Sacramento State?s football team dropped its last game to Eastern Washington University 42-35 in a close, last minute battle that demolished any hope the Hornets had for a playoff birth. However, the game for the Hornets included several details that made the day for many, despite the loss.

Sac State head coach John Volek was very impressed with the Hornets? performance, especially from the defensive end. Many assumed a blowout victory for the Eagles with their No. 1 ranked offense in the Big Sky, but the Hornets put up a fight that came down to the last play and almost put the game t a 42-42 deadlock.

Even though Saturday?s war was lost, the Hornets won many battles, mainly due to Volek?s offensive changes prior to the game.Three Hornet offensive-team members took advantage of their starts, each scoring for the first time in their stints with the program.

Even defensive back Camron Mbewa notched his first score of his Sac State career.

Freshman fullback Kendall Riley got more playing time and scored his first career touchdown in the first quarter of the game. That wasn?t all for the youngster. He finished the game off as the Hornets? leading rusher with 113 yards on 21 carries and a total of two touchdowns.

“I had a lot put on my shoulder this week,” Riley said. I had to produce, and I came through.”

Sac State went up 14-0 in the second quarter when junior tight end Russell Gardner scored his first touchdown on a 15-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Leadingham.

Volek?s offensive fine-tuning gave other players an opportunity to play, therefore giving the team an opportunity to pull off an unlikely victory against the favored Eagles.

Mbewa, a sophomore, accumulated 14.5 tackles, a blocked punt that he returned for a touchdown. Mbewa?s first career touchdown placed the Hornets ahead 21-0 in the first half.

The Hornets? first three touchdowns came from three different players who all scored their first touchdowns of their careers.Mbewa was a defensive threat to the Eagles? offense. He ended an Eagle drive toward the ending of the fourth quarter to help put the game into overtime with a leveling hit to force Eastern Washington to punt.

Again, in overtime, Mbewa stopped the Eagles from scoring on a second down with a hit that sent Eagles running back Jesse Chatman literally flying backward. However, the Eagles managed to score on the next play from a yard out to conclude in the final score, 42-35.

Also contributing was Sac State freshman place kicker, Bret LeVier, who kicked the extra points Saturday night for his first points in a Hornet uniform.

Even though the Hornets lost the game, many Hornet players can look back at this game as the turning point in their respective careers and in Sac State?s season.