Heading into the 2005 season, the Sacramento State football team will be looking for their first winning season since 2000 when they finished with a 7-4 overall record. That 2000 season was also the first and only time the Hornets finished with a winning record in Big Sky Conference play.

Head coach Steve Mooshagian is entering his third year and will try to improve on his five combined wins over two seasons. Of those five wins, none was bigger than the last, which was a 38-28 upset victory over then No. 22-ranked Montana State last November.

Former Hornet wide receiver Fred Amey called that game the biggest win for the program in his four years in Sacramento, and Mooshagian has seen a difference in his players’ confidence and work ethic compared to last season.

“Beating a ranked opponent like we did has given us a sense around here that we can accomplish much more than we have in my two previous years as coach,” Mooshagian said.

-“We have a much closer knit group this year and I see that in how well they are practicing together right now. There is a different personality with this group compared to my previous two years.

“I’ve been really impressed at how they’ve worked this entire off-season. There is much more experience here and this shows with how cohesive the units have been so far through camp.”

-A big adjustment for Mooshagian will be replacing two of the most productive offensive players in the school’s history. Amey, who now is trying to make the 49ers’ roster, was a three-time all-Big Sky performer and the record holder for nearly every receiving mark in school history. The team is also trying to replace quarterback Ryan Leadingham, a four-year starter who passed for more yards than anybody in Sac State history.

-The Hornets will try to offset the losses of those two with many returning starters at the other nine offensive positions. Sophomore running back Ryan Mole should be featured more often this year after rushing for 858 yards and five touchdowns in just eight games last season. Mole will have the same five linemen blocking for him as he had last year (Travis Johnson, Jake Kellom, Jason Karnes, Dustin Nicolodi and Chris Samuels) and the same tight end in senior McRuben Fleurinord.

Mooshagian said he has also been impressed by transfer tight end Tommy Briggs, whom he expects to play a lot alongside of Fleurinord.

On the defensive side of the ball, second-year defensive coordinator Tim Skipper will have many of the same starters to work with as he did last season. Senior linebacker and team captain Matt Logue and senior defensive end Jacob Houston were both named second team all-Big Sky in 2004, and they will be the focus of the team’s defense. Logue was second on the team in tackles last year and Houston finished second in the league in sacks with 10.

Mooshagian has liked the depth he’s seen at both defensive line and in the secondary. He says he sees eight or nine guys who can play regularly in both of those units. The Hornets secondary will be led by the sophomore safety tandem of Brett Shelton and Brent Webber. Shelton was named first-team Freshman All-America and second-team all-Big Sky and Webber was named honorable mention Freshman All-America and Big Sky. Those two, along with Brandon Smith, give the Hornets three returning defensive back starters as they try to make up for the loss of cornerback Ramon Payne, a first-team all-Big Sky selection on 2004.

Mooshagian said he has high expectations for the season, but doesn’t want his team trying to think long term as of now.

“We are just going to try to take it one game at a time, one play at a time. There is no reason to look at the entire picture as of now. It’s only August, we have all of our games left to play, so we are just going to focus on each opponent and we’ll see how things play out.

“I refuse to let any of our players look at the schedule right now. I don’t want them thinking ahead, and what may lie ahead. We just need to do our best each game, and if we do that that will get us where we need to be.”

Mitch McLaughlin can be reached at [email protected].