The Game - After a record-setting victory over Cal State Northridge,
the Sacramento State football team will look to end its regular season
on a high note as it travels to Northern Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 11.
With a win, the Hornets will set a school record for victories in the
Div. I-AA era.
Hornet fans can catch all the action as well as an extended postgame
show on KTKZ 1380-AM, the home of Hornet football. This season, the
games will also be simulcast on the world wide web. This week’s contest
will also be televised locally on UPN-31 KMAX. Jason Ross and Rob Awalt
will call the action. For more information, log on to
www.hornetsports.com.
Last Week’s Game - Quarterback Ricky Ray threw for 344 yards and three
touchdowns while also running for three more TDs to lead the Hornets to
a 64-61 victory over Cal State Northridge Saturday evening at Fred
Anderson Field. In the game, the two teams combined to set a new NCAA
Division I-AA record with 125 points. They also broke the I-AA mark with
18 combined touchdowns.
Senior running back Charles Roberts tallied 157 rushing yards to move
into fifth place all-time in NCAA history with 6,366 career rushing
yards. Northridge began the scoring after intercepting a Ray pass on the game’s first drive. Bruce Molock scored from one yard out but a missed
extra point gave the team a 6-0 lead. Sacramento State answered back
with a 17-yard strike from Ray to senior Scott Towne. The two teams then
alternated touchdowns until the end of the first half where Sacramento
State led, 29-26.
The scoring frenzy continued in the second half as Ray scored his second
rushing TD of the game. With 5:17 left in the third quarter, Terrelus
Wright scored on a two-yard run to cut the Sacramento State lead to
36-33. Senior Lamont Webb then returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for
a score.
The Matadors responded with a five-play, 62-yard drive which resulted in
a 23-yard pass from Marcus Brady to DJ Hackett. The Hornets, however,
quickly answered back when Gary Austin, Jr., grabbed a tipped pass out
of the air and sprinted 39 yards for a score.
The fourth quarter proved even more bizarre as the two teams combined
for 36 points. Roberts began the barrage with a three-yard TD run. Jason
Stone then caught a 32-yard pass from Brady before Ray added another
one-yard run. Junior Julien Sells then scored his second rushing TD of
the game to make the score, 64-54. CSN added a late TD to end the
scoring.
The Hornets ended the night with 535 yards of total offense while the
Matadors tallied 611. Cal State Northridge was led by Brady who ended
the night with 493 yards passing and four touchdowns. In all, 13 players
scored a touchdown in the game. Ray (three), Roberts (two), Webb (two)
and Sells (two) each had more than one score.
Hornet Player & Team Notes
A Little History - Senior running back Charles Roberts, a 5-6,
171-pound native of Montclair, Calif., is on pace to become the most
prolific rusher in NCAA history. As a sophomore, Roberts set the NCAA
Division I-AA single-season rushing mark with 2,260 yards (205.5 yards
per game) and tied the NCAA mark for the most 100-yard rushing games in
a year (11) and most consecutive 100-yard games in a season (11). Last
season, Roberts became the first Division I-AA player to rush for two
2,000-yard seasons when he rushed for 2,082 yards.
Black and Blue - The Hornets walked away from the Cal State Northridge
game with a few injuries. Senior wide receiver Scott Towne is doubtful
after suffering a concussion and a sprained knee in the second quarter.
Towne was taken to the hospital following the game but was released
Sunday morning. Junior defensive lineman Bilal Watkins is questionable
after also injuring a knee late in the game.
More Roberts - Roberts has set or tied nine NCAA I-AA records
including the single-game mark of 409 yards against Idaho State last
season. He owns eight Big Sky records and 20 Sacramento State records
including the career rushing marks for both.
Roberts was named first team All-America by four publications last
season and was also named National Player of the Week by ESPN/USA Today, The Sports Network, Teamlink.com and Don Hansen’s Football Gazette after his performance against Idaho State. This season he was named a preseason All-American by The Sports Network and CBS Sportsline.
Record Shootout - Below is a list of the NCAA and Sacramento State
records that were set in Saturday’s game.
- NCAA RECORDS
- 125 combined points breaks the Div. I-A, I-AA and III records for most combined points in a game.
-18 combined touchdowns for both teams breaks the Div. I-AA record of 17 combined touchdowns, set three times previously. It ties the I-A record
of 18 set by Oklahoma (12) and Colorado (6) in 1980.
- 61 points scored by Cal State Northridge breaks the Div. I-A, I-AA and
II records for most points scored by a losing team.
