The Sacramento State Hornets come up short in the fourth quarter, losing to the U.C. Davis Aggies 30-16 in the 53rd annual Causeway Classic.

Tied 16-16 at the end of the third quarter, the Aggies scored twice in the fourth quarter. The first was off of a 16-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jon Grant to freshman tight end Brad Bishop.

On the Aggies last offensive drive, a fourth down and eight yards to go situation turned into a fourth and three after an encroachment penalty on the Hornets.

With 5:00 left in the fourth quarter, the Aggies had an opportunity to shut down the Hornets’ comeback opportunity. It was a chaotic discussion, Grant said, with a lot of the people on the sideline adding in their two cents.

Coach Bob Biggs ended the discussion and called a pass to senior receiver Tony Kays, converting for the first down and leading to a 24-yard touchdown run by senior running back Marcus Nolan.

The Hornets were productive on offense with 300 total yards and found themselves marching down the field, but just couldn’t punch in the ball for six.

On the Hornets’ five trips to the red zone, the offense came away with only three field goals and a one-yard carry by junior quarterback Marcel Marquez for the sole touchdown.

Sac State had some big plays offensively, said Aggies senior cornerback Nevan Bergan, but the Aggies defense has made an emphasis on stopping teams in the red zone.

“Our ‘Blue Force’ defense is about stopping teams in the red zone,” Bergan said. “Seven points and three points is a big difference.”

The Hornets played well in the first half, leading 13-6. But with 2:42 left on the clock in the second quarter, Marquez was forced out of the pocket to his right and threw across his body to the left side of the field where it was picked off by senior safety Jonathan Barsi.

Barsi returned the ball 44 yards for a touchdown and tied the game before entering the locker room at halftime. Barsi picked off Marquez three times in the game.

“It was a mistake on my part throwing across my body to the other side of the field,” Marquez said. “(It’s) the No. 1 rule as a quarterback not to do that.”

Marquez had 13 completions for 227 yards, but his three picks ended some key drives for the offense. One of which was picked off in the end zone by Barsi on the Hornets’ first offensive possession.

Hornets coach Steve Mooshagian was at a loss for words after seeing his team dominate in every category except the scoreboard. With opportunities for touchdowns replaced with field goals, Mooshagian was disappointed to see the missing points not on the scoreboard.

“Anyone that said we should have won this game is absolutely correct,” Mooshagian said.

The Hornets finished the season 4-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big Sky Conference.

Senior Jason Barnes caught six passes for a career-high 173 yards.

Matthew Beltran can be reached at [email protected]