Freshman Tyronne Gross scored three touchdowns against Eastern Washington.

The victory improved the Hornets to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Sky Conference. The Eagles dropped to 4-4 overall and 1-3 in league games.

Sacramento State wasted little time getting on the board as the Hornets drove 70 yards on 10 plays during the first possession of the game. The drive was capped by Ryan Leadingham’s 5-yard TD pass to Fred Amey with 10:32 left in the opening quarter. Sophomore Bret LeVier added to the lead with a 31-yard field goal to give the team a 10-0 lead.

The Hornets pushed their lead to 17-0 four seconds into the second quarter when Gross found the end zone from five yards out for his second rushing touchdown of the season.

EWU trimmed its deficit with a pair of field goals from Rich Heintz. The first field goal came from 22 yards with 7:51 remaining. Heintz’ second field goal was from 31 yards with 2:11 left in the first half.

Sacramento State regained three of the points on its final drive of the half. The Hornets drove deep into Eagle territory but Leadingham was stopped at the 1-yard line with just six seconds on the clock. LeVier, however, came on to make an 18-yard field goal as time expired. During the drive, Sacramento State was faced with a 4th-and-6 from near midfield but Gross was able to gain the yardage to give the team a first down.

The Hornets claimed a 27-6 advantage with 6:59 left in the third quarter when Garrett White hooked up with Kenan Smith for a 29-yard strike. The completion was the first for White since the 2000 season.

Jovan Grifftih answered for the Eagles with a 1-yard plunge to make the score, 27-13. The Hornets responded with an eight play,45-yard drive which ended with a 5-yard rushing TD from Leadingham.

Eastern continued to fight its way back into the game with a touchdown from Jovan Griffith but Gross matched the score with a 2-yard touchdown with 6:19 remaining in the game.

The Eagles, however, moved right back down the field with 67-yard drive that took just 1:28 and was capped by a 27-yard pass from Josh Blankenship to Eric Kimble. EWU recovered the ensuing on-sides kick and used just two plays before finding the end zone on a 24-yard pass from Blankenship to Tim Calhoun to make the score 41-34.

With 4:32 left in the game, Eastern attempted another on-sides kick but the ball was recovered by Sacramento State’s Antone Bogetti. The Hornets moved the ball to the 16-yard line before Gross scored his third TD of the contest. On the play, the freshman ran the ball to the left side of the field before reversing direction and dashing into the end zone with the help of great block from Leadingham.

Eastern Washington, however, was not done and bounced back with a 2-yard touchdown from Griffith with 54 seconds remaining. EWU appeared to have recovered the on-sides kick but Jeremy Siemiller was able to come out of the bottom of the pile with the ball to seal the game.

Gross and Riley became just the eighth duo in Sacramento State history to each rush for 100 yards in a game. The last time the feat happened came on Sept. 5, 1993 when Arie Joseph and Pedro Lewis each crossed the century mark.

Leadingham ended the day 10-for-22 with 164 yards and a touchdown. The score extended the sophomore’s streak to 11-consecutive games with at least one TD pass.

Josh Blankenship, who entered the game as the Big Sky’s leading passer, finished the afternoon 22-for-42 with 357 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

Both picks were recorded by Robert Coleman. The interceptions were the first career for he senior who was starting in place of Camron Mbewa

Sacramento State returns home to take on Montana State on Nov. 2. The game will kick off at 6:05 p.m.

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