The Hornets picked up the second victory of the season Saturday with a win over Northern Colorado on the last play of the game.

In a seesaw battle between the two bottom-dwelling teams in the conference, Sacramento State won on a last second 44-yard pass from Jason Smith to Tony Washington.

“We run that play in practice every week, and I think it’s only worked once – all the way back in spring ball,” head coach Marshall Sperbeck said. “It was pandemonium! The ball is bound to bounce your way after a while. It was nice to see this for the young men, to see them get a reward and put a smile on their face. It was a great feeling for us and the team.”

Smith threw the ball very high and just as the Hornets have drilled all season, four Hornet wide receivers waited for the ball to come down – hopefully so one of the players could tip the ball and keep the hope of victory alive.

“I saw the ball in the air like a punt, and I just waited in the back of the pack,” Washington said. “I saw it tipped up, and I ran and stretched out to get it. I looked up and the referee didn’t signal anything, but then I saw the other ref put his arms up. From there, everyone went crazy. It was a crazy moment.”

Washington apparently told senior wide receiver Ryan Coogler before the play that if he couldn’t catch it, to tip the ball. Coogler managed to tip the ball perfectly, straight into the back of end zone where Washington was waiting.

“I told him I’d come up with it,” Washington said. “I’ve never caught a ball that big before – it worked perfectly.”

The win puts the Hornets at 2-8 overall and 2-5 in the Big Sky Conference.

“Our morale was down,” offensive lineman Matt Lemley said. “Getting a big win lifts us up. Now we have to make sure our seniors go out with a win.”

Sac State takes on Idaho State (3-7 overall and 2-5 in the Big Sky) Saturday at Hornet stadium. The Hornets will have to try and stop the Bengals’ leading rusher, Josh Barnett, from reaching 1,000 yards on the season. He currently has 965 and averages 5.1 yards per carry. The Bengals average 381 yards of offense per game, but give up an average of 460 – with almost 300 of that coming in the air.

“Idaho State plays more pressure defense than Northern Colorado,” Sperbeck said. “They try to take away the run. We are going to come out and try to establish the run game, mix in some play action and go back to the run.”

This is the final game of the season for the Hornets. The game starts at 2:05 pm on Saturday at Hornet Stadium.

“There is not much difference from top to bottom in this conference,” Sperbeck said. “A couple big plays usually decide the game, and a couple players that make big plays is the difference between going 8-0 or 2-6. We are trying to work on that.”

Galen Kusic can be reached at [email protected]