Saturday,
November 20, 2004
Cal Poly Mustangs at Sacramento State Hornets
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SACRAMENTO,
Calif. – The 18th-ranked Cal Poly Mustangs jumped on top in the game’s
opening minute and never looked back, as they cruised to a 58-13 victory over
Sacramento State in front of 4,895 fans at Hornet Stadium on Saturday night.
The game was the regular-season finale for both teams. Sacramento State finished the year with a 3-8 record overall (2-5 Big Sky Conference). The victory over the Hornets means that the Great West Conference champion Mustangs finished the season with a 9-2 overall record, and likely secured a berth in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs which begin next weekend.
Cal Poly controlled every facet of the game, amassing 499 yards of total offense while limiting Sacramento State to just 217 total yards. In the game’s opening quarter, the Hornets were held to just 15 yards of total offense on 21 plays, as the Mustangs built a 14-0 lead that they would never relinquish.
One bright spot for the Hornets in defeat was the play of senior wide receiver Fred Amey. Amey finished with nine receptions for 143 yards, moving in to 4th place in NCAA Division I-AA history with 4,049 receiving yards for his career. In addition, the game also marked the 42nd career game in which Amey had a reception, moving him into 10th place in NCAA Division I-AA history for receptions with 248.
Another highlight for Sacramento State was the running of sophomore tailback Kris Daniels. Daniels became the first person all season to gain over 100 yards rushing against Cal Poly, finishing with 115 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries.
Hornet senior quarterback Ryan Leadingham completed 11-of-27 passes for 153 yards, throwing one touchdown pass and three interceptions.
Mustang junior quarterback Anthony Garrett lead a balanced Cal Poly offensive attack by completing 12-of-24 passes for 247 yards, throwing one touchdown pass while rushing for another touchdown.
Leading Cal Poly’s rushing attack was senior running back Geno Randle, who finished with 99 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Sophomore quarterback Cordel Webb had 12 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown, while Garrett finished with 45 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
Cal Poly junior wide receiver Jonah Russell finished with five receptions for 103 yards, while senior wideout Darrell Jones added with five receptions for 98 yards.
The Mustangs Adam Martinez initiated the game’s scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run with 14:00 to play in the first quarter. Randle followed with a 5-yard scoring run just 1:34 later to give Cal Poly a 14-0 cushion at the end of the first quarter.
Sacramento State answered back with 12:51 remaining in the second quarter on a one-yard touchdown pass from Leadingham to junior tight end McRuben Fleurinord, cutting the deficit to 14-7.
After Byungwoo Yoon’s 26-yard field goal gave the Mustangs a 17-7 edge four minutes later, the Mustangs took advantage of prime field position following an interception that gave them possession at the Hornet 42-yard line. Cal Poly marched into the end zone on just five plays, scoring on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Garnett to Martinez that gave Cal Poly a 24-7 at the half.
The Hornets answered back early in the second half, as Daniels scampered 70 yards for a touchdown (the first of his career) to trim the Mustang lead to 24-13 with 10:21 left in the third quarter.
However, the touchdown by Daniels would be the last time that the Hornets would threaten the rest of the way. Cal Poly drove 65 yards on just six plays immediately following the Hornet touchdown, with Garnett rushing in to the end zone from the 2-yard line to culminate the drive and give the Mustangs a 31-13 advantage with 7:21 remaining in the third quarter.
Cal Poly put the game out of reach 1:33 later as Kenny Chicoine returned an interception 68 yards for a touchdown to give Cal Poly an insurmountable 37-13 lead. Webb finished the third quarter scoring on a 15-yard touchdown run with 3:01 left to put Cal Poly on top 44-13.
The Mustangs’ Matt McCormick scored on a 6-yard touchdown run with 11:47 remaining in the game, and Josiah Jennings concluded the night’s scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run with 4:56 left.
Defensively, Matt Logue paced Sacramento State with a career-high 15 tackles. Logue has now had at least 10 stops in the final three games of the year. Linebacker Jimmy Ellingson added 12 tackles and Tyson Butler and Brett Shelton each added 11. Buck Buchanan Award candidate Jordan Beck led Cal Poly with 11 tackles.
