Back in the win column after two close losses, the Sac State football team showed that it is capable of taking over a game defensively, as they defeated the Weber State 35-7 on Saturday at Fred Anderson Field before 9,157 people.

Charles Roberts did his thing, rushing for 154 yards and three touchdowns, but the fact that the defense allowed only one touchdown was important, after surrendering 76 points in the previous two games.

“That?s the way we?re supposed to play defense every game,” head coach John Vole said. “They set the tempo for our offense and we feed off each other.”

Heading up the defensive effort for Sac State were seniors Anthony Daisley and Elton Gabourel. Daisley recorded eight tackles, recovered a fumble and earned one of the team?s seven sacks. Gabourel intercepted two passes to go along with four tackles.

“We?re relieved, but we got a long way to go,” Gabourel said about the defense?s performance. “We showed the Big Sky what we could do.”

The Big Sky will take even more notice next week if the Hornets are able to earn a victory in Montana (3-1, 1-0).

“These guys have been there,” Volek said, referring to last year?s double overtime loss in Montana. “Our goal is one game at a time.”

But the team?s is heading in the right direction again going into the Grizzlies, after the relatively easy victory versus Weber State.

“One team played like they were in the seller and wanted to get out and one team played like they were in the seller and wanted to get back in,” Weber State head coach Jerry Graybeal said of his team?s performance. “They outplayed us in every aspect of the game. They (the Hornets? defense) dominated us up front.”

“The confidence is back up,” quarterback Ricky Ray said. “Last week a lot of guys put the finger on their chest for the loss.”

In Saturday?s win, the Hornets held Weber State to negative three yards in the first quarter before the offense reached the end zone, with a one-yard touchdown run by Roberts. A 34-yard pass from Ray to Scott Towne set up the touchdown.

Later in the second quarter, Towne struck again as Ray hit the senior for a 13-yard touchdown, giving the Hornets a 14-0.

Weber State?s offense then appeared to wake up, only to be locked up by the Sac State defense at the one-yard line, as Adam Roth forced a fumble which was scooped up by Daisley, allowing the Hornets to keep the two-touchdown lead at the break.

“Momentum is a huge thing in college football,” Graybeal said, “That (the fumble) was a huge play in the game.”

The Wildcats cut the lead in half in the third quarter as Cole Cooper threw a 37-yard pass to Shane Theobald, setting up their only touchdown, which came on a pass from Cooper to Damon Greenberry.

Sac State made the score 21-7 later in the third quarter on a three-yard touchdown run by Roberts. The key play in the drive, and in the game, according to Volek, was a 25-yard end-around run by senior receiver Lamont Webb.

Webb and Towne teamed with Roberts to lead the Hornets offensively, as the trio combined for all five of the Hornet touchdowns. Webb, who moved into third place on Sac State?s all-time receiving list at 1,299 yards, caught three passes for 106 yards, while Towne turned his six receptions into 107 yards. They were a big reason why Ray was able to throw for 251 yards, and complete 14 of his 24 passes. Ray was pleased to see his team succeed through the air.

“Charles has been doing great and our passing game has not been what I wanted it to be,” Ray said.

Just over one minute after Robert?s touchdown, Webb hauled in a 34-yard touchdown, giving Sac State a 28-7 lead.

The Hornets closed out the scoring when Roberts scampered in for his third touchdown, scoring from 45 yards out. But Roberts was just as excited about the fact that he got the through the game without a fumble.

“My concentration was there,” Roberts said about holding onto the football. “I was made more conscious of knowing that I had to use both hands.”

Roberts, who has rushed for 900 yards this season, has six games to go to become the first college running back to gain 2,000 rushing yards in three consecutive seasons. He is also currently 1,129 yards shy of passing the all-time college-rushing leader Brian Shay.

The Hornets hope to carry the momentum from this win into Montana for next week, as they meet the Grizzlies in Missoula on Saturday.