Homecoming was filled with firsts as Sacramento State’s football team survived Weber State’s third-quarter comeback to edge the Wildcats 24-21.

Marking their first home win of the season, the Hornets are now ranked third in the Big Sky Conference at 2-1and 2-3 overall. In the 11 years Sac State has been in the Big Sky, this is the first time Hornet football has started 2-1 in the conference.

The Hornets were dominating in all categories in the first half. The Hornets were winning in the time of possession battle, while out rushing and out passing Weber for 234 yards total offense. Getting off to a fast start, the Hornets scored on their first two possessions with a 32-yard field goal on their opening drive, followed by a nine-yard touchdown run from junior quarterback Marcel Marquez to finish off a 13 play 83-yard drive.

“I was making my reads pretty well in the first half and we threw [Weber] off with a lot of motion and triple option,” Marquez said.

The defense also won the turnover battle and held the Wildcats to 128 yards of total offense. For the first time this season they went into halftime with a lead.

The tempo changed in the third quarter as Weber State scored 14 points while the Hornets offense had three consecutive three and outs.

Penalties were a major factor in the Wildcats near-comeback. The Hornets were penalized 11 times for 113 yards, two of which called back touchdowns.

After a defensive personal foul call on junior defensive lineman James Henderson, what should have been a second and thirteen on the Hornet 25 resulted in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Wildcat quarterback Shawn Woods to wide-out Marky Filipe on the 14. The catch made it Woods’ second touchdown pass in the third.

“[Penalties] are going to hurt you eventually, so we got to get better and better at it,” said head coach Steve Mooshagian.

The Hornets held their composure, as the defense rallied together coming into the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter remained scoreless as the Hornets defense recorded three sacks on Woods and an interception by junior strong safety Brent Webber, his second pick of the night, stopped another drive. The Hornets defense didn’t allow a single first down in the fourth quarter.

The Hornets have now won two games in a row after starting the season 0-3. After being picked to be eighth in the Big Sky, Mooshagian said, it felt nice to have that chip on their shoulder in beating Eastern Washington and Weber. Eastern Washington finished 7-5 and Weber 6-5 last season.

“We have [won] two in a row against some pretty solid teams, [it] shows we can contend with anybody,” Webber said.

But the Hornets are not taking long to enjoy their win, as the team got back to work on Monday for their upcoming game against Montana State on Oct. 14 at Hornet Stadium.

Montana State and Sac State are tied for second place overall in the Big Sky. Montana State, 3-3 overall, won its last game at home against Portland State 14-0. Montana State freshman running back Aaron Mason had 34 carries for 128 yards of the team’s 146 total yards rushing that night.

Matthew Beltran can be reached at [email protected]