In the first game of the year at Hornet Stadium senior quarterback Kaiden Bennett was on the sideline in street clothes. Sac State head coach Andy Thompson said Bennett was not fully healthy and unable to play tonight.
Thompson was confident in their starting quarterback for this game though. Under center against the Nicholls Colonels was redshirt freshman quarterback Carson Conklin and he now had his moment to lead the offense since the Causeway Classic last season.
“I tell myself every time I go on the field, I’ve been doing this since I was five-years-old,” Conklin said. “Just because there’s a couple more people in the stands and then obviously having jobs on the line, but I mean that’s just football.”
The offense worked like a well-oiled machine. Conklin dropped back to pass and hit senior receiver Anderson Grover for a deep pass down the right side for 19 yards. Junior running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver ran to the right side and picked up a first.
Conklin and Tau-Tolliver continued to roll down the field until the Hornets were just outside of the redzone.
Conklin hit senior running back Ezra Moleni on a swing pass and Moleni set the Hornets up at the 11 yard-line. Tau-Tolliver did his job as he ran to the left side, across the formation and into the endzone with ease.
“I thought he’s continued to improve, but his accuracy and then his ability to take care of the football and push the ball down the field was the reason he was ready to go tonight,” Thompson said of Conklin.
The opening drive was two and a half minutes, six plays and displayed what the rest of the game would look like for the Colonels.
The Colonels were able to get one first down with short passes and a couple short runs, but the Hornets’ defense tightened and the Colonels were forced to punt inside. Special teams wanted in on the action and a fumbled snap gave the Hornets the ball inside the 15-yard line.
“Really started fast, thought the offense really came out and gave a good jolt and that defense really stayed with it the whole game to shut them out,” Thompson said.
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The defense continued to stifle the Colonels’ drives. Senior defensive lineman Josh Cashiola disrupted the Colonels’ ensuing drive on fourth-and-5 as he hurried Colonels junior quarterback Pat McQuaide and forced an incompletion.
Conklin and crew went back to work, starting with Tau-Tolliver running to the left and carving his way for a 12-yard gain. Conklin took a shot down the right sideline for 16 yards. After Tau-Tolliver was stopped, Conklin made what would be the play of the game.
Conklin got the snap, felt pressure, moved up in the pocket and fired a dart down the right sideline that was snagged by redshirt freshman wideout Danny Scudero for a 34-yard touchdown to put the Hornets up 17-0.
“The explosive plays were there in the passing game, he really ignited,” Thompson said. “I thought he did a really good job of getting us in and out of run plays and also doing a good job throwing the football, so much more balanced tonight.”
Momentum started to build for Nicholls on their drive after McQuaide threw a 35-yard bomb to junior receiver Quincy Brown down the right side to put them at the Hornets’ 8-yard line.
The Colonels put the ball in the hands of senior running back Collin Guggenheim, but the Hornets’ defense was up for the challenge. Guggenheim was stuffed and senior defensive lineman Brandon Knott ended the drive with a 5-yard sack.
The Colonels tried to get on the board with a field goal, but junior defensive lineman Mason Brousseau blocked the kick to deny them any momentum.
Conklin did what he had done the entirety of the game and dropped a pass down the left sideline to Scudero, his favorite target, for a 41-yard gain. Scudero finished with 102 yards on 4 catches.
Sophomore running back Zeke Burnett ran to the left faster than the defense could react and if you blinked, you missed him running 13 yards straight to the endzone.
The Hornets led 24-0 and this game was looking to be over by halftime.
McQuaide and his offense continued to struggle under the suffocation of the Hornets’ defense. Senior linebacker Will Leota ended their drive with a 9-yard sack and the Hornets’ domination on defense continued.
“Feels good, man,” Leota said. “Set goals for ourselves and meeting those goals is a good feeling but also for the whole team it feels good to just come out with the win, too.”
The Hornets’ worst play of the game came with just over a minute left in the half. Conklin threw a laser deep over the middle that hit Scudero’s fingers, but it bounced off and was intercepted by Colonels junior defensive back Ty Marsh.
Marsh ran it back 49 yards for the Colonels’ only score of the game.
“I guess I kind of forced it,” Conklin said. “I could have waited for him to open up a little longer. I tried to throw it a little early, but that’s just a part of the game. Tips like that happen.”
The Hornets entered the half up 24-7 and the Colonels were unable to sustain any of their drives for the rest of the game.
Tau-Tolliver was used as a battering ram to ice the game as he constantly ran up the gut for small gains. The Hornets and Colonels traded punts for most of the second half as both offenses slowed down.
The back ran for 111 yards, the second time he’s done so this year, with the first against San Jose State when he ended with 110 yards and two touchdowns.
“Runs extremely hard, plays behind his pads and the offensive line did a really good job of creating some holes and helping him,” Thompson said of Tau-Tolliver.
The Sac State defense had a historic performance as they silenced Nicholls’ offense and ended the game with seven sacks, the most since 2011.
The Hornets ended the game up 34-7 after Conklin hit redshirt freshman receiver Onterrio Smith Jr. on a short out route for Smith Jr’s first touchdown as a Hornet.
“That’s not even our full potential out there,” Conklin said. “We haven’t put together even close to a full game yet, so, I mean, we have a lot of upside, but we got to come back tomorrow and put in the work together.”
The next two games are away games, the first against Texas A&M Commerce in Commerce, Texas on Sept. 21 at 4 p.m.
