But after falling behind to Cal Poly in the second half, Weber State outgained the Mustangs 151-4 in the fourth quarter and secured a 28-17 win to send out seven seniors and three others with a victory.

The Wildcats end the season 4-8, salvaging a 2-3 record at home and a 3-5 mark in the Big Sky with home wins over Portland State and Cal Poly, and a road win at Montana.

“Very grateful for our seniors, our roster and our coaching staff. All the credit goes to them today,” WSU head coach Mickey Mental said. “They put our guys in great situations to be successful … and obviously the seniors stepping up today was the cherry on top.”

Sophomore running back Adrian Cormier and WSU’s offensive line — down several players due to injury — and senior defensive end Kemari Munier-Bailey were key in the Wildcats’ fourth-quarter dominance.

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Cormier finished with 138 yards on 21 carries, becoming the third WSU back with a 100-yard game this season and, with an injury shelving Damon Bankston, freshman Davion Godley added 17 carries for 92 yards.

“I just saw a lot of belief. I feel like I saw a lot of things I didn’t see probably earlier in the year. The team bought in for this one … everyone was playing together as a team,” Cormier said. “People stayed in it … earlier in the year, we get into close games and some people look around trying to look for the next person to go make a play but I feel like today, people looked at themselves and said, ‘Alright, I’m going to step up and make this play.’

“O-line, I give credit to them, wide receivers, tight ends … yeah, the ball hit my hands, I made a couple people miss but overall, it’s on the O-line and everybody else.”

Munier-Bailey finished with 1.5 sacks, three QB hurries, two passes batted in the backfield, and four total tackles with three for loss.

Senior kicker Kyle Thompson was 5 for 5 on field goals, tying him for WSU’s single-game record and pulling him even with Scott Shields for WSU’s all-time mark in made field goals at 67.

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Weber State controlled the first half, outgaining Cal Poly 228-53 but holding just a 9-0 margin (on Thompson field goals of 30, 36 and 26 yards) at halftime as drives dried up every time they entered the red zone.

“The execution through the first three quarters up until the red zone … was outstanding. You’ve got to find a way to score touchdowns,” Mental said.

Three plays into the second half, fourth-string quarterback Lucas Razore rolled for extra time on third-and-15 and uncorked a ball to deep-play threat Michael Briscoe, completely alone at the Weber State 30-yard line. He jogged the rest of the way for an 80-yard touchdown, pulling the margin to 9-7.

Cormier and Godley rushed Weber to the Cal Poly 12 before another stall, and a Thompson 30-yard kick made the score 12-7 with 8:38 left in the third quarter.

A few possessions later, Aiden Ramos took an option pitch on third-and-3 and found the sideline for a 42-yard touchdown run with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

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WSU had 19 first downs to CP’s four, but the Mustangs led 14-12 where it mattered. The Wildcats had five red-zone drives to that point, with four field goals and, after reaching the Cal Poly 2 late in the first half, a Richie Muñoz interception at the goal line.

“That’s what happens. You let a team hang around, the kid made a nice play outside the pocket and found somebody open — you’re right back in it,” Mental said. “We’ve got to learn from that as a program and understand that 21 is a lot different than nine going into halftime and not one play can kill you.

“It puts them in it, they’ve got momentum, and it’s a lesson that they can kick a field goal and you can get beat. So we’ve got to learn from that.”

It nearly turned disastrous there, too. On Weber’s next play, Jacob Sharp hauled an 11-yard reception past the sticks but CP defensive back Kai Rapolla stripped the ball loose and recovered, giving the visitors a 38-yard field.

After a first down to the WSU 20, the Wildcat defense began asserting itself. Munier-Bailey tackled Ramos for a loss on a third-down rush to end the third quarter, forcing a Noah Serna 31-yard field goal. His boot put Cal Poly ahead 17-12 with 14:57 left.

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With the run game clipping along, Muñoz threw 24 yards to Marvin Session and 11 to Jayleen Record to march the Wildcats to the Cal Poly 19.

It took a third-down conversion, but Muñoz bought time evading pressure and Sharp won a downfield battle, fighting through a pass interference penalty flagged at the 2-yard line and making a 17-yard touchdown catch anyway. WSU returned to the lead at 18-17 after a failed two-point conversion.

WSU had the ball back less than three minutes later when Munier-Bailey forced a Cal Poly lineman into a holding penalty, then hurried a third-and-long incompletion from Razore.

Sophomore Bird Butler had a big impact Saturday, including twice hauling in booming spiral punts over his shoulder and turning for big returns. Butler totaled 57 yards on six carries, 59 yards on five punt returns, and 69 yards on three kickoff returns (185 all-purpose yards).

He made one such punt catch at that point in the fourth, catching a 56-yard punt at WSU’s 17 and returning it 40 yards to the Cal Poly 43.

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It took just four carries, the final a Godley 25-yarder bursting through left tackle and finding the pylon with the help of a Sharp block, putting Weber State ahead 25-17 with 6:05 left.

Brayden Wilson sacked Razore for a loss of 15 on Cal Poly’s next play and, though Briscoe again had a man beat on third down, Razore overthrew him and the Mustangs punted.

Cal Poly burned all three of its timeouts as WSU ran its way to the CP 26, where Cormier was stopped for no gain on third-and-2. Thompson made his history-tying field goal from 43 yards to ice the game 28-17 with 2:38 left.

Munier-Bailey capped the win with, on three consecutive pass plays, two hurries and a sack.

“I wanted guys to go out with a good feeling in their hearts that they played their hardest. I’ve (got) their backs, I’m on their side,” Munier-Bailey said after his final college game. “I’m not just playing for me … I don’t play for myself, I play for the people around me because that’s what really makes me feel like this is home, and helps you when times are low.”

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Muñoz finished throwing 25 of 35 for 191 yards. Sharp caught five balls for 55 yards and Session had four for 38. WSU ran 85 plays and possessed the ball for 41:51, outgaining Cal Poly 456-220. Sophomore linebacker Mayson Hitchens totaled seven tackles.

Ramos rushed 10 times for 73 yards to lead Cal Poly. Briscoe caught two passes for 94 yards.

The game was the final contest for the following seniors: LB Garrett Beck, DL Zeke Birch, DL Steven Bryant, Munier-Bailey, long snapper Grant Sands, Sharp and Thompson. Additionally, three others with eligibility remaining were honored before playing their final game: QB Creyton Cooper, TE Peter Knudson and DL Kaufusi Pakofe Jr.

AROUND THE BIG SKY

No. 2 Montana State routed No. 9 Montana 34-11 to finish 12-0. With No. 4 South Dakota toppling No. 1 North Dakota State 29-28, Montana State should earn the No. 1 playoff seed.

No. 5 UC Davis survived a 42-39 track meet at Sacramento State, and No. 7 Idaho outdistanced Idaho State.

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No. 21 Northern Arizona took care of Eastern Washington 30-18, finishing 8-4 and likely earning the Big Sky five playoff bids (with MSU, UC Davis, Idaho and Montana).