Following a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Weber State, the Sacramento State football team will play its unprecedented 12th regular season game of the year this Saturday, Nov. 23, against Humboldt State. The game, which will kick off at 1:05 p.m., will take place at Hornet Stadium.

The game will be broadcast locally on KTKZ 1380 AM. For the sixth-consecutive season, Jason Ross will handle the play-by-play while Steve McElroy provides the color commentary. For those outside of the greater Sacramento area, the game can also be heard via the internet on www.hornetsports.com.

Sacramento State comes into the game with a 4-7 overall record. Last week, the Hornets scored 14 unanswered points in the final two minutes of the game to defeat Weber State, 41-38. The game concluded the team’s Big Sky Conference season and gave the team a 3-4 record in league games. In the contest, Ryan Leadingham through for a season-high 305 yards and a touchdown to lead the team. The final score, however, came from the hands of wide receiver Kenan Smith who threw a 32-yard strike to Michael Johnson, Jr., with 1:34 remaining in the game.

Humboldt State enters the week with a 1-9 overall record. The Lumberjacks have lost eight-consecutive games dating back to Sept. 28. Last week, HSU fell at Western Oregon, 41-14.

The contest pits Sacramento State against one of its oldest rivals. Humboldt State has met the Hornets 35 times since 1954. The Lumberjacks own 20-13-2 advantage in the all-time series but have lost the last seven matchups (1983-pres.).

With a Hornet Win...

• Sacramento State will have defeated Humboldt State for the eighth-straight time.

• The Hornets will end their season with a 5-7 overall record.

• Humboldt State will have lost 10-straight games and end the year with a 1-10 record.

• Sacramento State will have won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

• The Hornets will become 18-31 in season finales since 1954.

With a Hornet Loss...

• The all-time series will become 21-13-2 in favor of Humboldt State.

• The Hornets will have lost to a Div. II opponent other that UC Davis for the first time since losing at Portland State, 35-19, in 1991.

• Meet the Coaches

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

The UC Riverside graduate has built a high-powered offense which has set 32 offensive team records and 43 individual records. He has also had eight Hornets 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 30-56-1 overall record but has posted a 24-30 mark over the last four years (1998-present).

Humboldt State is guided by Doug Adkins who is in his third season as head coach. Under Adkins, HSU has posted a 9-23 overall record. Prior to taking the head coaching job with the Lumberjacks, Adkins was the defensive line coach at Nevada from 1995-2000.

A Look at the Hornets

• Shattering All Records

Sophomore Ryan Leadingham wasted little time working his way into the Hornet record book. The quarterback not only set the single-season records for yards, attempts and completions, he is also close to setting nearly every career record. Leadingham entered the season with 2,752 yards, which ranked eighth on the school’s career list. He set the career completion record against Montana State and added the career attempts record to his resume against Montana. This past week he set the career yardage mark and is five touchdowns away from setting the mark in that category. Below is a list of where he ranks on the career records list:

CAREER

Yards

1. Ryan Leadingham, 2001-pres. 5,213

2. Mike Sullivan, 1981-83 5,085

Attempts

1. Ryan Leadingham, 2001-pres. 756

2. Tony Corbin, 1995-96 701

Completions

1. Ryan Leadingham, 2001-pres. 410

2. Mike Sullivan, 1981-83 365

Touchdowns

1. Tony Corbin, 1995-96 34

Mike Sullivan, 1981-83 34

3. Ricky Ray, 1999-2000 33

4. Greg Knapp, 1982-85 32

5. Ryan Leadingham, 2001-pres. 30

• Johnson & Johnson

Both Michael and Jeremy Johnson enjoyed strong showings against Weber State. The pair, who are one of five sets of brothers on the Hornet roster, were pivotal on both sides of the ball.

Michael caught two passes for 38 yards. His biggest catch came on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Kenan Smith for the winning score. The touchdown marked his first this season and the sixth of his four-year career.

Jeremy led the team with a career-high 13 tackles. The junior posted 10 solo stops and three assists. He also added a fumble recovery.

