Nov. 29, 2008

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Cal Poly saw its quest for a Football Championship Subdivision title thwarted in the first round as the Mustangs lost to Weber State 49-35 Saturday night at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

Quarterback Cameron Higgins passed for 399 yards and two touchdowns and running back Trevyn Smith rushed for 137 yards and two more scores as No. 12 Weber State defeated No. 3 Cal Poly and advanced to the second round.

Higgins completed 21 of 33 passes, including scoring strikes of 37 yards to Smith and 15 yards to Cody Nakamura, as the Wildcats improved to 10-3 on the year and set up a rematch with Big Sky Conference rival Montana next Saturday in Missoula, Mont.

Cal Poly, despite accumulating 548 yards in total offense, finished its season 8-3.

Cal Poly led only once in the game as Ramses Barden caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jonathan Dally less than five minutes into the game.

For Barden, it was the Walter Payton Award candidate's 20th consecutive career game with a touchdown catch and the 32nd in 46 career games.

But Weber State answered with 1- and 29-yard scoring runs by Smith to take a 14-7 lead late in the first period.

Cal Poly tied the game twice in the second quarter - at 14-14 on an eight-yard run by Dally and at 21-21 on an 11-yard run by Jon Hall.

But the Wildcats established control of the game with the next two touchdowns - a 15-yard pass from Higgins to Smith with 1:07 to play before halftime and a 9-yard pass from Brendon Doyle to Cody Nakamura early in the third period for a 35-21 advantage.

Cal Poly scored twice in the final quarter, but Weber State answered each time.

Dally ran one yard for the Mustangs but Higgins responded with a one-yard run of his own for a 42-28 cushion with 7:35 to play.

Barden caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Dally with 3:08 to play, but the Mustangs' onside kick was knocked out of bounds by Weber State and the Wildcats clinched the victory on a 21-yard run by Justin White with 2:15 to go.

Toone caught 10 passes for 199 yards and Nakamura added four receptions for 34 yards for Weber State.

Cal Poly's Dally rushed for a career-high 177 yards on 23 carries and completed 11 of 30 passes for 185 yards. Dally, who entered the game with just one interception thrown all season, was intercepted four times by the Wildcats, including two by Scotty Goodloe.

Dally notched his third straight 100-yard game rushing and had seven for his Mustang career.

Barden finished with six catches for 108 yards and two scores. His Cal Poly career ends with 206 catches, 4,203 yards and 50 touchdowns, all school records. He notched his school-record 16th career 100-yard game.

Cal Poly, which entered the game having turned the ball over six times in 10 regular-season contests, committed five turnovers Saturday, including one lost fumble.

Defensive leaders for Weber State were Bryce Scanlon with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery, and Kevin Linehan with eight tackles. Josh Morris and Beau Hadley had the other interceptions for the Wildcats, who now lead the series against Cal Poly 4-3, snapping a three-game losing streak.

Mark Restelli and Xavier Gardner each had eight tackles for Cal Poly. Greg Francis notched seven tackles and recovered a Weber State fumble.