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FOOTBALL RETURNS TO THE ROAD TO FACE PORTLAND STATE ON SATURDAY 9/30/2009 Week four might be a little early to describe a game as pivotal, but that is what’s facing both Sacramento State and Portland State when they meet this Saturday, Oct. 3, for a 1:05 p.m. showdown at PGE Park. Both teams have begun the year slowly with the Hornets entering the game 0-3 overall and 0-1 in Big Sky Conference games. The Vikings are 1-3 overall and 0-2 in league action following a heart-breaking loss last weekend to Weber State. 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 provided some bright spots offensively but struggled to stop the Eastern Washington attack in a 56-30 loss to the 19th-ranked Eagles last Saturday in the home opener. Sacramento State turned the ball over four times and surrendered 537 yards of offense to EWU, which improved to 10-0 all-time in games played in Sacramento. Quarterback Jason Smith enjoyed his best game of the young season, completing 26-of-34 passes for 320 yards and a touchdown. Smith’s favorite target was Brandyn Reed who grabbed eight passes for 141 yards and a score. Portland State was primed for a big upset of nationally-ranked Weber State. The Vikings scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:15 to play when Drew Hubel connected with Aaron Woods from 15 yards out. However, WSU drove 85 yards  in 55 seconds to win the game on a 38-yard pass from Cameron Higgins to Tim Toone. Sacramento State has faced Portland State more than any other school in the Big Sky. The two teams used to be foes in the Western Football Conference before joining the Big Sky in the mid-1990s. All-time, the Vikings own a 21-7 edge in the all-time series. A LOOK AT THE HORNETS Take the Good With the Bad Here are a few more interesting tidbits from the Eastern Washington game... • Jason Smith recorded his first 300-yard passing game of the season and his third of his career. He is now tied with Ricky Ray and Aaron Garcia for the third most 300-yard games in school history. Smith’s 320 yards is tied for the 26th most at Sacramento State. • Brandyn Reed became the 38th different Hornet to have at least 100 receiving yards in a game. Reed moved into a tie for 43rd with a career-best 141 yards on eight receptions. • Eastern Washington running back Taiwan Jones rushed for 190 yards on 15 carries and scored four touchdowns. Jones’ total was the most allowed by Sacramento State since Bruce Mollock rushed for 201 for Montana State on Nov. 1, 2003. His four touchdowns match Travis Lulay’s (MSU, 11/6/04) total for the most scored against the Hornets in the Div. I-AA/FCS era. • J.C. Sherritt earned his second straight Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week award after recording 15 total tackles. Sherritt’s mark included 10 solos and 2.5 tackles-for-loss. He also forced two fumbles and recovered one. The last opposing player to tally at least 15 tackles was Taiwan Jones who played defensive back for EWU in 2008. • With the loss, Sacramento State dropped to 0-1 in Big Sky play for the 12th time since 1996. The only times the Hornets have won their Big Sky opener were both against Idaho State. The team defeated the Bengals 33-27 in 2001 and 47-21 in 2003. Sha-Sam Through three games, freshman Sam McCowan has shown a nose for the end zone. McCowan has found paydirt three times on just 13 carries this year, scoring on 23 percent of his attempts. McCowan first scored in the closing seconds at Cal Poly and added two touchdowns last week against Eastern Washington. At his current pace of one touchdown per game, he would match the Sacramento State school record for rushing touchdowns by a freshman which was set by Donald Hair in 1985. The Oxnard, Calif., native also showed his ability to return kickoffs, taking one back 75 yards to set up a Hornet touchdown. From that point, EWU never kicked off deep again, opting for a short pooch kick the entire second half. At Least There’s Company Sacramento State has surrendered 132 points in three games this season for an average of 44.0 points per game. While that total is high, this year’s team is not the only one in the Big Sky who have struggled keeping opponents off the board. The Hornets enter this week ranked 113th in the Football Championship Subdivision but are eighth in the Big Sky as Idaho State has given up 47.8 points per game. In fact since 2004, all but one Hornet team has allowed at least 100 points through the first three contests. A good reason for the early-season scoring has