After a roller-coaster ride through the first six games of the year, the Sacramento State football team will look to open the second half of its schedule with a strong showing against Eastern Washington this weekend. The game, which will begin at 6:05 p.m., will be held on Saturday, Oct. 20, at Hornet Stadium (Fred Anderson Field).

The contest can be heard over the airwaves on KTKZ 1380 AM with Jason Ross handling the play-by-play and Steve McElroy providing the color. The game can also be heard via the internet at www.hornetsports.com.

The Hornets enter the week with a 2-4 overall record and a 1-3 mark in Big Sky Conference games. Last week, the team dropped its third-straight game as it fell to Montana State, 20-0. The game marked the first time that Sacramento State has been shutout since 1997 and also saw the team set a school record for fewest yards in a game (128).

Eastern Washington is currently 3-2 overall and 1-2 in league games. The Eagles, who opened the year with a win over I-A Connecticut, were upended by Montana and Montana State before bouncing back with a 66-14 win over Simon Fraser on Saturday.

In last week’s loss at Montana State, Ryan Johnson rushed for 176 yards and a TD to lead the Bobcats. MSU scored early in the first quarter and built a 10-0 lead at halftime to take control of the game. Sacramento State was never able to generate much offensively. The team managed just 16 rushing yards and 112 passing yards.

EWU scored 45 unanswered points in the second half in its win. The Eagles amassed 445 yards of total offense (203 rushing, 242 passing).

With a Win...

• Sacramento State will snap its three-game losing streak.

• The Hornets will have defeated Eastern Washington for the second-straight year.

• The team will have downed EWU for the first time in Sacramento.

• Sacramento State will be 12-3 in its last 15 home games.

With a Loss...

• Sacramento State will have lost four games in a row for the first time since 1998.

• The Hornets will have suffered back-to-back home losses for the first time since losing to Eastern Washington and Montana in the last two home games of the 1998 season.

• Eastern Washington will improve to 6-0 all-time in Sacramento.

• Meet the Coaches

Head coach John Volek enters his seventh season at Sacramento State. Volek has guided the Hornets to winning records each of the past two seasons, including a I-AA school record 7-4 mark in 2000.

The UC Riverside graduate has built a high-powered offense which has set 30 offensive team records and 41 individual records. He has also had seven players go on to sign NFL contracts.

Volek’s coaching career began at UCR. He then moved to Santa Cruz High School before moving to Mt. San Jacinto JC. From there, Volek headed north to Walla Walla JC where he was an assistant and then head coach (1984-87). He later returned to California to lead Fresno City JC from 1988-94 before taking over at Sacramento State.

Volek enters the week with a 26-45-1 overall record but has posted a 20-17 mark over the last four years (1998-present).

Eastern Washington is led by head coach Paul Wulff. In his second year with the Eagles, Wulff has posted a 9-7 overall record. Wulff grew up in nearby Woodland, Calif., and is a graduate of Davis HS.

A Look at the Hornets

• Youth Movement

Sacramento State is a young football team that is getting younger. The team opened the year with 15 returning starters but injuries have thinned that number dramatically. With all the changes, John Volek has been forced to accelerate his plan and play his younger players immediately. Against Montana State on Saturday, the Hornets started only four seniors (two offense, two defense) while four sophomores and five freshman took the field.

The four seniors were dwindled to two as injuries to offensive lineman Steve Choi and safety Ed Canonico forced both players to the sideline during the game. Choi, however, was replaced by a fellow senior (Grant Hagen), while freshman Ramon Payne was called upon in the secondary.

• Fly Like an Eagle

For the first time since the 1998 season, Eastern Washington will travel to Sacramento State. The Big Sky altered the conference schedule two years ago, forcing the Hornets to make consecutive trips to Cheney, Wash.

If Saturday’s game is anything like the last three, the local fans will be in for a thrilling game. Last season, Jimmy Sanchez kicked a field goal as time expired to lead the team to a 25-22 win over EWU on a cold and windy day at Woodward Stadium. Two years ago, Jovan Griffith scored a touchdown with 32 seconds remaining to lift EWU to a 26-21 victory.

