Riding a season-long seven-game losing streak, the Sacramento State football team will conclude its season on Saturday, Nov. 24, against Portland State at 1:05 p.m. The game was originally scheduled to be played on Sept. 15 but was rescheduled due to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. The game will also mark the first time the Hornets have played in PGE Park. The stadium, which was formally known as Civic Stadium, was remodeled over the past two years and also serves as the home to the Triple-A Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League and the Portland Timbers of the A-League (soccer).

The contest can be heard locally on KTKZ 1380 AM with Jason Ross handling the play-by-play and Steve McElroy adding the color commentary. For those outside the greater Sacramento area, the game will also be available on the internet at www.hornetsports.com.

Sacramento State enters the week with a 2-8 overall record and a 1-5 mark in Big Sky Conference games. The team ended the home portion of its schedule on Nov. 10 with a 50-40 loss to No. 15 Northern Arizona. In the game, both Brian Bingham (148) and Marcus King (110) rushed for over 100 yards to lead the Lumberjacks. Bingham had four rushing touchdowns and also had one scoring reception. The Hornets were led by quarterback Ryan Leadingham who threw for a career-high 374 yards. The freshman completed 28-of-44 passes without an interception. Fred Amey (160 yards, TD) and Michael Johnson, Jr. (104 yards) were Leadingham’s favorite targets.

Portland State is in the midst of a three-game winning streak and has won four of its last five games. The Vikings are currently 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big Sky. This past week, PSU rallied from an early deficit and was able to hold on for a 50-43 win against Cal State Northridge.

With a Win...

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

• The team will have won in Portland, Ore., for the first time since a 26-14 win on Oct. 12, 1985.

• Sacramento State will have defeated Portland State for the second time in three years.

• The Hornets will have won their season-finale for the third-straight year.

• John Volek will improve to 2-5 against PSU and have won in Portland for the first time.

With a Loss...

• Sacramento State will have lost eight-straight games, the longest streak since 1996 (nine games).

• Portland State will win its fourth-straight game.

• The Vikings will improve to 7-1 against the Hornets since moving to Div. I-AA.

• Meet the Coaches

Head coach John Volek is in 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 26-49-1 overall record but has posted a 20-23 mark over the last four years (1998-present).

Portland State is guided by Tim Walsh. In his ninth season with the Vikings, Walsh owns a 59-43 overall record. He has an 86-57 record in 12 years as a collegiate head coach.

A Look at the Hornets

• Leaving His Mark

Freshman Ryan Leadingham has wasted little time working his way into the Hornet record book. The quarterback, is not only moving up the single-season list, he is also beginning to show up on some of the career charts. Leadingham enters Saturday’s game with 2,440 yards. He has completed 188-of-349 passes and has 14 touchdowns.

• Dynamic Duo

Michael Johnson, Jr., and Fred Amey became just the eighth Sacramento State duo to record 100 receiving yards in school history. The pair each had their way with the Northern Arizona secondary last Saturday. Johnson had eight receptions for 104 yards while Amey grabbed 11 catches for 160 yards.

Amey’s performance was the best of his young career and one of the greatest in school history. His 11 receptions rank third on the school’s single-game list trailing only Tom Powell (14) and Alex Estrada (12). His 160 receiving yards was the 12th most in school history.

Amey also grabbed his sixth touchdown of the year in the game. With one more score, he will move into a eight-way tie for fourth place on the school’s single-season list. His 49 receptions this season place him seventh and he is just 11 shy of Mike Carter’s record of 60 set in 1969. He also ranks seventh on the single-season top 10 with 787 yards.

Johnson picked up his third 100-yard game of the season. Earlier this year, he recorded 106 yards against Idaho State and a career-high 169 against Weber State. He joins Scott Towne (2000) Lamont Webb (2000), Tyrone Taylor (1996) and Mitch Oliver (1995) as the only players in school history to have three 100-yard games in the same season.

Johnson has four TDs and 685 yards on 45 grabs this year. His receptions tie him with Oliver for eight place in school history.

• Back to Work

After missing the past two weeks with a knee injury, freshman Kendall Riley will return to the Hornet backfield against Portland State. Riley opened the year with little action but then exploded against Eastern Washington for 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He followed that effort with 91 yards against UC Davis before suffering a sprained MCL.

With Riley out, the team turned to junior Derard Barton and sophomore Brett Collins. Barton recorded 90 yards at Cal State Northridge but was limited to just 49 yards against NAU. Against the Lumberjacks, 47 of his yards came on a touchdown which marked the longest rushing TD this season for the team and a career-long rush for Barton.

Collins has carried 57 times this season and has two touchdowns.

• Filling the Seats

Although just 5,510 fans endured a rainy game against Northern Arizona at Fred Anderson Field, the total was large enough to set a new single-season attendance record at Sacramento State. This year, an average of 11,490 fans watched the team’s six home games. That total surpassed the 2000 average of 11,487.

• Additional Notes

Terence Wagner will start his 44th-straight game at center for the team against PSU...Andrew Bonner scored his first career TD last week...Jimmy Sanchez ranks 8th in I-AA in punting, the team is second in net punting.

A Look at the Vikings

• After sitting at .500 just two weeks ago, Portland State has an opportunity pick up its seventh win of the season on Saturday.

The Vikings opened the year 2-1 before falling to 3-4. The team has won three in a row to guarantee its third-straight winning season.

• Last week, freshman Ryan Fuqua rushed for 270 yards and three touchdowns to lead PSU to a 50-43 win over Cal State Northridge.

• Fuqua has been the key to the Vikings’ success over the past few weeks. The Ontario, Calif., native has been named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week two-straight times and has tallied 663 yards and six touchdowns in the last two games.

Two weeks ago, Fuqua (pronounced Few-quay) rushed for 393 yards on 45 carries against Eastern Washington. The 393 yards was the third-best total in I-AA history trailing only North Carolina A&T’s Maurice Hicks (437) and Sacramento State’s Charles Roberts (409).

Fuqua has rushed for 1,343 yards in the last seven games to set a new PSU freshman rushing record.

• Senior wide receiver Terry Charles is the top target for quarterback Juston Wood. Charles set the school record with his 26th career TD last week and has 11 touchdowns and 940 yards this year.

Wood has stepped in nicely for Jimmy Blanchard. The junior leads the Big Sky in total offense and is averaging 282.7 passing yards per game. Wood has completed 199-of-333 passes with 21 touchdowns and only five interceptions.

The Series

• Portland State leads the all-time series, 14-6. The Vikings have won five of the last six meetings and 11 of past 13. PSU also holds a 6-1 advantage since Sacramento State moved to Div. I-AA in 1993.

Who’s Up Next

• Saturday’s game will be the final contest for the Hornets in 2001. The team will host its annual banquet on Sunday, Dec. 2, at the Holiday Inn Capital Plaza.

Big Sky Notes

• Portland State running back Ryan Fuqua was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week. Fuqua, who also claimed last week’s award, rushed for 270 yards and three touchdowns against Cal State Northridge.

Bart Brooks of Idaho State took home the defensive award. Brooks had 9.0 tackles in ISU’s win over Southern Utah. Brooks had one sack and three tackles for loss.

Former Nevada Union HS standout and current Montana player Jefferson Heidelberger earned special teams honors. Heidelberger had four kickoff returns for 110 yards. Three of his four returns set up scores.

• Montana secured its second-straight unbeaten season in the Big Sky...Griz head coach Joe Glenn has yet to lose a league game since taking over.