Box Score

At 155 pounds, University of Texas, El Paso running back Howard Jackson can’t afford to be hit too often. So instead the sophomore spun, slashed and sped his way past Sacramento State defenders en route to a four-touchdown, 158-yard rushing performance, while leading the Miners to a 42-12 victory in El Paso.

“He had great stop-and-go ability,” Hornet football coach John Volek said of Jackson’s unique running style. “We obviously weren’t used to seeing his type of quickness.”

Jackson entered the game after UTEP’s starting running back, Sherman Austin, went down with an injury in the first quarter. Austin took a handoff up the middle where he met Hornet safety Camron Mbewa who laid a fierce hit on the back. Mbewa earned first-team all-Big Sky honors last season.

The Miners, who are members of the Western Athletic Conference, finished the game with 300 rushing yards and 443 total yards.

“They were not wrapping up real well,” said Jackson of the Hornet defense. “But they’re a pretty good defense.”

Saturday’s game marked the first time since a 30-6 loss in 1993 to the University of the Pacific that the Hornets have battled a Div. I-A opponent.

“We played on the road in a tough place against a well-coached team,” Volek said. “We didn’t quit. We came back and battled in the second half.”

After trailing 35-6 at the half, the Hornets were outscored only 7-6 in the final two quarters.

The win snapped a seven-game Miner losing streak, while the Hornets losing streak extended to nine games.

Jackson, who accounted for the game’s first four touchdowns, took the scenic route on his first score, a 48-yard scamper. The 5-foot-10 running back ran up the right sideline first, where he wiggled his way through a swarm of Hornet defenders before breaking all the way across the field and into the end zone.

While Jackson did his damage on the ground, Miner quarterback John Schaper did his damage through the air.

Schaper completed 14-of-28 passes for 134 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Both touchdowns were thrown to receiver Terrance Minor.

Trailing 28-0 after Jackson’s onslaught, the Hornets used an 83-yard Fred Amey kickoff return to set up a 4-yard Garrett White touchdown run.

However, Brett Levier’s extra point sailed wide left. Hornet punter Paul Kerr also had a punt blocked in the first quarter.

White, a fifth-year senior who sat out with injuries for most of last season, amassed 66 of the teams 77 yards in the first half. White finished the day with 67 yards rushing on 15 carries, and 58 yards receiving on four catches.

Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Tyronne Gross, who battled with White throughout camp for the starting job at running back, watched for the sideline for most of the first half.

“Garrett is a great athlete and he was getting it done out there,” Gross said. “I was just waiting for the coaches to let me get out there and help him.”

Gross would get his chance in the second half. After gaining only 1-yard in the first half, the 5-foot-8 back, who rushed for over 2,000 yards in his senior year at Lincoln High School in Stockton, Calif., finished the game with 33 rushing yards on eight carries, and one reception, a 43-yard touchdown.

“It was a tailback seam,” said sophomore quarterback Ryan Leadingham of his lone touchdown pass to Gross. “They tried to cover him with a linebacker, and no linebacker is going to cover Tyrone.”

Most of Leadinghams work in the second half came against the Miner’s second-string defense.

“The young guys needed to play, and there was no point to running up the score at that point,” Miners coach Gary Nord said.

Leadingham finished the game completing 13-of-28 passes for 141 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The 141 passing yards snapped a three-game 300-yard passing streak.

“Everything was there,” said Leadingham. “I just wasn’t making plays.”

Leadingham’s interception came with three seconds left in the half. Hornet cornerback Jeremy Johnson quickly returned the favor, intercepting Schaper’s pass, and returning it 34 yards to midfield to end the half.

Johnson got the start after senior cornerback Brandon Coleman was hit with a three-game suspension for violating the athletic department’s code of conduct.

Linebacker Ryan Kroeker also made his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball, recording 11 solo tackles and one assisted tackles.

But not even Kroeker could stop Jackson, who set a UTEP record for most rushing touchdowns for a sophomore with four.

“It’s a pretty good feeling to be a part of school history,” Jackson said. “I had a pretty good day today.”