2021 SACRAMENTO STATE FOOTBALL
GAME NOTES Pierre Williams
A BRIEF PREVIEW
• Coming off its lone open week of the season, the Sacramento State football team will look to stay unbeaten in Big Sky Conference play when it hosts Southern Utah on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. from Fred Anderson Field at Hornet Stadium. • The game will serve as Health and Wellness Awareness Night. Sacramento State has partnered with Helinski’s Hope which supports student-athlete mental health. The team will wear green ribbons on the back of their helmets for the game. The team will also work with Paint Sacramento Pink which promotes breast cancer awareness. • The Hornets most recently defeated Idaho State, 23-21, on Sept. 25 to even their record at 2-2 overall and begin the Big Sky season 1-0. Sacramento State shut out the Bengals in the second half and sealed the game with an interception in the final minutes. • There will be multiple ways to follow this week’s game. Hornet fans can tune in to ESPN 1320 AM to hear the radio call of Jason Ross, Steve Mcelroy and Danny Sullivan. Live audio streaming is also available via www. hornetsports.com. • The game will also be streamed on ESPN+ with Dave Lewis and Darren Arbet providing the commentary.
SACRAMENTO STATE NOTES
• Sacramento State battled back from a halftime deficit to claim a 23-21 win at Idaho State on Sept. 25. Kyle Sentkowski kicked three second half field goals and the Hornet defense kept ISU off the scoreboard over the final two quarters. Sentkowski was name the Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week after making field goals of 49, 27 and 40 yards in the second half. The 49-yarder tied him for the ninth longest in program history. The team finished plus-2 in turnover margin as Munchie Filer III and Marte Mapu each had interceptions. • Sacramento State has continued to use a two quarterback system through the first four games. Jake Dunniway has thrown for 300-plus yards in the last two contests and leads the team with 757 passing yards. Asher O’hara, who has thrown for 520 yards, is the leading rusher for the Hornets with 216 yards. O’Hara has also rushed for two scores and caught a TD pass on a trick play at Idaho State. • Pierre Williams became the first Hornet to have three consecutive 100-yard receiving games since 2015 as he broke the century mark against UNI (122 yards), Cal (121) and Idaho State (130). Williams enters this week ranked 12th in the FCS with an average of 104.0 receiving yards per game. • The linebacking duo of Marcus Hawkins and Taylor Powell rank first and second, respectively, in total tackles on the team. Hawkins has been credited with 30 stops this season while Powell has 22. Both players were in double digits at Cal.
OPPONENT PREVIEW: Southern Utah
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BIG SKY STANDINGS Team Eastern Washington Montana State UC Davis Sacramento State Montana Northern Arizona Northern Colorado Portland State Weber State Idaho Cal Poly Idaho State Southern Utah
BSC Overall Stk 2-0 5-0 W5 2-0 4-1 W4 2-0 5-0 W5 1-0 2-2 W1 1-1 3-1 L1 1-1 2-3 W1 1-1 2-3 L1 1-1 2-3 W1 1-1 2-3 W1 0-1 1-3 L3 0-2 1-4 L4 0-2 0-4 L5 0-2 1-4 L2
This Week’s Schedule UC Davis at Idaho State, 12 p.m.* Dixie State at Montana, 12 p.m. Eastern Washington at Northern Colorado, 12 p.m.* Cal Poly at Montana State, 1 p.m.* Portland State at Idaho, 2 p.m.* Southern Utah at Sacramento State, 6 p.m.* All Times Pacific
OPPONENT INFORMATION Southern Utah (1-4, 0-2)
Location Cedar City, Utah Founded 1897 Enrollment 12,582 Nickname Thunderbirds Conference Big Sky President Scott L. Wyatt Director of Athletics Debbie Corum Home Field Eccles Coliseum Head Coach Demario Warren Alma Mater, Year UC Davis, ‘08 Overall Record 21-36 (6th year) SUU Record Same Off. Coordinator Matt Wade Def. Coordinator Robert Bala Final 2020 Record 1-5 Final 2020 League Rec. 1-5 Letterman Returning 36 Starters Returning (O/D/ST) 23 (10/11/2) Football Contact Tyler Roper website www.suutbirds.com
• Southern Utah fell to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in Big Sky games following a 20-13 loss to Portland State in Cedar City on Saturday. The two teams traded leads until late in the third quarter when PSU tied the contest with a field goal. The Vikings then moved ahead with touchdown with 9:13 remaining for the game’s only points in the fourth quarter.
2021 SOUTHERN UTAH SCHEDULE/RESULTS 8/28
at San Jose State
9/2
at Arizona State
L, 45-14 L, 41-14
• Quarterback Justin Miller had guided the SUU offense in each game this season. Miller has completed 64.3 percent of his passes and has thrown for five touchdowns and 985 yards with six interceptions. Brandon Schenks has been his favorite target with 18 receptions for 207 yards and three TDs.
9/18
vs. Tarleton State
W, 40-35
9/25
EASTERN WASHINGTON*
L, 50-21
10/2
PORTLAND STATE*
L, 20-13
• Linebacker La’akea Kaho’ohanohano-Davis is the team’s leading tackler with 26 stops. The preseason all-Big Sky selection has four TFLs and three sacks among the total and also has intercepted a pass.
10/9
at Sacramento State*
6 p.m.
10/16
at Northern Arizona*
1 p.m.
• This week’s game will mark the final Big Sky football meeting between the two schools. Southern Utah will depart the Big Sky for the Western Athletic Conference beginning in the fall of 2022.
10/23
NORTHERN COLORADO*
10/30
at Montana*
• The Thunderbirds are coached by DeMario Warren who is in his sixth year. A native of Fairfield, Calif., Warren graduated from UC Davis in 2008.
11/6
at Idaho*
1 p.m.
11/13
WEBER STATE*
1 p.m.
5 p.m. 11 a.m.
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