• Hitting them Straight

While the Hornet offense was not getting the productivity it desired in the red zone, Bret LeVier made the most of the situation. The sophomore kicker made a career-high four field goals against Weber State, hitting from 37, 19, 22 and 27 yards. The four field goals were also a school Div.I-AA-era record eclipsing the previous high of three.

LeVier also made both of his extra point attempts and recorded three punts for 100 yards. The Whittier, Calif., native has now made five-straight attempts and 11 of his last 12. He averages 1.27 field goals per game which ranks ninth in Div. I-AA and third in the Big Sky.

• Whatever It Takes

There is little doubt that Ryan Leadingham is having a strong season at quarterback. However, there are a few passing statistics in which he is not the team leader. In fact, Leadingham ranks third on the team in completion percentage. The sophomore owns a 58.3 completion percentage but that fails in comparison to Kenan Smith and Garrett White.

Smith is 3-for-4 this season with 121 yards and two touchdowns. He averages 40.3 yards per completion and has a 494.10 efficiency rating.

White is 5-for-7 for 103 yards and a score. This comes one season after he was 0-for-5 with a pair of interceptions.

While both do not regularly play QB for the Hornets, each were high school quarterbacks.

• One Final Time

Saturday will mark the final game for 16 Sacramento State players. The group ranges from two players who have played one season with the team to nine players who have been in the program for five years. Prior to the start of the game, Sacramento State will honor each player for their services to the team. Below is a list of all the seniors:

No. Name Pos

19 Charles Amey DB

21 Gary Austin, Jr. WR

8 Derard Barton RB

82 Shawn Brown WR

12 Brad Candido DB

26 Brandon Coleman DB

79 Dan DeLaTorre OL

65 Sean Doherty OL

6 Michael Johnson, Jr. WR

18 Brandon Lofton DB

98 Brad Osterhout DL

78 Tyler Padovan DL

5 Jason Rowell LB

54 Charles Thorntona LB

91 Bilal Watkins DL

16 Garrett White RB

• Amey-able

Since the first time that they stepped on the field together, Fred Amey and Leadingham have had a special connection. The pair connected for two touchdowns in their first collegiate game last year against Saint Mary’s and have not stopped.

Last week against Weber State, Leadingham found Amey for four passes totalling 104 yards.

The four receptions raised Amey’s season total to 55 while the 104 yards gave him 855 on the year. The Union City, Calif., native needs six catches against Humboldt State to eclipse the single-season record of 60 set by Mike Carter in 1969. His yardage total currently ranks sixth on the single-season list. The school record of 1,207 was set by Kevin Fontes in 1982. Mitch Oliver holds the I-AA era record with 907 in 1995.

Amey’s first reception against the Wildcats also extended his consecutive games with a reception streak to 21 — each game of his career.

Amey has also succeeded as a kick and punt returner. He currently ranks sixth in Div. I-AA and leads the Big Sky Conference with 162.1 all-purpose yards per game.

He now has 1,621 all-purpose yards this season. The school record is 2,445 by Troy Mills.

Going into this week, Amey leads Sacramento State and is ranked second in the Big Sky Conference with 5.50 receptions per game (55 total). He also leads the league with a team-high 85.5 yards per game.

He also ranks 25th in the nation and third in the Big Sky in kick returns, and is sixth in the league in punt returns.

• Moving On Up

Like Leadingham, Amey is also on pace to rewrite the school’s record book. Through just 22 games (21 in which he has appeared), Amey is already in the top five of each receiving record. As a freshman, he had 54 receptions for 885 yards and seven touchdowns. Below is a list of where he ranks in school history:

CAREER

Yards

1. Lamont Webb, 1997-2000 1,834

2. Fred Amey, 2001-pres. 1,740

Receptions

1. Lamont Webb, 1997-2000 119

2. Mike Carter, 1968-69 113

3. Fred Amey, 2001-pres. 109

4. Gary Austin, 1999-pres. 101

Touchdowns

1. Lamont Webb, 1997-2000 16

2. Eric Harrington, 1992-93 15

3. Mark Young, 1986-88 14

Fred Amey, 2001-pres. 14

• A New Target

Over the past three games, Caleb Jones is fast becoming one of Leadingham’s favorite targets. The tight end did not record his first catch until the fourth game of the season (Sept. 28 at Idaho State). Through eight games, he had six catches for 51 yards. Since that point, Jones has grabbed 12 passes totalling 172 yards in three games.

