The Sacramento State football team beat the visiting Northern Colorado Bears 14-9 at Hornet Stadium on Saturday. With the win the Hornets improved to 3-3 in conference and 3-5 overall. The victory marked the first time the program has been .500 in conference play at this point in the season since 2000.

Northern Colorado struck early, scoring on a 42-yard field goal on their first possession. The drive was punctuated by the Bears’ 6’6″, 245 pound junior quarterback Dominick Breazeale rumbling for two first downs.

The first half saw a pass-heavy attack from the Hornets as the offense passed 20 times to only nine runs. Quarterback Marcel Marquez completed 15 passes for 223 yards and connected on three passes of 26 yards or more, including a 41-yard touchdown strike to Jason Barnes that put Sac State on the board 7-3. The Bears would add another field goal at the end of the third quarter to pull within one at 7-6.

Andre Taylor’s 66-yard kick return got the crowd into it to open the second half, but the Hornets gave it right back on a Marquez interception. The Bears capitalized on the turnover with a 34-yard field goal, taking the lead 9-7.

Following a punt by Sacramento’s Mitch Lively that pinned the Bears at their own one-yard line, the Hornets got the ball back deep in Bears territory. Two plays later, Andre Taylor dashed into the end zone behind a critical block by Kris Daniels for a 27-yard score, as the Hornets regained the lead for good, 14-9.

“I was proud of the defense keeping Northern Colorado out of the end zone,” head coach Steve Mooshagian said. “No big plays. That’s the first time all year.”

Linebacker Cyrus Mulitalo finished the game with 21 tackles, the second-most in school history. In a game that saw the Bears run 86 plays, Mulitalo finished almost a quarter of them.

“They were very physical. Almost every play I had to shed a block,” said Mulitalo. “My D-line did a good job keeping the linemen off me at times. They were big though, I give credit to them.”

Safety Brent Webber added his sixth interception after picking off Bears quarterback Brian Wiedeman in the first quarter. His six picks currently lead the Big Sky. Northern Colorado running back Andre Wilson finished with 141 yards rushing, making him the first back to rush for over 100 yards against the Hornets this year.

Sac State will take on the Bengals of Idaho State at 2:05 p.m. on Nov. 4 in Pocatello, ID.