Sacramento State football pulled out a nail-biting win on the road over the Northern Colorado Bears 43-38 on Saturday, Oct. 11. 

The 43-point performance marks the fifth time this season the Hornets have scored at least 40 points, including two 50 point games. The team is currently averaging 41.1 points per game. 

Quarterback Garrett Safron lead the high powered Hornet offense, completing 20-of-30 passes for 269 yards and 3 touchdowns. He connected with break out receiver Nnamdi Agude for two touchdowns. 

The running game balanced out the passing attack, contributing 232 of the 501 total yards. Running back Jordan Robinson rushed for 94 yards on 18 attempts. Safron hurt the Bears with his legs, rushing for 86 yards on nine attempts. Myles Coleman rushed for 57 yards on 10 attempts and hit pay dirt twice.

Despite only having 26 passing yards and five first downs at the half, the Bears managed to keep the game close, trailing 20-17 at halftime. The running game tallied 128 yards on the ground. Running back Robert Holland rushed for 122 yards on 13 carries, for a 9.4 average.

The Bears offense picked up their production after halftime, scoring 20 points in the second half. Quarterback Sean Rubalcaba threw for three second half touchdowns, two of them coming in the third quarter, and passed for 275 yards.

Receiver Stephen Miller pulled in nine balls for 142 yards and one touchdown for the Bears. His counterpart, Dimitri Stimphil caught  seven passes for 95 yards.

The Hornets defense allowed one touchdown by the Bears offense in the first half, a 45-yard run by Rubalcaba. The only other points the Bears scored came off a 38-yard field goal by kicker Seth Czapenski, and a 100-yard kick return by freshman Ellis Onic.

Senior defensive back Robbie Kendall tallied 13 total tackles, and a half sack in the victory. Junior standout Darnell Sankey turned in another stellar performance, contributing 11 total tackles and a half sack, bringing his season total to 89 tackles. With 12.7 tackles per game, Sankey is on pace to finish the season with 152 total tackles.

The Hornets return home to face the Cal Poly Mustangs with the hopes of extending their winning streak Saturday Oct. 18.