 12-1 squad. "We are real excited, because it is such a big opportunity for us," said WSU Offensive Coordinator Kevin McGiven. "We get to see where we stand against a Division I opponent who has had a lot of success lately." Both teams are coming off of totally opposite season openers. WSU won its home matchup handily against an NAIA team that didn't pose much of a threat. Hawaii was on the other end of a blowout in its opener. They got trampled on the road 56-10 against No. 5 University of WSU vs. Florida. Hawaii The Wildcats bring some Saturday, 10 p.m. momentum into Saturday's Honolulu, Hawaii matchup, while the Warriors left week-one action a bit deflated. Still WSU has a long way to go in order to secure a victory Saturday. "Last week was kind of a tease," said WSU starting fullback Marcus Mailei, "so this will be the true test." Offensively, the Wildcats will look ' to running back Trevyn Smith, who had a stellar opening weekend with 157 total yards and four touchdowns. Anchoring Smith, the Wildcat offensive line hopes to create problems for the Warriors' front seven, who had a tough outing in their opening week, getting burned for 255 yards on the ground by Florida. The Wildcat running backs do not want to grow complacent with last week's outing. They will face talented Warrior linebacker Solomon Elimimian, who was voted WAC Pre-Season Defensive Player of the Year, and the yards will not come as easy for the WSU running game this time around. "All around, their defensive front is about as good as we are going to see all year," McGiven said, "and their speed is at a higher level as well, so it will take a little getting used to." While the coaching staff has been busy drawing up a game plan for the ground attack, Mailei remains optimistic. "They aren't very sound at controlling their gaps," Mailei said, "so we should have an After throwing for 256 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters last week against the NAIA's University of Montana Western, Weber State University quarterback Cameron Higgins will face a tall task against Division I University of Hawaii. See Challenge page 7 Soccer team draws against WAC powerhouse Tough road stretch for Wildcats opens with 2-2 tie at Boise State By Gentry Reinhart asst. sports editor I The Signpost FILE PHOTO BY CATHERINE MORTIMER | Mil SIGNPOST Weber State University forward Whitney Smith scored her third goal of the season last weekend to power the Wildcats to a 2-2 draw with Boise State University. Smith was awarded the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week for her strong start to the season. The Weber State University Women's Soccer Team fought to a 2-2 draw with the Boise State University Broncos in their first road match of the season last Sunday. A senior and a freshman scored goals for the Wildcats, and several standout performances were turned in as the 'Cats opened a three-game road stretch that has them playing in Arizona this weekend. In the fourth minute of play against the Broncos, WSU senior Whitney Smith opened the scoring. She took a pass from fellow senior Haley McCoy and tallied her third goal of the season. Smith has scored in each of the Wildcats' three games so far this season, and was recently named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week. "It's always nice to be acknowledged," Smith said, "but there's other people on the team that aren't far from three goals. I was really just at the right place at the right time. I got lucky and was able to find the back of the net." Haley McCoy's assist was her third of the season, 14th in her career, putting her at sixth on WSU's all-time list and just behind four Wildcats tied for second place. "I don't really think about it while I'm playing," said McCoy about chasing the assists record. "Of course it would be cool to get, but while I'm playing, I'm not thinking about it at all. I'm just trying to make sure the team comes out on the right side." In the 16th minute, Boise State's Shannon Saxton fed the ball to Andrea Huerta who found the back of the net for the equalizer. Then in the 73rd minute, Saxton scored the goahead goal, banking in a shot off See Soccer page 7 Big time opportunity for football team... win or lose Standing Out By Jon McBride sports editor The Signpost Weber State University offensive1 coordinator Kevin Mctiiven said Saturday's game against the University of Hawaii is a big opportunity for his team. In coach speak, that can often mean, "we're going to play a really good team and probably get our butts handed to us, but at least we might learn a couple things from it." In all actuality, that's probably what a lot of people are expecting going into Saturday's game at Aloha Stadium. But what if we win? Seriously, what if the little Webber State Wildcats beat the big-time Warriors? Now that would be an opportunity. An opportunity for national media coverage, an opportunity to gain a whole lot of confidence and an opportunity to jump start the WSU football program that has needed some kind of kick in the pants for some time now. Maybe this is just the far-fledged idea of some sports columnist who has hopes and dreams of major upsets at every opportunity whetting his appetite. Maybe this column is a waste of time. Maybe it's not. The opportunity to beat Hawaii probably couldn't come at a better time. It's early in the season, the Wildcats are coming off a huge win, the Warriors are coming off a huge loss. The Wildcats are almost 100 percent healthy for once - minus the loss of Scotty Goodloe to a shoulder injury. The Wildcats finally have some continuity, the Warriors have almost a brand new team from last season and finally, it's college football we're talking about, anything can happen. We love college football for its unpredictability, so why not love these underdogs of Weber State? Saturday's game is just one of many opportunities for the Wildcats this season. The Wildcats play at the University of Utah - which from last Saturday's win at the University of Michigan proved they're the real deal. The Wildcats also have an opportunity when they play Big Sky Conference powerhouse, the University of Montana, at home this season. Making the most of this first opportunity would greatly enhance WSU's ability to make the most of the upcoming opportunities. That's due to a little thing we like to call momentum. Now back to coach speak. Even if the Wildcats lose this game, even if they lose this game by a whole lot, it really is an opportunity to improve. A natural consequence of testing yourself against a tougher opponent is that it will make you better. You're forced to be better. The challenge is to carry that improvement into the next game and to let that experience change you. When the Wildcats return to Ogden to face Dixie State College in week three, we'll all be able to see. We'll see if this opportunity really was taken advantage of or whether this opportunity became an obstacle. Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com. |