After a late touchdown put Portland State within a score at halftime, Sacramento State re-entered Hillsboro Stadium on Saturday with a renewed defensive fire.
The Hornets allowed a first down on the opening play, but the defensive line fought back, recording a sack and forcing a quick punt that pinned the Hornets deep into their own territory. With his heels planted in his own end zone, senior running back Rodney Hammond Jr. exploded out of the backfield, splitting the crowd and sprinting into the secondary unscathed.
He’d be chased down before finding the endzone after running 87 yards, but Sac State eventually capitalized, and freshman running back Jaquail Smith punched in the touchdown to put the Hornets up 28-14.
Hammond continued his standout year for the Hornets, racking up over 200 all-purpose yards while scoring a pair of touchdowns on the ground.
“[Hammond] is a consistent playmaker for us,” head coach Brennan Marion said. “Everyone got mad that he got caught on the sideline during that long run, but he’s come here and done exactly what he came here to do.”
From that point, the floodgates opened. The Hornets punted away the ball on their next drive, but scored on the following four, winning the game 52-24.
“I like that we locked in and closed it out,” Marion said. “It took us a little minute to wake up, but we got rolling in the second.”
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The game opened with a quintessential Sac State drive. After receiving the opening kickoff, Sac State marched downfield without attempting a single pass. They held the ball for over six minutes, their drive culminating in a 24-yard touchdown from sophomore running back Damian Henderson II.
They forced a punt on defense, but their second drive ended fruitlessly after a missed field goal from sophomore kicker Grant Meadors.
Blessed with a good field position, Vikings sophomore quarterback John-Keawe Sagopolutele stepped back under pressure and threw a wounded duck into the waiting arms of Hornet junior cornerback Jason Oliver for the first of his two interceptions.
Sac State immediately punished the Vikings for this turnover. The Hornets ran the ball a few times before junior quarterback Cardell Williams launched a 22-yard rocket to wide-open redshirt freshman receiver Ernest Campbell, pushing the lead to 14 in the second quarter.
The Vikings responded with a quick score of their own, dialing up a deep shot to put them within a few yards of the end zone, then ran a counter to score their first touchdown.
Not to be outdone, Marion lined up his offense for a pass on the first play after a kick return placed them on the 30.
The safety covering Campbell expected him to try and burn him deep, as the Texan two-sport athlete has done to secondaries all season. He lined up deep, opting to give Campbell room near the line of scrimmage.
Campbell took a flurry of quick steps before turning to face Williams and receiving the ball five yards downfield. As the safety bore down, he feigned right then exploded left, leaving the Viking defender stumbling in his tracks for a 65-yard touchdown.
That was his seventh score of the year, and the sixth that eclipsed 50 yards. The speedster ended the contest with 103 yards and the pair of touchdowns to continue his electric freshman campaign.
Six plays into their response drive and down by 14, Sagopolutele attempted another downfield shot. The ball was rifled and on-target, but junior safety Koa Akui jumped the route, securing his fifth interception of the season.
This turnover ended Sagopolutele’s night, and the Vikings opted for freshman quarterback Tyrese Smith for the rest of the game, hoping to find any rhythm against a stout Hornet defense.
Sac State ended the game with a pair of interceptions, a forced fumble and double-digit tackle-for-losses.
“The corners were making a lot of plays on the ball, so in the second half, their quarterback was holding it,” redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Dylan Hampsten said. “It gave us a bunch of chances to go and make some plays in the backfield.”
The first half was a battle of field position, with both teams punting it away several times before the Vikings managed to eke out a last-second first half touchdown led by their freshman quarterback.
“We had to wake up,” redshirt freshman Jose Soto said. “We told each other, ‘we’re too good to be playing like this.’ We had to turn on the jets.”
After the defensive stop and the following touchdown, Sac State controlled the ball, never allowing the Vikings within two scores for the rest of the game as they ran up the score.
For Sac State, this statement win was necessary.
With their playoff hopes potentially in the hands of the FCS committee, every point matters. Northern Arizona, the team that the Hornets will likely be jockeying with for the final playoff slot, managed to take down Northern Colorado this week.
The Hornets return to Sacramento for their final home game against Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 15, in what will be a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive.
“We’re just trying to go 1-0,” Hampsten said. “Fighting like our lives are on the line, that’s our mentality.”
