OGDEN, Utah, Sept. 7, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Weber State ran wild on offense and clamped down on defense in the second half to turn a competitive game into a 43-16 runaway victory over Portland State on Saturday night at Stewart Stadium.
Running back Damon Bankston rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns as 24th-ranked Weber State amassed 316 yards on the ground and opened its Big Sky Conference season in style.
The Wildcats (1-1 overall, 1-0 Big Sky) gained 535 yards overall, more than doubling the visiting Vikings’ 240 yards of offense.
Sophomore quarterback Richie Munoz completed 19 of 30 passes for 219 yards and touchdown and also carried the ball 10 times for 50 yards and rushing TD.
Senior Jacob Sharp was the Wildcats’ leading receiver, finishing with nine catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.
After the game, Bankston and WSU head coach Mickey Mental both credited the offensive line for the making the Wildcats’ home opener a success.
“The heart of our offense for sure is the O-line,” Bankston said. “They stepped up big, and they’re going to continue to step up big.”
“That’s a big-time statement from those guys up front, so a lot of credit goes to them,” Mental added.
Bankston, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound junior, was a bright spot in the Wildcats’ 35-3 season-opening loss at Washington on Aug. 31. The Katy, Texas, native rushed for 105 yards on 16 carries against the Huskies in his first game action in nearly a year.
Bankston missed most of last season after suffering a knee injury on Sept. 30, 2023.
“Pretty much at any point in the game, at any time when I touch the ball, I’m looking to go score,” he said after the game. “I don’t get down on the short runs. For me, my mindset is when it’s there, I’m going to take advantage of it. … Eventually I know I’m going to break one. It’s rare when I don’t.”
WSU’s defense forced eight punts — including four on three-and-outs — and junior safety Angel King came up with two fourth-quarter turnovers — a fumble recovery and an interception — to help secure the victory.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” King said after the game. “Those are my first turnovers since I’ve been in college. … To get those first ones is a real special feeling.”
After going three and out on its opening possession, Weber State capped an eight-play, 73-yard drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Munoz to Sharp to take a 7-0 lead with 5:15 remaining in the first quarter.
Portland State tied the game at the 11:09 mark in the second quarter when Vikings quarterback Dante Chachere scrambled to his right and found running back Craig Quincy wide open in the corner of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown.
The teams then traded second-quarter field goals — a 46-yarder from Weber State senior Kyle Thompson at the 8:33 mark and a 42-yarder from Portland State’s Mathias Uribe with 3:50 to play — to tie the game at 10.
A 61-yard run by WSU sophomore Clarence Butler put the Wildcats in the red zone, and Bankston later scored his first touchdown of the season from 1 yard out to give WSU a 16-10 advantage. A failed 2-point conversion kept the Wildcats’ lead at six heading into the locker room at halftime.
A 41-yard field goal from Thompson on Weber State’s second possession of the second half pushed the Wildcats’ lead to 19-10 with 9:13 left in the third quarter.
Thompson booted his third field goal of the day — a 25-yarder — on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend Weber State’s advantage to 22-10.
The Wildcats continued to pull away on their next possession, with Munoz scoring on a 9-yard run to cap an efficient eight-play, 83-yard drive and give WSU a 19-point lead at 29-10.
Portland State responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass from backup QB William Haskell to receiver Branden Alvarez to cut the deficit to 29-16 with 5:38 remaining.
Bankston quickly closed the door on the Vikings’ comeback hopes on Weber State’s next offensive play, getting to the edge and sprinting down the west sideline for a 75-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 36-16.
“All game really, they were stuffing [us] inside. They made sure we did not run the ball on the inside, for some reason,” he said. “As expected, they straight up pinched everything, and I just took it outside, and the [cornerback] kept running with the receiver. It looked perfect and I just kept running.”
King came up with back-to-back turnovers on the Vikings’ next two possessions — a fumble and an interception by Haskell.
The Wildcats failed to capitalize on the first miscue, with Thompson missing a 34-yard field goal, but made the most of the second as freshman running back Davion Godley scored on a 14-yard run to push the lead to 43-16 with about 2 1/2 minutes remaining.
“All in all, I think our tempo wore them down at the end of the game,” Mental said.