been the fact that Sacramento State has played at least one FBS team each of those season. The most points allowed by the Hornets in the opening three games came in 2004 where they allowed 134. That stretch began with a 59-7 loss at Nevada and was followed by a 23-17 win over Southern Utah and a 58-23 loss at UC Davis. The fewest points given up during that span was last season where the opponents scored 52 points in three games. Reeding the Defense Brandyn Reed proved against Eastern Washington that he will be one of the toughest receivers to defend in the Big Sky this season. Reed caught a season high eight passes for 142 yards and routinely got behind the Eagle defense to catch the deep ball. On the year, Reed leads the Hornets with 13 receptions for 243 yards. His averages of 18.7 yards per reception and 81.0 yards per game rank third in the Big Sky in both categories. Reed’s reception average trails only Portland State’s tandem of Lavonte Kirven (27.8) and Ray Fry (19.2). His game average is behind Fry (124.8) and Weber State’s Tim Toone (27.8). Of his 13 catches, eight have resulted in either a touchdown or first down. He also has three catches of at least 44 yards and another for 32 yards. The one negative for Reed is that he injured his shoulder in the second half against EWU and is questionable for this week’s game. Reed came to the Hornets from Santa Rosa JC. Last season, he was named first team All-America by JC Grid-Wire and was a first team all-Region 1 selection. That year, he caught 61 passes for 1,195 yards and 16 touchdowns. Revolving Receivers Along with Reed, Sacramento State has also had eight other players catch a pass this season. The team has also used a variety of starting lineups which have seen Dylan Lane, John Hendershott, Ron Richardson, Matt Larson and Reed all earn starts at the three receiver positions. The team has also used the tight end as a receiver more this year than in the previous seasons under Sperbeck. Jon Krebs has caught four passes for 45 yards and Brian Heath has two receptions for 28 yards. To put things in perspective, last season Heath and Mark Lavey combined to catch five passes for 38 yards. Alumni Report Three former Sacramento State football players found success in the last week in three different areas. Former offensive lineman Lonnie Paxton has justified his move to follow coach Josh McDaniels from the New England Patriots to the Denver Broncos as the team has begun the season 3-0. Wide receiver Fred Amey has gone from the NFL to an Arena League star only to see that league fold in the spring. After being waived by the B.C. Lions at the end of camp, Amey was out of football until being signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. After five weeks on the practice squad, Amey made his debut and caught six passes for 118 yards in the team’s win over Toronto. In a strange twist, Amey was assigned the same locker that former Hornet Charles Roberts used for the Blue Bombers in his eight seasons. Punter Mitch Lively has also taken a unique path in the past few years. Lively was drafted by the Colorado Rockies after his senior season as a pitcher. He stayed with the organization until injuring his arm. After a year-long absence he was signed by the San Francisco Giants and pitched in Augusta, Ga., in 2008. Lively began the year in Single-A San Jose but got off to a rough start and sent down to Augusta. After getting his mechanics back in order, he ended the year in Double-A Connecticut and was the winning pitcher for the Destroyers in the Eastern League championship series. Lively finished his time with Connecticut 3-0 with a 0.70 ERA in 25.2 innings of work. A Look at the Vikings • Portland State has used a much more balanced offense this season following the retirement of offensive coordinator Mouse Davis. The team is averaging 331.5 passing yards and 99.2 rushing yards per game. • Quarterback Drew Hubel leads the Big Sky with 325.0 passing yards per game. Hubel’s favorite target has been Ray Fry who has 26 catches for 499 yards in four games. Aaron Woods is also dangerous as a receiver and kick returner, and averages 192.8 all-purpose yards per game. • Defensively, linebacker Erik Pedersen is averaging 8.0 tackles per game. Cornerback DeShawn Shead also has two interceptions, including one for a TD. Big Sky Notes • The Big Sky awarded tri-Offensive Player of the Week awards to Taiwan Jones, WSU QB Cameron Higgins and UM QB Andrew Selle. J.C. Sherritt won the defensive honor for the second week in a row and Woods was the special teams choice.