It wasn’t the finish they were looking for against Cal Poly, but it might signify the start the Sacramento State football program badly needed.

The underdog Hornets matched the No. 3-ranked Mustangs in almost every facet of Saturday night’s home opener, effectively trading blows with a proven contender for the first time in recent memory.

“We’re just what I thought we were. We’re a better football team than what people give us credit for,” Coach Steve Mooshagian said. “There was no quit in (the Hornets), they were fighting all the way. They scratched and clawed.”

Sac State won the time of possession battle and topped 100 yards rushing despite the Mustang defense stacking the box against the run. The Hornets put up ten points against a defense that had completely silenced its past two opponents. And perhaps most importantly, they didn’t allow the Mustangs to capitalize on turnovers.

“That’s what Cal Poly lives by ?” scoring points off of turnovers ?” and they couldn’t do it against our defense tonight,” Mooshagian said.

Quarterback Marcel Marquez, finally cleared to play earlier in the week, replaced starter Crosby Wehr to start the third offensive series as planned, Mooshagian said. Still familiarizing himself with his surroundings, the game represented the junior transfer’s first taste of Division I-AA ball.

“I know the offense. It’s just clicking and actually running the plays with the actual ‘ones’ (first stringers) instead of playing in practice with twos and threes,” Marquez said.

There is still plenty of work to do. Penalties absolutely debilitated the Hornets, who were flagged 11 times for 85 yards. They negated a touchdown sprint by running back Gerwin Williams and hamstrung Sac State’s effort to at least tie it on the game’s final drive.

The fleet-footed Marquez needs a much more concerted blocking effort by his receivers downfield if the team is to take full advantage of his scrambling skills. He’ll have to improve on a 6-17 completion ratio to be respected through the air, and his line would do well in giving him more time to do so, allowing six sacks.

But the signs are there. The team fell short by one touchdown to a top-ranked team, under the management of a new quarterback expected to synchronize with targets he hardly knew, and the defense more than held its own. The Hornets might have tied it or gone ahead if just a handful of plays had gone their way.

“And I’ll say it again, and I don’t care who gets mad at me. We were in better shape than them, and I think we outplayed them for most of the game,” Mooshagian said.

“We stayed in the ring to the very end. Unfortunately it was like Rocky I. We punched on each other, and Apollo Creed just got the decision at the end.”

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Josh Terrell can be reached at [email protected]