Fresh from its 21-20 win over Eastern Washington, the Hornet football team is coming into this week’s homecoming game against Weber State on Saturday with momentum and a long-awaited win under its belt. The win puts the Hornets at 1-1 in the Big Sky Conference and 1-3 overall.

The victory was also the Hornets’ first road win since Oct. 2002 against Eastern Washington. What the team did was a step in the right direction, said coach Steve Mooshagian, but the team still has a lot of work to do.

“Good coaches coach harder after a win and good players play harder after a win,” Mooshagian said.

With starting running back Kris Daniels questionable and Gerwin Williams probable, both of whom missed the Eastern Washington game, the team is looking at freshman Dalen Mason to be lining up in the back field. After sophomore Torrell Baker went down in the first quarter against Eastern Washington, fifth string Mason finished the game with 16 carries for 44 yards.

Junior quarterback Marcel Marquez is looking for his first home win in a Hornets uniform. Marquez has connected with senior wide out James Barnes 10 times in the past two games for 182 yards and one touchdown. Marquez said a lot of his completions come from when he’s scrambling and Barnes was at the right place at the right time.

“We’re both on the same page on the scramble,” Barnes said.

Weber State (2-3) comes into Hornet Stadium hot off of a victory as well, winning its last game against Northern Colorado 26-21. With Weber having the No. 1 defense in the Big Sky, the Hornets are looking to spread them out and open up the passing game, Barnes said.

The Hornet defense is also working to improve their performance on third downs, said sophomore middle linebacker Cyrus Mulitalo.

Eastern Washington converted 10 of 17 attempts. Mulitalo, who was named the Big Sky co-defensive Player of the Week on Monday with 14 tackles and one interception against the Eagles, says this is the Hornets’ opportunity to make its mark on the Big Sky.

“We’re not happy about just one win. When you get something good, you want more,” Mulitalo said.

Matthew Beltran can be reached at [email protected]