Sacramento State was relentless on the ground and in the air routing Idaho State University 47-21 in their Big Sky Conference opener Saturday night.

Bengal defenders had no answer for the Hornets big three; running back Tyronne Gross, quarterback Ryan Leadingham and wide receiver Fred Otis Amey.

Gross punished his opponents with razor-like cuts – stopping and starting on a dime, bone-jarring hits – lowering his shoulder to deliver the blow and blinding speed that kept defenders looking at the number 21 on the back of his jersey all night long.

“I don’t think I got hit too hard tonight,” Gross said. “I might be hurting tomorrow but the offensive line, the ‘hammerheads,’ make it easy for me.”

Gross finished the night with 240 rushing yards and in front of 6,312 fans became only the fifth back in school history to rush for over 200 yards in a game.

With his right arm, Leadingham carved up the Idaho State secondary connecting with seven different receivers, completing 21 of 30 passes for 362 yards and six touchdowns and shattering the old school record of four. He was also named the Big Sky offensive player of the week.

Head coach Steve Mooshagian said Leadingham played a gutsy game dealing with the pain of a shoulder injury that has been hampering him all season.

Amey once again showed why he owns almost all of the receiving records at Sac State, catching eight balls for a career-high 180 yards and two touchdowns.”I’m still thinking about the pass I dropped,” Amey said, downplaying a performance that also included making the first guy miss every time on his four punt returns for a total of 71 yards.

Bengal head coach Larry Lewis knew coming in to Sacramento that his team was in for a fight.

“Did we underestimate them, hell no,” Lewis said. “We knew the quality of this team at all the key positions, quarterback, wide-out and running back.”The first offensive drives for both teams set a tone that would ring true throughout the game.

On the opening possession Idaho State tried to establish a balanced attack with running back Isaac Mitchell and quarterback Roman Ybarra.

However, five tackles from the Hornet secondary, including three by cornerback Jeremy Johnson and two by safety Kevin Tennerson, forced the Bengals to punt after gaining only 15 yards.

Amey took the ensuing punt and returned it 38 yards giving Sac State good field position.

After Gross caught a 25-yard pass and ran for another six yards, Leadingham found freshman wide receiver Dustin Hagens in the end zone for the first touchdown catch of his career.

A 31-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jason Girley, a 12-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Kenan Smith, and an 8-yard throw to Amey made the score 26-0 with 6:14 left in the second quarter.

Matt Hetherington replaced Ybarra on the next set of downs; Ybarra left the game completing only 7 of 16 passes for 54 yards.

Hetherington wasted no time in getting down to business completing his first pass to wide receiver Brett Fowler for 30 yards and handing the ball to Mitchell six plays later for the first Idaho State touchdown.

“He came in and did a great job, he provided a big spark,” Lewis said, praising his back-up quarterback.

Blake Mori came in on the next Hornet series, took a sack on his first play and went three-and-out.

The Bengals then marched 98 yards in six plays to make the score 26-14 with 47 seconds left in the half.

Leadingham immediately returned to the lineup and led the Hornets on a 39 second, 56- yard scoring drive to make the score 33-14 at the half and kill any momentum Idaho State might have gained with their two-straight touchdowns.With 13:37 left in third quarter Leadingham found Amey on a short pass over the middle. Amey made a move inside and then cut back to the right, sprinting 56 yards down the sideline and in for the touchdown.

Gross added another quick six in the fourth quarter, breaking free for a 45-yard touchdown scamper and taking the score to 47-21.

“We can only go up from here,” Lewis said disappointed in his teams performance.

With the win the Hornets improve to 2-2 and 1-0 in the Big Sky Conference.”We’re not trying to make any friends in this league,” Mooshagian said. “We just need to take care of ourselves.”