NOTES: Ryan Mole’s quest for 1,000 yards ended when he was forced out the game midway through the second quarter with bruised ribs. Mole ended the night with 12 yards and concludes the season with 858 in nine games… Shelton has reached double-digits in tackles each of the last three games…the Hornets recovered two fumbles in the first half on punts that were lined off Cal Poly upmen…there were nine turnovers in the game with each team fumbling three times and Sacramento State throwing three interceptions…Ellingson moved into a tie for third in school history with 132 tackles this season…the win was the first for Cal Poly in Sacramento since 1996.
Cal Poly swats Hornets
Running back Adam Martinez scores two touchdowns in 58-13 season-ending
romp
Mitch McLaughlin, State Hornet
November 21, 2004
In
the final game of the 2004 season, Sacramento State football was pummeled
58-13 by Cal Poly at Hornet Stadium.
"(Cal Poly) is a good football team, and if they advance to the playoffs and play Montana that's a game I'd like to see," head coach Steve Mooshagian said.
The NCAA Division I-AA football playoffs get underway next weekend and Cal Poly is expected to participate after winning the Great West Football Conference title this season.
"Between Eastern Washington, Montana and Cal Poly (three of the Hornets' four last opponents) they're all three legitimate teams for the I-AA playoffs." Mooshagian said.
Mooshagian also characterized this Cal Poly team as the fastest his team the Hornets played all season, even more so than Nevada who the Hornets opened the season against with a 59-7 loss.
The No. 18 Mustangs led throughout the game as they converted on turnovers on the first two Sac State drives into 14 points. Two plays into the game Ryan Leadingham threw his first of three interceptions and four plays later on the ensuing drive an Adam Martinez touchdown run put the Mustangs on top and they would never trail.
Two plays into the second Sac State drive, running back Ryan Mole gave the ball right back on a fumble and again four plays later the Mustangs would reach the end zone. This time Geno Randle ran it in for a 5-yard score. Randle rushed for 112 yards and that touchdown.
"When you turn the ball over and its 14 points, that's tough in any game, in any league, anywhere I've ever been," Mooshagian said. "Whether it's the NFL or high school, it's tough to win while turning the ball over like that."
After opening the first quarter scoreless, the Hornets would get a little luck and turn that into a successful drive. For the second time in the game, a Mitch Lively punt hit a Cal Poly upman and the live ball was recovered by a Hornet.
The drive would end with Ryan Leadingham connecting with tight end McRuben Fleurinord on a 1-yard scoring pass. It was Leadingham's 50th career touchdown pass in his four seasons extending his own school record. Cal Poly would drive three more times deep inside Hornets territory getting 10 more points and pushing the halftime deficit to 24-7.
Early
in the third quarter there was hope on the Sac State sideline. After starting
running back Ryan Mole left with a rib injury at halftime backup Kris Daniels
stepped in and got the Hornets back on the scoreboard with his career long
70-yard touchdown run. Daniels saw his most action of the season gaining 126
yards on just 11 carries.
"I looked up and it was 24-13 after Kris Daniel's run and I guess it's kind of a blur from that point on," Mooshagian said. "The game kind of just got out of hand."
From that point on it was all Cal Poly. They would end the quarter up 44-13 after two turnovers led to touchdowns. The highlight of the quarter was Cal Poly safety Kenny Chicoine's 68-yard interception return for a touchdown. Chicoine had all three of Leadingham's interceptions.
Cal Poly would score two more touchdowns early in the fourth quarter after a Leadingham interception and a short Mitch Lively punt gave the Mustangs' two short scoring drives. 34 points scored by Cal Poly came off Sac State turnovers and 14 more were off of short Lively punts. Cal Poly scored all but two touchdowns on drives that started in Hornet territory and one of the other two was off of Chicoine's long interception return.
Saturday night marked the end of the career for the seniors, most notably the captains: Leadingham, wide receiver Fred Amey, defensive end Chris Bessinger and cornerback Ramon Payne.
Once again Amey was a bright spot as he led the Hornets with 9 receptions for 143 yards. Those numbers gave Amey 1,186 yards for the season, his highest total in his four years in Sacramento; it is the second best mark in school history behind Kevin Fontes' 1,207 yards in 1982. Amey also moved into fourth place all-time in Division I-AA history with a career total of 4,049 receiving yards.
