Junior defensive lineman Barrett Wangara grabbed the football and kept running.
After snagging a ricochet interception in the third quarter of the No. 19 Mustangs matchup against Weber State, the 275-pound lineman ran down the field 58 yards into the end zone to score the pivotal touchdown in Cal Poly’s 45-23 win over the Weber State Wildcats on Friday.
The win marks Cal Poly’s fifth straight victory, advancing the team’s undefeated record to 5-0 (3-0 Big Sky).
Quarterback Andre Broadous went 6 of 11 passing with 99 yards and three touchdowns (a career-high).
On the other side, the Wildcats recorded a season-high 528 yards of total offense. They were also the first to get points on the board, putting up two field goals in the first quarter.
Cal Poly wasted no time and scored a quick touchdown, a 30-yard pass from Broadous to Kristaan Ivory, to take the lead at the very beginning of the second quarter.
Weber State responded with a 9-yard touchdown pass to go ahead 13-7. Once again, Cal Poly countered with a touchdown, an 8-yard pass to sophomore fullback Brandon Howe, to regain the lead going into halftime.
In the third quarter, Weber State put another touchdown on the board, but from that point onward, the Mustangs didn’t let up.
Ivory scored his second touchdown of the game, a 5-yard run with 5:52 to play in the third quarter, and Wangara followed with his defensive touchdown. Junior kicker Bobby Zalud also drove a 44-yard field goal for Cal Poly to take a 31-20 lead going into the final quarter of play.
In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs kept it moving. Willie Tucker caught a 34-yard scoring pass from Broadous to make it 38-20, and Howe (replacing starting fullback Akaninyene Umoh who was out with a pulled hamstring) struck pay dirt from 37 yards out and gave the Mustangs a 22-point cushion to end the game.
Cal Poly will now play two consecutive games at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. They will host Northern Colorado on Oct. 13th at 6:05 p.m. and then square off against Portland State the following week.