In the final game of the 2004 season, Sacramento State football was pummeled 58-13 by Cal Poly at Hornet Stadium.

“(Cal Poly) is a good football team, and if they advance to the playoffs and play Montana that’s a game I’d like to see,” head coach Steve Mooshagian said.

The NCAA Division I-AA football playoffs get underway next weekend and Cal Poly is expected to participate after winning the Great West Football Conference title this season.

“Between Eastern Washington, Montana and Cal Poly (three of the Hornets’ four last opponents) they’re all three legitimate teams for the I-AA playoffs.” Mooshagian said.

Mooshagian also characterized this Cal Poly team as the fastest his team the Hornets played all season, even more so than Nevada who the Hornets opened the season against with a 59-7 loss.

The No. 18 Mustangs led throughout the game as they converted on turnovers on the first two Sac State drives into 14 points. Two plays into the game Ryan Leadingham threw his first of three interceptions and four plays later on the ensuing drive an Adam Martinez touchdown run put the Mustangs on top and they would never trail.

Two plays into the second Sac State drive, running back Ryan Mole gave the ball right back on a fumble and again four plays later the Mustangs would reach the end zone. This time Geno Randle ran it in for a 5-yard score. Randle rushed for 112 yards and that touchdown.

“When you turn the ball over and its 14 points, that’s tough in any game, in any league, anywhere I’ve ever been,” Mooshagian said. “Whether it’s the NFL or high school, it’s tough to win while turning the ball over like that.”

After opening the first quarter scoreless, the Hornets would get a little luck and turn that into a successful drive. For the second time in the game, a Mitch Lively punt hit a Cal Poly upman and the live ball was recovered by a Hornet.

The drive would end with Ryan Leadingham connecting with tight end McRuben Fleurinord on a 1-yard scoring pass. It was Leadingham’s 50th career touchdown pass in his four seasons extending his own school record. Cal Poly would drive three more times deep inside Hornets territory getting 10 more points and pushing the halftime deficit to 24-7.

Early in the third quarter there was hope on the Sac State sideline. After starting running back Ryan Mole left with a rib injury at halftime backup Kris Daniels stepped in and got the Hornets back on the scoreboard with his career long 70-yard touchdown run. Daniels saw his most action of the season gaining 126 yards on just 11 carries.

“I looked up and it was 24-13 after Kris Daniel’s run and I guess it’s kind of a blur from that point on,” Mooshagian said. “The game kind of just got out of hand.”

From that point on it was all Cal Poly. They would end the quarter up 44-13 after two turnovers led to touchdowns. The highlight of the quarter was Cal Poly safety Kenny Chicoine’s 68-yard interception return for a touchdown. Chicoine had all three of Leadingham’s interceptions.

Cal Poly would score two more touchdowns early in the fourth quarter after a Leadingham interception and a short Mitch Lively punt gave the Mustangs’ two short scoring drives. 34 points scored by Cal Poly came off Sac State turnovers and 14 more were off of short Lively punts. Cal Poly scored all but two touchdowns on drives that started in Hornet territory and one of the other two was off of Chicoine’s long interception return.

Saturday night marked the end of the career for the seniors, most notably the captains: Leadingham, wide receiver Fred Amey, defensive end Chris Bessinger and cornerback Ramon Payne.

Once again Amey was a bright spot as he led the Hornets with 9 receptions for 143 yards. Those numbers gave Amey 1,186 yards for the season, his highest total in his four years in Sacramento; it is the second best mark in school history behind Kevin Fontes’ 1,207 yards in 1982. Amey also moved into fourth place all-time in Division I-AA history with a career total of 4,049 receiving yards.

On defense, junior linebacker Matt Logue set a career-high with his 15 tackles giving him 89 total tackles for the season, the second best total on the team. Fellow junior linebacker Jimmy Ellingson led the team with his 132; it tied Carlos Williams’ 1999 season for third best in school history. He had 12 tackles against Cal Poly.

The loss on Saturday left Sac State 3-8 for the season, 2-5 in Big Sky play. With the exception of two seasons over .500 under John Volek in 1999 and 2000, Sac State has finished under .500 every season since 1996, their first as a member of the Big Sky conference.