Offense was the name of the game Saturday, as Sacramento State?s football team fell to the No. 15 ranked Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks, 50-40.

The combined score of 90 points was the most points scored in Fred Anderson Field this season.

Saturday marked the final home game of the season, as 15 seniors on the 1-5 (2-8 overall) Hornet squad were honored. “I almost cried seeing (the seniors) cry, and I don?t cry too much,” freshman wide receiver Fred Amey said.

Amey?s career-high stats were secondary in his mind, as he hauled in 11 passes (third best in the program since it entered the Div 1-AA ranks) for 160 yards including a 17-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter that kept his team in the game at 35-32.

Opposite Amey was Michael Johnson, Jr., who finished the game with eight receptions and 104 yards. The freshman quarterback etched his name into the Sac State record books with a career-best 374 passing yards, fifth highest in a single game in Hornet history.

Leadingham completed 28-of-44 passes and two touchdowns, and no interceptions, improving from last week?s three-interception performance against California State University, Northridge.

Leadingham now has 2,440 yards this season, placing him 10th in Sac State history.

“Ryan did a good job,” Sac State head coach John Volek said. “This season, he has faced a number of different coverages and he will continue to improve.”

With the rain pouring down on the field, the Lumberjacks decided to lug it out with their dynamic duo of halfbacks, Marcus King and Brian Bingham. The tandem pounded the Hornet defense, combining for 258 yards.

King carried the ball 21 times for 110 yards while Bingham had 20 attempts for 148 yards and four touchdowns. It was the second time this season that the Hornets have allowed two runners to eclipse the century mark in the same game. It happened previously this season against Weber State at Fred Anderson Field.

For the Hornets, Derard Barton led the squad with 59 yards on eight carries, with much of his output coming on a 47-yard touchdown run in which he weaved through several Northern Arizona defenders to tie the score at 21 early in the third quarter.Before Barton?s score, the Lumberjacks built a 21-7 lead in the first half using a nice mix of the running game and a short, control-type passing attack.

The Lumberjacks set up their third touchdown of the half by using a delayed screen play. The play involved a misdirection run-fake to the right side, while tight end Peter Cich sneaked out in the flat. Cich (four receptions and 67 yards) caught the ball and ran it 18 yards into the end zone with 9:55 remaining in the half.

Lumberjack signal caller Preston Parsons finished the game 18-of-27 passing with three touchdown tosses and an interception to Sac State?s Brandon Coleman. Coleman leads the team with four picks.

“They get the run going with (Marcus) King and then sneak the tight end out in the flat when we have one on one,” Volek said. The Hornets answered at the end of the half, as Andrew Bonner capped off the 89-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Sac State remained within striking distance of a possible upset victory until late in the fourth quarter, when the Lumberjacks broke the Hornets? backs on a Bingham two-yard end zone scamper with 1:23 left in the contest, making the score 50-32.

Hornet tailback Brett Collins capped the scoring with a 2-yard pass from Leadingham with four seconds left on the clock, but it was too little, too late.

Defensively, Coleman, defensive back Ed Canonico and linebacker Lee Turner led Sac State with seven tackles.

Two Saturdays from today, the Hornets will play their final game of the season on the road against Portland State University. The game was originally slated to be played Sept. 15, but it was canceled due to the Sept. tragedy.