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FOOTBALL CONTINUES HOMESTAND AGAINST No. 21 NORTHERN ARIZONA ON HALLOWEEN 10/27/2009 For the third consecutive week, the Sacramento State will have the challenge of facing a top 25 team. This week, the Hornets will take on Northern Arizona at Hornet Stadium on Sat., Oct. 31, at 2:05 p.m. The Lumberjacks enter the game ranked 21st in the media poll and 22nd in the coaches poll. Sacramento State has previously faced #15 Weber State and #2 Montana in the past two weeks. 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 Steve McElroy, Walt Gray and Danny Sullivan (Jason Ross is on assignment with the Sacramento Kings). Live audio streaming is also available via www.hornetsports.com. 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. Sacramento State (2-5, 2-3 Big Sky) dropped its second straight game with a 45-30 loss to Montana last Saturday. The Hornets accumulated 443 yards of offense in the game but were unable to stop the Grizzly offense which rushed for 262 yards and threw for 236. The game was back and forth in the first half before Montana went on a 35-7 run from midway through the second quarter until the end of the third. Northern Arizona has quietly put together one of the strongest seasons in the Big Sky. The Lumberjacks are 5-2 overall and 4-1 in league games. The team’s two losses came at Arizona (34-17) to start the season and in overtime to Montana (41-34). In its most recent game, NAU cruised to a 40-12 victory over winless Idaho State. Northern Arizona leads the all-time series, 9-5. The home team has had a decided advantage of late as it has won each of the last four contests, including a 38-9 Hornet win in 2007 and a 42-10 victory last season by the Lumberjacks. A Look at the Hornets Doesn’t Add Up Jason Smith enjoyed one of his more efficient days as a Hornet starter, completing 31-of-46 passes against Montana for 323 yards and three touchdowns. His completion percentage (67.3) as well as completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns were all season highs. In fact, Smith’s 31 completions were not only a career high for the junior, they also tie him for the second most in school history. Tony Corbin holds the mark with 33 completions against Saint Mary’s on Nov. 4, 1995. Lyle James also had 31 completions in a game at San Francisco State in 1968. Smith’s previous high was 29 against Eastern Washington on Oct. 27, 2007. The Brentwood, Calif., native also recorded his second 300-yard game of the year and his fourth of his career. His total leaves him only shy of Ryan Leadingham (seven) and Corbin (six). One oddity is the fact that the Hornets have struggled to win games in which Smith produces big numbers. The team is 0-4 in games in which he passes for over 300 yards and is 0-3 in contests where he has completed over 67 percent of his passes with at least 20 attempts. Back on Board Following the Eastern Washington game on Sept. 26, junior Brandyn Reed appeared ready for a breakout season. The JC transfer had eight catches for 141 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles. However, a shoulder injury kept him out of the lineup at Portland State and he combined to catch just four passes for 39 yards and one touchdown in the following two games. Reed returned to top form against Montana, grabbing a team season high, as well as career high, 10 receptions for 111 yards. The Windsor, Calif., native tallied most of his yards on short pass routes against the Griz but also had a 36-yard reception. His biggest grab appeared to be a 40-yard touchdown in the final minutes of the first half which would have tied the game, 21-21. That play, however, was wiped out by a hands to the face call against the Hornets. Reed is now tied with Dylan Lane for the team lead with 37 receptions on the year. His 393 receiving yards is the best on the squad, placing him 39 yards ahead of John Hendershott. Passing the Buck Junior linebacker Peter Buck recorded his second big game in as many weeks. A week after setting a career high with 3.0 tackles-for-loss and finishing with nine total tackles at Weber State, Buck recorded a career high 18 stops against the Griz. The Vacaville, Calif., native’s total included six solos and 12 assists. His previous high of 11 came at Montana State in 2008. Buck joined an elite group of Hornet defensive players in the single-game top five during the school’s FCS/Div. I-AA era. The record of 22 was set by Ryland Wickman at Eastern Washington in 1997. Cyrus Mulitalo had 21 stops against Northern Colorado in 2006 and Jimmy Ellingson recorded 19 takcles at Montana in 2004. Buck is now tied with Ellingson (vs. Southern Utah, 2004) and Wickman (at CS Northridge, 1997) for fourth place. As a sophomore, Buck started all 12 games at safety and finished second on the team with 84 tackles. He moved to linebacker during the spring and currently ranks second on the squad with 46 total stops. His 3.0 TFLs  at WSU place him fourth on the team this season. Trick or Treat Since the start of Sacramento State football in 1954, the Hornets have played six games on Halloween. Those results have been rather been a mixed bag for Sacramento State as the team is 3-3. Below is a list of each of those games. 1959 - vs. Cal Poly Pomona    W, 19-0 1964 - at Nevada    W, 38-0 1970 - at Cal State Hayward    L, 14-12 1981 - vs. Cal State Hayward    W, 27-10 1987 - at Cal Lutheran    L, 23-7 1992 - vs. Portland State    W, 35-28 1998 - vs. Eastern Washington    L, 31-25 Numbers Beginning to Rise Sacramento State’s offense and defense are poised to work their way into the record book. The Hornets are currently averaging 23.0 points per game putting the team on pace for 253 points this season. That average would be the third best for the program since 2001. The two seasons with better marks were 2002 (27.1 ppg) and 2008 (26.6). In both of those seasons, Sacramento State was able to play 12 regular season games. Defensively, the opponents have scored 257 points through seven games and are averaging 36.7 points per game. Since joining the Big Sky in 1996, the Hornets have seen their opposition score at least 400 points in a year four times. This season, the opponents are on pace for 404. The most points allowed during that span (466) came in 1996. Isn’t That Special Over the past two games, special teams have caused some serious problems for Sacramento State. At Weber State, Tim Toone returned a punt for a Big Sky record 95-yard touchdown and Bo Bolen had a 48-yard kickoff return to set up another touchdown.     Montana took it one step further, using an onside kick in the second quarter to take its first lead of the game. In the second half, the Griz took advantage of a 54-yard punt return from Marc Mariani to set up a 5-yard TD from Reynolds. Later on, the team used a fake field goal to earn a first down and continue a drive which ended with a touchdown. A Look at the Lumberjacks • Quarterback Michael Herrick has been near perfect in his first year as the starter. Herrick, a transfer from Ole Miss, has completed 68.5 percent of his passes and has thrown 16 touchdowns with just three interceptions. Herrick’s top target has been Ed Berry who has 47 receptions for 703 yards and five TDs. • Defensively, Matt Estrada has a team-best 53 tackles. Stevon Thomas ranks second with 48 stops and also leads NAU with a pair of interceptions. • Kicker Matt Myers has also been a weapon, making 10-of-12 field goal attempts, including all four last week against Idaho State. Big Sky Notes Eastern Washington quarterback Matt Nichols was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week after helping the Eagles to a fourth-quarter comeback against Montana State. Weber State’s Thyrell Lewis earned the defensive honor and NAU kicker Matt Myers took home the special team’s award.