The Sacramento State football team lost their battle for second place in the Big Sky conference tonight, falling to visiting Montana State 21-18 at Hornet Stadium. The defeat snapped the Hornets’ two-game win streak and dropped them to 2-2 in conference, 2-4 overall.

The Bobcats dominated the first half, putting up 21 unanswered points. Running back Aaron Mason scored on an 11-yard burst, quarterback Jack Rolovich hooked-up on two long scoring strikes, and the defense picked-off Hornet quarterback Marcel Marquez on his first two throws of the game.

“We were just not communicating as a team, we weren’t playing as a team today,” Marquez said.

But just as it was all Bobcats going into halftime, the Hornets would own the second half. In the third quarter, Sac State linebacker Cyrus Mulitalo appeared to block a Bobcat punt, and four plays later kicker Juan Gamboa converted a career-best 47-yard field goal.

Following another blocked punt by Hornet defensive tackle Chris Hurts and Mike Brannon’s ensuing recovery and return to the MSU 3, Marquez found fullback Ryan Hastie on a 3-yard toss to make it 21-10.

With 6:15 left in the fourth quarter, Marcel Marquez’s third interception threatened to sink the Hornet’s comeback bid, and many fans began to head for their cars. But defensive end James Henderson took it right back, intercepting a Rolovich swing pass that left it Hornet ball at the Montana State 3-yard line.

“I jumped up and tipped it up, I didn’t want to knock it down because I knew that obviously we were down, so you want to tip the ball and give somebody a chance to intercept it,” Henderson said.

Fullback Rainbow Mauga barreled-in for a two-yard score, then Marquez scrambled long enough to hit receiver Bobby White for a 2-point conversion that brought the Hornets within a field goal,18-21 with 3:39 to go.

The Hornet defense again dug themselves in, but on a 3rd-and-19, Rolovich hit a wide-open Donnell Wheaton for a 52-yard first down that effectively sealed it for MSU.

“I’ve been here for four years, and I’ve never in those three previous years had a team – that was down 21-nothing that came out and played like that,” coach Steve Mooshagian said.

Cyrus Mulitalo finished with 12 total tackles, and fellow linebacker Tyson Butler contributed 11. Defensive tackle Dallas Mauga logged 2 sacks, and safety Brent Webber snagged his Big Sky-leading 5th interception.

Josh Terrell can be reached at [email protected]