FOOTBALL HOSTS No. 19 EASTERN WASHINGTON IN HOME OPENER ON SATURDAY
9/22/2009
The Sacramento State football team will hope that some time off and home cooking will do the trick as the Hornets welcome No. 19 Eastern Washington on Saturday, Sept. 26, to Hornet Stadium. The game, which will serve as Sacramento State’s home opener as well as its Big Sky Conference opener, will kick off at 6:05 p.m.
There will be multiple ways to follow this week’s game. Hornet fans can tune in to KRJY 1240 AM to hear the radio call of Jason Ross, Steve McElroy and Danny Sullivan. Live audio streaming is also available via www.hornetsports.com. For the first time this season, Sacramento State will also be featured on BigSkyTV. org. The free package is available for all Big Sky football games as well as any non-conference contest hosted by Sacramento State.
The Hornets enter this week’s matchup with an 0-2 record. Sacramento State began the year at UNLV and fell to the Rebels, 38-3. The following week, the team travelled to Cal Poly and was defeated by the 12th-ranked Mustangs, 38-19.
While the Hornets were not favored to win either of their opening two games, the coaching staff is looking for a more consistent output on both sides of the ball in weeks to come. Through two games, Sacramento State is ranked 92nd in total offense and 102nd in total defense among the 118 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision teams.
To turn things around, the Hornets will look to defeat Eastern Washington for the second straight year. Last season, Sacramento State stunned the Eagles with a 15-13 win in Cheney, Wash. The home field has not proven to be advantageous against EWU, as the Eagles are 9-0 all-time at Hornet Stadium.
Eastern Washington in 2-1 overall and 1-0 in Big Sky games following a 16-0 shutout of Northern Colorado last weekend. In that game, the Eagles took advantage of four turnovers to earn their first FCS win. The team has also defeated Western Oregon and lost to Cal.
A Look at the Hornets Schrader Makes the Move Up
Junior safety Zach Schrader has wasted little time adjusting to the level of play in the FCS. The Western Washington transfer has tied for the team lead in tackles in each of the first two games and leads the squad with 22 tackles.
In his first game with the Hornets, Schrader tallied 13 tackles at UNLV to tie fellow safety Deionte Gordon for the top spot. One week later, he matched Ryan Shinar and Greg Johnson with nine stops at Cal Poly.
A native of Issaquah, Wash., Schrader originally committed to Western Washington out of high school. As a freshman, he recorded 24 tackles and an interception in six games. The following year, he was a second team all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference selection after tallying 76 total tackles. He was also named the team’s Defensive MVP and had four interceptions.
Can’t Teach Speed
Apparently Deionte Gordon’s speed is not limited to the playing field. The last time Hornet fans saw Gordon, he was on crutches following a knee injury suffered in the second quarter at Cal Poly. After originally thinking that he might be lost for the season, Gordon returned to the field last week and is expected to start against EWU.
The return of the sophomore is key for the Hornet defense. Gordon ranks second on the team with 18 stops and has started both games at safety.
The Seaside, Calif., native has now started all 14 games of his career with the Hornets. Last season, he played the first 11 games at cornerback before making the move to safety for the season finale. He paced the squad with four interceptions, seven pass breakups and ranked second overall with 76 total tackles.
Revolving Receivers
In two games, Sacramento State has started four different wide receivers and a pair of tight ends. In week one, the starting nod went to Dylan Lane and John Hendershott at receiver alongside tight ends Brian Heath and Jon Krebs. At Cal Poly, the team used a three wideout set with Lane flanked by Brandyn Reed and Ron Richardson on the outside and Heath at tight end.
The starts have not made much of a difference on who’s going to catch the ball. Hendershott leads a group of eight players who have at least one reception. The Diablo Valley JC transfer has eight grabs for 106 yards in his two games.
Reed has been the most efficient of the group, catching five passes for 102 yards. His average of 20.4 yards per reception is easily the best on the team and he has caught two passes of at least 32 yards.
The biggest breakout against the Mustangs came from junior Brett Willis who set career highs for receptions and yards and also scored his first collegiate touchdown.
A transfer from Colorado State, Willis joined the Hornet roster a year ago and finished the season with nine grabs for 78 yards. At Cal Poly, the Bakersfield, Calif., native had four receptions for 52 yards. His biggest catch came on a 23-yard touchdown reception in which he caught the ball over his shoulder and was able to stay in bounds for the score.
End Results
With three all-Big Sky linebackers and another on the defensive line, Kevin Moore and Ryan Shinar were overshadowed last season despite solid first seasons with the Hornets. Moore started 11 of the team’s 12 games and ended the year with 42 total tackles, including 4.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks.
This season, he has started each contest and leads the team with 2.0 tackles-for-loss.
Shinar saw action in 11 games as a reserve and tallied 15 tackles with 2.5 coming for loss. Against Cal Poly, Shinar nearly matched that total as he recorded a career high nine stops.
A Look at the Eagles
• Matt Nichols returns for his fourth year as Eastern Washington’s starting quarterback. A preseason Walter Payton Award candidate, Nichols currently ranks 27th in the FCS with a pass efficiency of 213.00.
• Running back Taiwan Jones is averaging 73.0 yards per game in his first year at the position. Jones played defensive back last year before switching sides of the ball.
• Defensively, Kevin Hatch and J.C. Sherritt have both been named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week this season. Hatch has a team best three interceptions while Sherritt has 37 tackles.
Big Sky Notes
Weber State’s Trevyn Smith (177 yards) and Northern Arizona’s Alex Henderson (168 yards) were named co-Offensive Players of the Week. EWU linebacker J.C. Sherritt and punter Cameron Zuber earned the defensive and special teams honors, respectively.
The Sacramento State football team will hope that some time off and home cooking will do the trick as the Hornets welcome No. 19 Eastern Washington on Saturday, Sept. 26, to Hornet Stadium. The game, which will serve as Sacramento State’s home opener as well as its Big Sky Conference opener, will kick off at 6:05 p.m.