In EWU’s last stop at Hornet Stadium, Bashir Levingston set an NCAA record by returning three kickoffs for touchdowns and helped propel the Eagles to a 31-25 win. In the game, Levingston returned kicks of 80, 90 and 92 yards.

• Quiet Success

Despite the result of Saturday’s contest, the Sacramento State defense played its best game of the year. The unit allowed a season-low 316 yards despite being on the field for 34:47.

The defense was put at a disadvantage at the start of the game when Montana State took control of the ball on the 15-yard line and scored just four plays later. From that point, the team surrendered just 13 points, well below its average of 33.6 points per game entering the contest.

• One to Forget

If the Sacramento State football team was struck with a bout of amnesia, it is likely that no one will mind. The Hornets will try to do just about anything to forget about last week’s game against Montana State.

The team was shut out for just the second time since 1993 and was held without a TD for the third time.

The first-place Bobcats held the Hornets to just 16 yards rushing and 112 passing yards. The 128 yards of total offense is the lowest total since the school moved to Div. I-AA in 1993. The previous low came in 1994 when Pacific held the team to 135 yards.

The 16 rushing yards ranks as the second lowest in the program’s I-AA history and marked just the second time that the Hornets have been held under 20 yards (7 vs. Stephen F. Austin).

The 2.2 yards per play ranks as the second lowest single-game average. The lowest came at UOP in 1993 where the squad averaged 1.82.

The 10 first downs is the third fewest and the seven combined points in back-to-back games is the fewest since the team scored six against Montana State and was blanked at Cal Poly in 1997.

To put the total yardage in perspective, a Sacramento State rusher has gained at least 128 yards 71 times and a receiver has crossed that mark 19 times.

• One to Remember

The only Hornet who might have wanted to stay in Bozeman, Mont., was Jimmy Sanchez. And even then, only half of Sanchez enjoyed the stay.

The senior kicker/punter enjoyed a career punting day. Sanchez took advantage of the 30-40 mile per hour wind by averaging 43.6 yards on 10 punts. The Sacramento, Calif., native also set a career high with a 67-yard punt.

The kicking half of Sanchez could not get out of the wind fast enough. He attempted just one field goal but missed a 39-yarder which he was forced to kick into the wind.

• Do the Math

Although he threw for just 112 yards against Montana State, and spent a large portion of the afternoon on his back, Ryan Leadingham is still on pace to do some amazing things this season. The redshirt freshman is currently averaging 238.7 yards per game and is on pace to accumulate 2,626 yards this season. That total would make Leadingham the most prolific single-season passer in school history, surpassing the total of 2,532 set by Tony Corbin in 1995.

If he stays at the current rate for his entire career, Leadingham will tally 10,502 yards. The school’s current career leader is Mike Sullivan who recorded 5,085 yards between 1981-83.

Only 10 players in I-AA history have ever crossed the 10,000-yard plateau. Steve McNair heads the list with 14,496 career yards. Other Big Sky notables include Jamie Martin (12,207), Neil Lomax (11,550), Travis Brown (11,400), Dave Dickenson (11,080), Doug Nussmeier (10,824) and John Friesz (10,697).

Earlier this season, Leadingham passed Garrett White’s 639 yards in 1998 to make him the greatest freshman passer in school history. He also set the freshman record for most TDs.

• Major Payne

Freshman Ramon Payne made the most of his increased playing time on Saturday. The San Jose, Calif., native led the team with 6.0 tackles. Payne, who was playing in place of the injured Ed Canonico, tallied four solo tackles and four assists.

Payne missed the first two games of the season after suffering a rib injury in the final scrimmage of fall practice. Since his return, Payne has seen his playing time increase each game.

• D-pleted

The injury assault against the Hornet defense moved off the field this past week as lineman Maui Borden was forced to miss the Montana State game due to the flu. Borden joined linebacker Lee Turner (shoulder), cornerback Elton Gabourel (shoulder) and nose guard Bilal Watkins (knee) as preseason starters who were unable to suit up against MSU.

Things get slightly better this week as both Borden and Gabourel should return to the lineup. Turner has at least one more week on the sidelines and Watkins is lost for the year.

Against Montana State, safety Ed Canonico injured his neck and linebacker Jeremy Callaway suffered a sprained ankle. Both players took precautionary X-rays on Monday and are probable for the Eastern Washington game.

