Get used to the sound of the cannon at Hornet Stadium this year.

If Saturday night is any indication, it will be put into action a lot this season. The Hornets jumped out to a 30-0 half-time lead versus Cal Poly, and went on to take a 37-18 victory, before a crowd of 16,557, the largest home-opening crowd that Sac State has ever had.

“The fans can help us, we need them,” said head coach John Volek, visibly pleased with the large crowd that saw his team improve to 2-0. “It was great hearing them get loud in the right situations. Our fans our learning.”

The Hornet players were also pumped up by the mass of Hornet fans that surrounded them. “It feels good to have that amount of people here,” said senior running back Charles Roberts, who rushed for 240 yards on 30 carries, moving him closer to the NCAA career rushing mark, while also running for three scores.

“I felt really good out there. I had a better feeling of the offensive line,” Roberts said. “All I had to do was run through the hole.”

Sac State earned the decisive victory despite the fact that they were without senior quarterback Ricky Ray for the last three quarters. Sophomore Garrett White, whose style of play is quite different than Ray?s, replaced him.

“I wanted to get out there and complete passes. I feel like I can get better at that,” said White, who threw for 71 yards and rushed for 78. “I know I can run, I wanted to work on throwing the ball.”

Volek was pleased with White?s all around performance, which included a reception before White slid over and played quarterback.

“He can catch, run and throw,” Volek said. “I would hate to be a defensive coordinator knowing that Charles (Roberts) and Garrett are coming at you.”

On the game?s first drive, Roberts fumbled the ball away on Sac State?s 30-yard-line. But the defense responded and stopped the Mustangs, before Allen McCoy blocked a 39-yard field goal attempt to give the Hornets the ball back.

The offense then took advantage of the situation and drove 78 yards for the 7-0 lead. To get into scoring range, Roberts had a 34-yard run, before being brought down at the 14-yard-line. Ray took the ball the rest of the way, with two runs, including a 5-yard-touchdown run on fourth down and one.

Later in the first quarter, senior Lamont Webb returned a punt 44 yards, tackled just inside Cal Poly?s 20-yard-line. After a run by White, who entered the game after Ray strained his groin, Roberts scampered 12 yards for the touchdown, and the 14-0 advantage.

The second quarter proved to be nothing short of a stage for the defense to shine on. On three consecutive possessions for the Mustangs, the Hornets held them to minus six yards, two yards, and minus one yard, while forcing a fumble during the stretch.

“We did a spectacular job tonight,” said linebacker Anthony Daisley, who led the Hornets with nine tackles. “Thirty at half-time.”

Volek liked what he saw out of the defense, which held Cal Poly to 52 first half yards, compared to the 295 that the Hornets put up. In the first half, the Hornets reached the end zone twice as many times as Cal Poly reached the first down marker.

“Pretty awesome. It was really a good defensive effort,” Volek said.

Following all three of the defensive stops the Hornets were able to put points on the board. Roberts rushed for a 61-yard touchdown, Jimmy Sanchez kicked a 26-yard-field goal and White showed his speed and strength on a 25-yard-touchdown run with 54 seconds left in the half.

“That?s something I always wanted to do. Just bust an option, bust a play,” White said. “Everybody did the right thing. They made me look good, and I wouldn?t be able to run like that if they didn?t do their job.”

After the dust cleared, the Hornets went into the break with a 30-0 lead.

In the third quarter, Cal Poly got a little offense going. Quarterback Seth Burford completed a 27-yard pass to Adam Herzing, setting up his own 15-yard-touchdown, running over Hornets on the way. This closed the score to 30-6 after a missed extra credit.

The failure to wrap up Burford is one of the few negatives that Volek took from the game. “We?ve got to work on that,” Volek said. “We can?t let people out of that grip.”

Sac State took the ball right back at the Mustangs on their next drive. After another nice return by Webb, Roberts ran for 14 yards and White hit Scott Towne for a 24-yard gain. But the drive was cut short when Roberts fumbled 16 yards short of the end zone.

The score remained 30-6 until Burford hit Ryan McCarty for a 17-yard-touchdown early in the last quarter, pulling the Mustangs closer at 30-12.

Again, Sac State answered with a long drive. White completed an 11-yard pass to Gary Austin Jr, and an 18-yard pass to Towne to move the Hornets down the field.

Roberts put the exclamation point on the victory with a 14-yard touchdown run, crossing over the goal with a giant leap. This gave the Hornets a 37-12 lead with just over four minutes left in the game. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on the jump.

“I was excited that we were winning in the way we were,” said Roberts of the penalty. “So I thought I?d do something special for the fans.”

The Hornets will hope to remain undefeated this Saturday, as they host Portland State at 6:05 p.m. at Hornet Stadium.

HORNET NOTES

?Hornet offensive lineman Raul Sanchez, a red-shirt freshman who has a career ending hip injury, was put in to play one last series at the end of the game.

?Junior linebacker Santi Hall, a transfer from UCLA, will make his first Hornet appearance next week. He led the Bruins in sacks last season.

?Ray is expected to start at quarterback next week.