The 51st Causeway Classic ended the same way the previous four times the schools matched up ended — a UC Davis win.

This meeting at Toomey Field on the UC Davis campus on Saturday night was a tale of two halves.

The Aggies (3-0) led 30-23 at halftime before blowing open the game in the second half, scoring 28 unanswered points, leading to their 58-23 victory. It was the most points the Hornets (1-2) ever allowed in any Causeway Classic.

“They’re a good football team, my hat goes off to them,” head coach Steve Mooshagian said. “From watching film on them this week, I knew that this was the best team we’ve faced so far this year.”

The beginning of the game started right where UC Davis left off in last year’s match up at Hornet Stadium in which the Aggies scored the winning touchdown on their final drive. Getting the opening kickoff, the Aggies drove 65 yards in 10 plays ending with a three-yard touchdown run from sophomore Nelson Doris.

After a Ryan Leadingham interception deep in UC Davis territory ended the Hornets initial drive, the Sac State defense got the team on the scoreboard with a safety, cutting the lead to 7-2. Defensive end Traison Lewis got credit for the sack in the end zone. On the next play from scrimmage the Hornets got their first lead on a Ryan Mole 63-yard touchdown run.

“In the first half, my linemen did a good job of opening the holes for me,” running back Mole said. “They were bigger holes than in the second half. Davis did a good job of closing the holes more in the second half of the game.”

The first quarter ended with the score 9-7 in favor of the Hornets, and the scoring would go back and forth in the second quarter. Davis ran for three touchdowns and mixed in were two Ryan Leadingham touchdown tosses. His first going to junior tight end McRuben Fleurinord and the second to sophomore wide receiver Ryan Coogler.

“Defensively, with the way it was going, I didn’t think either team was going to be able stop each other,” Mooshagian said. “I told one of the assistants it might be a 50-49 game before it’s all done.”

The pivotal play of the game would take place after the Coogler touchdown. With just over a minute to play in the half and Sac State up 23-22, Davis return man Ryan Ramey would take the ensuing kickoff 98 yards to the two-yard line. Aggies’ junior running back O.J. Swanigan would run in his second score of the game to give the Aggies a 30-23 lead going into the locker room.

“It was huge,” said Mooshagian about Ramey’s kickoff return. “It was the biggest momentum changer of the game, without a doubt.”

After the back and forth scoring in the first half, the second half would turn into a one-sided rout.

Sac State drove to the Aggies’ 30-yard line after the opening kickoff of the half, but the drive ended in a punt. After a Davis missed field goal and another Hornets’ punt, the Aggies added to their lead with a one-yard touchdown run from backup quarterback Matthew Engle.

“Davis had more intensity than us in the second half,” Mole said. “Our heads were a bit down going into halftime because of the kickoff return, and then not getting any points to start the second half really hurt our confidence.”

Down just 14 points at the start of the fourth quarter, another big special teams play would hurt the Hornets.

After a roughing the kicker penalty on Davis was negated by a Sac State penalty, the Aggies’ Jesse Oliva toted the makeup punt back 68 yards for a touchdown giving the Aggies a 44-23 early in the final period.

Mooshagian and others on the Hornets’ sideline debated whether the touchdown should have stood.

“It was unfortunate, we got a roughing the kicker penalty and there was another penalty they missed,” Mooshagian said. “But you’re going to have those in the game and I don’t want to make any excuses.

“I think if you look back on it, you’d probably see that should’ve never happened for obvious reasons. That play was sort of the backbreaker in the game.”

The Aggies would finish up the game with two more scores and a 58-23 win.

Again Mole was a bright spot for the offense. The true freshman had 132 yards rushing including his 63-yarder in the first quarter.

“I was really impressed with Ryan Mole again. He really helped out (Leadingham) and the passing game in the first half,” Mooshagian said.

Mole would get 90 of his 132 yards in the first half.

His counterpart, Swanigan, a native of Elk Grove, had 147 total yards to go along with two touchdowns.

Sac State senior wide receiver Fred Amey finished the game with 5 catches for 85 yards but left the game in the third quarter with what Mooshagian described as a quad injury; Amey’s status for next week is probable for the Big Sky Conference opener at Northern Arizona.