On defense, junior linebacker Matt Logue set a career-high with his 15 tackles giving him 89 total tackles for the season, the second best total on the team. Fellow junior linebacker Jimmy Ellingson led the team with his 132; it tied Carlos Williams' 1999 season for third best in school history. He had 12 tackles against Cal Poly.
The loss on Saturday left Sac State 3-8 for the season, 2-5 in Big Sky play. With the exception of two seasons over .500 under John Volek in 1999 and 2000, Sac State has finished under .500 every season since 1996, their first as a member of the Big Sky conference.
Feedback
Posted 11/27/04 by Paul Allen
The Hornets are embarrasing. Jody Cooper their punter is the queen of punters and any pride this team ever had was left in the locker room. They don't deserve our support and should refuse to take the field with such poor talent and limpless desire
Cal Poly Beats Sacramento State in Season Finale
Playoff Snub Doesn't Dampen Success of Football Program in 2004
November 22, 2004
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (9-2, 4-1 Great West), which captured the inaugural Great West Football Conference championship and finished 16th in one national poll and 17th in another, was not extended an invitation to the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.
Nevertheless, Mustang head coach Rich Ellerson has nothing but praise for the performance of his team in 2004. Linebacker Jordan Beck and wide receiver/return specialist Darrell Jones broke numerous school records and the team won nine games, the most since 1997. Only three teams in the 86-year history of the Mustang football program have won 10 games (1980, 1990 and 1997) and three others won nine games (1953, 1958 and 1973).
"We had a great season and a great final game," said Ellerson. "We had a tremendous senior class that has been the fulcrum of the program's transformation to being national contenders. There were way too many positive and wonderful things that happened this year. We're not going to let a committee's decision in any way affect the way we feel about this team and its accomplishments. What this group of 12 seniors accomplished is something they will look back on with pride the rest of their lives.
"But we have a lot of developmental work to do," the fourth-year Mustang mentor added. "We're still a relatively young football team. Recruiting continues in earnest. There's no such thing as staying the same. You've got to have a belief in your system and talent to keep that arrow up. Fortunately, we redshirted our entire freshman class and we feel it was one of the best recruiting classes ever at Cal Poly. What kind of job we do in the offseason will be pivotal to the success of the years beyond 2004."
Beck and defensive end Chris Gocong, both Buck Buchanan Award finalists, finished No. 1 in the nation in defensive statistics -- Beck in solo tackles and forced fumbles and Gocong in sacks -- and Gocong also was second in tackles for lost yardage, Beck fourth in total tackles and Kenny Chicoine fifth in interceptions. Offensively, Jones was fourth in all-purpose yardage and eighth in receiving yards per game. School records were broken by Jones in punt and kickoff returns as well as career catches, Beck in tackles and Chicoine in interceptions.
Cal Poly beat Sacramento State 58-13 in the season finale, snapping a three-game losing streak in games played against the Hornets in the state capital. Chicoine intercepted two passes, returning one 68 yards for a touchdown, and running back Adam Martinez scored twice -- one on a short run and the other on a 17-yard pass from Anthony Garnett, who completed 12 of 24 passes for 247 yards. Beck notched 11 tackles while Gocong recorded three sacks as Cal Poly earned seven sacks and three interceptions in the game.
Cal Poly, which holds a No. 12 ranking in the Gridiron Power Index compiled by I-AA.org and is 12th in the Sagarin ratings this week, bolted out of the starting gate with seven straight wins -- the fifth time that's been accomplished by the Mustangs -- and climbed as high as No. 5 in the national polls before falling 36-33 at home to UC Davis and 38-21 at Eastern Washington. Cal Poly's 7-0 start equalled the start of the 1997 squad which finished 10-1. The 1933 (7-0), 1953 (9-0) and 1973 (9-1) teams also won their first seven games.
The Mustangs finished third in the nation in rushing defense, fifth in net punting and ninth in scoring defense. Cal Poly set a home attendance record by averaging 8,395 fans for five home games and twice broke the single-game home record with crowds of 9,352 for Texas State and 9,387 for UC Davis.