He currently ranks fourth on the team with 18 receptions and 223 receiving yards.

• Every Which Way

Sacramento State has used a variety of ways to score points this season. Aside from the traditional rushing and passing touchdowns and field goals, the Hornets have scored points on two option passes, a fake field goal, a punt return, an interception return and a fumble return.

The latest score came against Weber State where Kenan Smith found Michael Johnson, Jr., on an option pass for the game-winning score.

Against Portland State Brad Osterhout sacked PSU quarterback Juston Wood and forced a fumble. The ball was picked up by Camron Mbewa who returned it 61 yards for a score.

The fake field goal resulted in a 7-yard TD rush by Garrett White against UC Davis. The punt return also came against the Aggies when Fred Amey went 90 yards for the score.

The interception return was scored against Cal Poly by Kelly Micco. The ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage and caught by Micco at the 6-yard line where he walked into the end zone.

Sacramento State has also scored on three offensive trick plays. The first came at Idaho State where Kenan Smith threw 52 yards to Fred Amey. The second was a hook-and-lateral against UC Davis and the second happened at EWU when Garrett White found Smith for a 29-yard score.

• Notes

Saturday’s game marks the first time that Sacramento State has played 12 regular-season games in a one year. The team played 13 games in 1998, including three playoff contests...RB Tyronne Gross, DB Ramon Payne and DB Camron Mbewa all missed the WSU game due to injury

A Look at the Lumberjacks

• Humboldt State comes into the game with a 1-9 overall record. The Lumberjacks opened the year with a loss at Southern Oregon before defeating Willamette, 42-28, for its lone win of the season. Since that point, HSU has lost eight-consecutive games. During that span, the team has been outscored by an average of 23.9 points per game.

• Despite competing at the Div. II level, Humboldt State has three common opponents with I-AA Sacramento State. Both teams have played Saint Mary’s, UC Davis and Cal Poly. The two teams both fell to the Gaels and Aggies. The Hornets, however, defeated Cal Poly, 27-17, while the Lumberjacks lost to the Mustangs, 30-0.

• Dating back to last season, HSU has lost 10 of its last 11 road games. The team was 1-4 last year with a 34-31 win at Western Oregon. This season, the Lumberjacks are 0-6.

• Humboldt State has run most of its offense through the air. The Lumberjacks are averaging 217.3 passing yards per game compared to 81.5 yards per game on the ground.

Leading the passing game is quarterback Chris Dixon. The junior has appeared in 10 games this season and is 67-for-150. He also has six touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

• Wide receiver Dustin Creager is the “Slash” of the team. Creager leads HSU with 49 receptions for 725 yards and three touchdowns. He also is the squad’s backup quarterback, starting punt returner and holder.

The Series

• Humboldt State is one of Sacramento State’s longest-standing rivals. The series, which HSU leads 20-13-2, began in 1954. The Lumberjacks won the first seven meetings (1954-1960). The Hornets have the latest edge winning the past seven games (1982-88).

Who’s Up Next

• The Humboldt State game marks the final contest of the 2002 season for the Hornets. Sacramento State tentatively opens the 2003 season at Oregon State on Aug. 30.

Big Sky Notes

• Eastern Washington quarterback Josh Blankenship was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week. The senior threw for 344 yards and four touchdowns in the Eagles’ 30-21 win over then No. 1 Montana.

• Northern Arizona’s George Asalele was awarded the defensive award. Asalele had eight tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

• Idaho State punter Nick Johnson claimed special teams honors. Johnson broke the I-AA single-game record by averaging 61.5 yards per punt. The senior had six punts including an 80 and 70-yarder.