Josh Stanley

From the first snap to the last whistle, senior quarterback Jeff Fleming is the best all-around athlete on the field for Sacramento State.

Last year was Fleming’s first year at Sac State after transferring from New Mexico State University. As a junior, Fleming threw for 2,044 yards with 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Those are great numbers for a quarterback in his first season with a new team, but there is one stat that separates him from the rest – rushing.

Fleming has the ability to run for the first down or more on every play. Being a mobile quarterback changes the defensive scheme for all teams. If defenses know a quarterback is going to sit in the pocket and only look to pass, they can blitz him or throw more men into coverage.

In Fleming’s case, the defense cannot blitz him too hard, because he can evade tacklers and turn it up field for easy gains. Fleming ran for 399 yards and two touchdowns last year and this year he has 245 yards and two touchdowns.

He is already on pace to beat his rushing total from last year and in the game against the University of Montana, Fleming’s running ability was not accounted for by the defense and he made them pay with 59 rushing yards and two big touchdowns.

His ability to run when needed is what makes him the “top dog” on campus.

 

 

Josh Stanley can be reached at [email protected].

Katie McMillin

Whatever analogy you want to use, comparing apples to oranges, or Ferraris to Winnebagos, it is difficult to compare how “good” a player is across the spectrum of Sacramento State sports in 200 words. I chose the player who may mean the most to his team individually.

For the second straight season, senior Chris Bettencourt leads the men’s soccer team in goals scored (four) and game winning goals (two).

Last season Bettencourt finished with 11 goals (six of them game winners) and led the team to an overall record of 11-5-7 and to the second round to the NCAA tournament.

During Sac State’s first conference game of the season against San Jose State University, neither team scored for 95 minutes until Bettencourt’s overtime goal made the difference.

He has stepped up to a leadership role left vacant when first team All-Far West Region selection midfielder Ernesto Carranza graduated last spring.

Bettencourt was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament MVP in 2010 after scoring four goals, leading Sac State to the tournament championship for the second straight year.

So far this season the team is 2-1 in conference play and is competing for its third straight MPSF championship. Bettencourt will be a key for success.

Katie McMillin can be reached at [email protected].

AJ Taylor

Senior Breanne Menees of the volleyball team is by far the best libero in the conference and her league-leading 389 digs has been a huge factor in volleyball’s great start to conference play.

The women are 5-1 tied with Northern Colorado for first place in the Big Sky Conference after beating Northern Colorado, Weber State, Idaho State, Portland State and Eastern Washington.

The women are rolling on a six-game win streak in which Menees is averaging more than 25 digs a game. The team’s schedule will remain daunting for the rest of the month as they will play Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona, who are both in the top three of their conference.

Menees is at the core of what this team does best this year. The Hornets’ .180 hitting percentage is fourth in the conference. Their opponents hitting percentage is slightly lower at .161. Without Menees’ average of 19.5 digs per game this season, the Hornets’ opponent’s hitting percentage sky rockets and volleyball falls from 9-9 in 2011 to struggling.

Menees has been shining as a Hornet since her freshman year in 2008. And if the Hornets want to get back the glory days and stay there, they better figure out how to get their hitting percentage up and give Menees a bit more floor space when Montana slams a spike on Friday.

AJ Taylor can be reached at [email protected].