- SACRAMENTO STATE SCHOOL RECORDS
- 125 combined points breaks the Sacramento State school record.
Previous record was 101, set in a 52-49 loss to Weber State in 1999
- Five rushing touchdowns ties school record for most rushing touchdowns
in a game, set three times previously.
- 64 points scored by the Hornets is second-most in school history - Record is 76 points in 76-0 win over San Francisco in 1968.
- Lamont Webb now has 15 career touchdown receptions, tying the school
record set by Eric Harrington (1992-93).
- POW - Quarterback Ricky Ray became the second Sacramento State player to be named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week this season. The Redding, Calif., native made the most of his final home game by
accounting for six touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions. Ray
threw TD passes of 17, 25 and 39 yards and also ran for three one-yard
scores. The senior ended the day 18-for-25 with 344 passing yards.
- POW II - Senior Lamont Webb joined Ray after being named the Big Sky
Special Teams Player of the Week. Webb became the first Sacramento State
player to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Oct. 25, 1997 when he
dashed 90 yards for a score. The Tracy, Calif., native had five kick
returns for 183 yards (36.6 avg.) and a punt return for 23 yards. Webb
also had five catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. With the TD, he tied
the school record with 15 career touchdown receptions. In the game, he
also passed Scott Towne to reclaim the school career receiving yardage
record.
- Packing ’Em In - The Hornets have had no problem filling the seats at home this season but they are also becoming quite a draw on the road. Sacramento State ended the regular season with an average of 11,487 fans at home, the highest average in school history. On the road, the team has already played in front of a record crowd at Montana and the third-largest crowd at Eastern Washington’s Woodward Stadium.
- Other Notes - With his two touchdowns against Cal State Northridge,
Roberts has 55 in his career which is fourth all-time at the NCAA Div.
I-AA level...Brandon Coleman moved into a tie for the team lead with
Elton Gabourel when he intercepted his fourth pass of the season.
A Look at the Lumberjacks
- Northern Arizona enters the week with a 3-6 overall record and a 2-5
mark in the Big Sky. The Lumberjacks have dropped five of their past six games including a 27-9 decision at Eastern Washington on Saturday.
- Running back Marcus King leads the team with 126.4 rushing yards per
game. King has scored nine touchdowns to pace the team. Preston Parsons serves as the team’s quarterback. Parsons averaged 233.1 yards per game with nine TDs and 10 interceptions. Defensively, Ray Perryman leads the squad with 62 tackles whle Keith O’Neil owns a team-high six sacks.
- The Last Meeting Between the Two Teams - Northern Arizona quarterback
Travis Brown connected with Francis St. Paul in the left corner of the
end zone on a two-point conversion in the third overtime, lifting the
Lumberjacks to a dramatic 51-49 victory over Sacramento State. The
Hornets went on top, 36-29, with 1:54 left in the game when Charles
Roberts scored on a 19-yard TD run and Ricky Ray’s successful two point
rushing conversion. The Lumberjacks put together a 65-yard TD drive to
send the game into overtime. NAU converted on fourth down twice during
its final drive in regulation, including the nine-yard TD pass on fourth down from Brown to St. Paul.
- The Coaches - Sacramento State head coach John Volek, in his sixth
year at the helm of the Hornet program, enters Saturday’s game with a
23-41-1 record. He has posted a 2-3 record in games against Cal State
Northridge.
Prior to becoming head coach of the Hornets, Volek posted a 51-24-1
record as head coach at Fresno City College (1988-94) and a 31-7 mark at Walla Walla Community College (1984-87).
Jerome Souers is in his third year as head coach at Northern Arizona.
Souers has posted an 17-15 overall record during that span. Prior to
becoming a head coach, Souers served as an assistant coach at Montana.
- A Look at the Big Sky Conference - Montana became the first Big Sky
school to obtain the top spot in the latest Div. I-AA poll. The Griz
moved to No. 1 after both Georgia Southern and Delaware lost. In fact,
six of the top 10 teams suffered defeats over the weekend.
In the Big Sky standings, Montana stayed on top and looks forward to a
showdown with second-place Weber State this week. Portland State remains in third while Sacramento State and Eastern Washington are tied for fourth.
Montana linebacker Adam Boomer was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week. Boomer led the Griz defense with 10 tackles, including seven solos and a sack in the team’s 38-21 win over Idaho State. The American Falls, Idaho, native also had an interception. The defense held Idaho State to 100 yards below its season average for total yards of offense.
