Rams Open Season with Impressive Win against Weber State, 30-6

Gartrell Johnson III scores three touchdowns to lead Colorado State

Sept. 2, 2006

Stats

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - Colorado State's Gartrell Johnson III scored three touchdowns and the Rams' defense held Weber State to minus-38 yards rushing during a 30-6 win Saturday.

Colorado State was without junior running back Kyle Bell, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last Tuesday in practice. Bell, a preseason All-Mountain West Conference pick, had 1,288 yards last season.

The Rams struggled at times in his absence, rushing for 169 yards on 39 carries, a 3.8-yard average.

Nnamdi Ohaeri, who was moved from defensive back to running back after Bell's injury, had 39 yards on three carries, all in the fourth quarter. Michael Myers, once the third-string tailback, finished with 38 yards on seven carries.

Johnson, who started the game, showed flashes of Bell's rugged running style. On his second touchdown run, Johnson took a hit from Weber State's Nick Sparrow on the 2-yard line, spun off him and into the end zone. Johnson finished with a career-high 38 yards on 18 carries.

Johnson's previous best was a 20-yard game against Nevada last season, but he eclipsed that in the first quarter.

Weber State quarterback Ian Pizarro was sacked seven times by CSU. He finished 13 of 24 for 124 yards.

The Wildcats made things interesting early in the third quarter. They recovered a CSU fumble on the second-half kickoff and wound up with a 24-yard field goal by Conor Foley to make it a 16-6 game.

Wildcats cornerback John Collins later stepped in front of a pass by CSU quarterback Caleb Hanie and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown. But he was called for pass interference as he tugged on Damon Morton's jersey.

The Rams went on a 7-play, 62-yard drive -- capped off by a 3-yard run from Johnson -- to pull ahead, 23-6.

Hanie completed 15 of 22 passes for 212 yards. He also had a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Just before halftime, Hanie threw an interception to Weber State's Bo Smith, who returned it 41 yards to CSU's 25-yard line. It led to a 42-yard field goal by Foley.