SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Lucien Cazenave and Aaron Latzke combined to sack Ricky Ray on the final play of the game and give UC Davis a 13-10 win in the 47th Annual Causeway Classic Saturday afternoon at a wet Hughes Stadium.
The win improved the Aggies to 8-0 on the season. Sacramento State fell to 5-4.
In the loss, senior running back Charles Roberts passed New Hampshire’s Jerry Azumah to become the all-time leading rusher at the NCAA Division I-AA level. Roberts, who rushed for 118 yards on Saturday, now has 6,209 career rushing yards.
After forcing UC Davis to punt on the game’s first possession, the Hornets drove the length of the field but were forced to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Jimmy Sanchez.
Neither team was able to score for the remainder of the first quarter, marking just the third time this season that the Aggies were held scoreless in a period. UCD, however, began the second quarter with a 37-yard field goal by Eric Friend to tie the game, 3-3.
Sacramento State had a chance to break the tie on the final possession of the first half. Sparked by a 33-yard completion from Ray to Scott Towne, the Hornets drove from their own 31 yard line to the Davis four where they had first-and-goal. The team then committed a false start, gained a combined three yards on two carries and was then whistled for another false start to move the ball back to the 11. With one second left on the clock, Sanchez attempted a 28-yard field goal but his kick was blocked by Josh Vavao.
UC Davis took the lead for good early in the third period after J.T. O’Sullivan found Onome Ojo in the middle of the field. Ojo took the pass and broke away from the Hornet secondary for an 80-yard TD. Friend then added the extra point to put the Aggies up, 10-3.
On UCD’s next possession, Friend drilled a 19-yard field goal to extend the lead to 13-3 at the end of the third period.
The Aggies carried their momentum into the fourth quarter when Carnell Green intercepted a Ray pass on the Davis 36 yard line. The Aggies, however, were forced to punt, allowing Sacramento State to capitalize. On second-and-five from the Davis 25, Ray found Towne in the middle of the end zone to pull the Hornets within three.
Neither team mustered anything offensively in the next three series, primarily due to the driving rain and strong wind. On the game’s final drive, Sacramento State began on their own 21 with 3:01 left on the clock. Ray began the drive with a strike to Towne. Roberts then rushed for seven yards and Ray followed with a three-yard gain giving the team a first down. After Roberts rushed for one yard, Ray ran a quarterback sneak up the middle of the soggy field for a gain of 30. The senior QB then found Towne to move the ball to the Davis 27. After an incompletion, Ray picked up another first down with a five-yard rush. On first down, Ray looked for Lamont Webb in the end zone but came up short. The Aggies then sacked Ray for a 13-yard loss moving the ball back to the 35. Ray and Webb then connected for a gain of 12 with six seconds left in the contest. On the final play, Ray fumbled the snap, regained the ball and looked down field before being sacked at the 32 yard line.
Ray ended the day 15-for-30 with 215 yards and a touchdown. Towne tallied 126 yards on seven catches for his second 100-yard game in as many Causeway Classics. Defensively, junior Santi Hall and senior Anthony Daisley controlled the middle of the field. Hall recorded eight tackles while Daisley collected seven. The pair also combined for four tackles for losses.
UC Davis was led by running back Matt Brown with 109 yards. O’Sullivan, who entered the game as the highest rated passes in Div. II, was just 9-of-18 for 134 yards ? 80 of which came on the TD to Ojo.
The Hornets conclude their home season on Saturday, Nov. 4, against Cal State Northridge. The game, which will honor the team’s 18 seniors beforehand, will begin at 6 p.m. at Fred Anderson Field.