Cal Poly, which won three games against Big Sky Conference teams for the first time, outscored its 11 opponents by an average of 30.5 to 16.6.
Box Score (Final)
Cal Poly vs Sacramento State (Nov 20, 2004 at Sacramento, Calif.)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Cal Poly............ 14 10 20 14 - 58 Record: (9-2)
Sacramento State.... 0 7 6 0 - 13 Record: (3-8)
Scoring Summary:
1st 14:00 CP - Adam Martinez 2 yd run (Byungwoo Yoon kick), 4-24 0:49, CP 7 - SAC 0
12:26 CP - Geno Randle 5 yd run (Byungwoo Yoon kick), 4-51 0:48, CP 14 - SAC 0
2nd 12:51 SAC - M. Fleurinord 1 yd pass from Ryan Leadingham (Mitch Lively kick), 7-72 1:07, CP 14 - SAC 7
08:51 CP - Byungwoo Yoon 26 yd field goal, 9-71 4:00, CP 17 - SAC 7
04:12 CP - Adam Martinez 17 yd pass from Anthony Garnett (Byungwoo Yoon kick), 5-42 2:04, CP 24 - SAC 7
3rd 10:21 SAC - Kris Daniels 70 yd run (Mitch Lively kick failed), 1-70 0:12, CP 24 - SAC 13
07:21 CP - Anthony Garnett 2 yd run (Byungwoo Yoon kick), 6-65 3:00, CP 31 - SAC 13
05:48 CP - Kenny Chicoine 68 yd interception return (Byungwoo Yoon kick failed), , CP 37 - SAC 13
03:01 CP - Cordel Webb 15 yd run (Byungwoo Yoon kick), 2-35 0:29, CP 44 - SAC 13
4th 11:47 CP - Matt McCormick 6 yd run (Byungwoo Yoon kick), 3-18 1:27, CP 51 - SAC 13
04:56 CP - Josiah Jennings 2 yd run (Byungwoo Yoon kick), 9-35 5:16, CP 58 - SAC 13
CP SAC
FIRST DOWNS................... 30 12
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 61-252 35-64
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 247 153
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 24-12-0 27-11-3
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 85-499 62-217
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 3-4 1-8
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 0-0 6-66
Interception Returns-Yards.... 3-138 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 3-42.7 9-31.9
Fumbles-Lost.................. 3-3 6-3
Penalties-Yards............... 4-25 12-115
Possession Time............... 34:09 25:51
Third-Down Conversions........ 8 of 15 1 of 12
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 1 of 1 1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 8-10 1-1
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 7-62 0-0
RUSHING: Cal Poly-Geno Randle 26-99; Cordel Webb 12-73; Anthony Garnett 8-45; Matt McCormick
5-33; Adam George 2-12; Josiah Jennings 1-2; Darrell Jones 2-2; Adam Martinez 3-1; Team 2-minus 15.
Sacramento State-Kris Daniels 11-115; Ryan Mole 13-12; Team 1-minus 1; Ryan Leadingham 10-minus 62.
PASSING: Cal Poly-Anthony Garnett 12-24-0-247. Sacramento State-Ryan Leadingham 11-27-3-153.
RECEIVING: Cal Poly-Darrell Jones 5-98; Jonah Russell 4-103; 00042Matt McCor 2-29; Adam
Martinez 1-17. Sacramento State-Fred Amey 9-143; Ryan Coogler 1-9; M. Fleurinord 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS: Cal Poly-Kenny Chicoine 2-119; Kyle Shotwell 1-19. Sacramento State-None.
FUMBLES: Cal Poly-Team 3-3. Sacramento State-Ryan Mole 2-1; Ryan Leadingham 2-1; Team 1-1;
James Cummings 1-0.
Stadium: Hornet Stadium Attendance: 4895
Kickoff time: 4:05 pm End of Game: 7:08 pm Total elapsed time: 3:03
Officials: Referee: Ray Willett; Umpire: Dan Mahoney; Linesman: K. Dobberstein;
Line judge: Jim Gragert; Back judge: Jim Farmer; Field judge: Tony Stoddard;
Side judge: Jeff Farrington; Scorer: Brian Berger;
Temperature: 63 Wind: 15-20 Weather: Clear, Windy