Interceptions, missed field goals and penalties cost the Sacramento State Hornets Saturday during the homecoming game against Montana. Over 10,000 people showed up to the game.

The Hornets dominated every facet of the game, holding an explosive Montana offense to 173 total yards and nine first downs. The Hornets controlled the clock, the tempo of the game and put pressure on Montana quarterback Cole Bergquist for the duration of the game.

“We did some good things and moved the ball well – we just didn’t finish the job,” Hornet head coach Marshall Sperbeck said. “The defense played excellent and we out-gained them, but stats don’t matter.”

With the win, the Montana Grizzlies improve to 6-0 and 3-0 in Big Sky conference play. The Hornets drop to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in the Big Sky. Sac State is now 0-13 all-time against the Grizzlies.

Sac State moved the ball up and down the field against a physical Montana defense with freshman running back Bryan Hilliard, but couldn’t score inside the red zone. Hilliard carried the ball 17 times for 83 yards.

“We played our cards right,” Hilliard said. “The win just didn’t come through for us. We thought we could pull through, but it just didn’t fall our way this time.”

Hilliard averaged 4.9 yards per carry to top Montana’s running back Lex Hilliard’s 2.2 yards per carry. Sac State held the Walter Payton Award candidate to just 33 yards on 15 touches, his lowest offensive output of the season.

“Hilliard is a big physical player,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. “They’re skilled kids; they worked the screen game to death.”

“Sac State had an inspired effort; they have the best defensive front we’ve seen this year. We knew that going into the game and my impression hasn’t changed,” Hauck said. “Our kids fought hard to get that win. I’ve never had a team that turned the ball over four times on the road and won.”

Every time the Hornets got in the red zone a penalty, turnover or missed field goal let Montana off the hook. Kicker Juan Gamboa missed two field goals and quarterback Jason Smith finished the game 23 of 50 for 202 yards and five interceptions. Three of those interceptions came in the last five minutes of the game, and one was returned for a touchdown.

“He’s learning,” Sperbeck said. “He’s gonna have some good days and bad days. He played good for stretches, and then made some mistakes. Unfortunately at quarterback when you make mistakes, it all comes back on you.”

Cyrus Mulitalo and Mike Hickman led the Sac State defense with 11 tackles each. Mike Brannon had eight tackles and a sack. Safety Brett Shelton added eight tackles as well. Durrell Oliver had his second interception of the year and Brent Webber had his ninth interception of his career at Sac State, tying him for fifth on the all-time list.

“You always want your offense to score,” Mulitalo said. “It just depends on how the ball bounces that day. It’s tough to see the offense not succeed, but our mindset in any situation is to stop Montana). Whatever happens, we play hard from start to finish. We just need to execute.”

Sac State put up 346 yards of total offense on 93 plays. The 144 rushing yards put up by the Hornets on Saturday are the most against Montana’s defense this season. Unfortunately for the Hornets, the Grizzlies found a way to stop Sac State the entire game inside the 20-yard line.

“We had a blitz package, and they kept running screens,” Montana senior linebacker Loren Utterback said. “We had to rethink what we were doing. The scoreboard is the biggest deal and we practice goal line situations a lot.”

Senior Ryan Coogler tied his career-high and led all receivers with eight catches for 58 yards. He also moves to sixth in Sac State history with 93 career receptions. Senior Phillip Perry also had a career-high six receptions for 53 yards.

The Hornets next game is Saturday at Montana State in Bozeman, Montana at 12:05 p.m.

Contact Galen Kusic at [email protected]