Offensively, lineman Chris Frank will continue to play despite a painful hip pointer. Frank was fitted with a protective pad that he wore at MSU. Senior Garrett White will also return to the lineup but only as a holder. The quarterback/receiver suffered a broken ankle against Idaho State and will not return to full strength for another couple of weeks. Prior to breaking his ankle, White broke his thumb just 48 hours before the season opener.

Other players who have spent time on the IR this year include: Kenan Smith (knee, three games), Camron Mbewa (knee, one game), Brad Candido (broken arm, four games), Gary Austin, Jr. (ankle, one game).

• Dethroned

Heading into this season, many of Charles Roberts’ NCAA rushing records were in jeopardy. However, most people thought it would be Georgia Southern’s Adrian Peterson who would rewrite the record book, not North Carolina A&T’s Maurice Hicks.

Hicks recorded 437 rushing yards on 34 carries in his team’s 52-42 loss at Morgan State. Those numbers surpassed Roberts’ mark of 409 set against Idaho State on Nov. 6, 1999.

Peterson is still on pace to set numerous career marks which would leave Roberts with only the single-season NCAA record left in his name.

This past week the race became a little closer as Peterson was held to just 71 yards against Appalachian State. The senior, who is currently averaging 131.0 yards per game, has 5,886 career yards. Peterson needs to average 133 yards over the next five games to catch Roberts.

• Huddle Club is Back

The Huddle Club luncheons return for another season. The luncheons are available to the public and cost $10. This year, the Huddle Club will once again meet at Bleachers on Exposition Blvd.

Head coach John Volek will speak to the crowd, answer questions about last week’s loss to Montana State and preview the matchup with Eastern Washington. There will also be a highlight video shown from the game against the Bobcats.

A Look at the Eagles

• Eastern Washington overcame back-to-back losses against Montana and Montana State with a 66-14 throttling of Simon Fraser on Saturday.

EWU jumped to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter but saw its lead slip to 21-14 a the half. From that point, the Eagles scored 45 unanswered points. Jesse Chatman had three TDs to lead the team.

• Eastern’s offensive firepower rests in the hands of two players, quarterback Fred Salanoa and Chatman. Salanoa is currently averaging 280.8 passing yards per game while Chatman leads the Big Sky and is second in the nation with 163.0 rushing yards per game.

The team also relies on the speed of Lamont Brightful. As a receiver, Brightful has caught five touchdowns and has also returned a kickoff for a score to extend his I-AA career record.

• Defensively, Luke Vincent leads the team with 18 solo tackles and 31 assists (33.5 total). Adam Zeigler is second on the squad with 32.5 (16 solo, 33 assists).

EWU has intercepted seven passes this season led by Justin Brester’s two.

• Eastern Washington has eight players from California but none from Sacramento. The only player with ties to Sacramento is wide receiver Shaylon Reed who played two seasons at Sacramento City College.

Eagle head coach Paul Wulff is a native of Woodland, Calif., and attended Davis HS — the alma mater of Hornet receivers coach Bob Ghazanfari.

The Series

• Sacramento State defeated EWU for the first time last season but still trails the all-time series, 8-1.

Who’s Up Next

• Sacramento State will continue its two-game homestand by welcoming UC Davis on Saturday, Oct. 27. The game marks the 48th Causeway Classic and is the 49th meeting all-time between the two schools. Tickets can be purchased at both the Sacramento State and UCD box offices or at www.tickets.com.

Big Sky Notes

• Idaho State running back Mike Jones was named the Big Sky Conference’s Player of the Week. Jones rushed for a career-high 200 yards and scored a TD in ISU’s win over Portland State. The game marked Jones’ first 100-plus yard outing.

Montana State’s Adam Cordeiro earned the defensive honors. Cordeiro had three tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks, in the team’s 20-0 shutout of Sacramento State.

ISU’s Javier Garcia took home the special teams award after making three field goals.

• Montana State will put its three-game win streak on the line against unbeaten Washington State on Thursday. The game was added to the schedule to make up for the cancellation of the Oregon State-MSU matchup. Idaho State will square off against Utah State in the league’s other I-A game this week.