Hornet Football wins season opener

Hornet Football took a step in the right direction Saturday night with a 25-12 victory over St. Mary's. Sac State won its season opener for the first time under John Volek and ended a three-year drought against the Gaels.

The Hornet defense was superb holding their opponent to 49 yards rushing and 239 yards of total offense. They forced five turnovers (three fumbles, two interceptions) and added four sacks including a safety. Cornerback Dannie Walker sparked the team with three unassisted tackles, one interception, two forced fumbles and two passes deflected.

Coach Volek praised his defense for their sterling play, "Anytime the defense can hold a team to 49 yards rushing it takes them out of their offense. They forced then into the pass, which wasn't their strength and that seemed to play right into our hands," he said.

On offense, the Hornets discovered their running game by chewing up 209 yards on the ground behind their youthful line. Running back Charles Roberts rushed for 130 yards on 37 carries to lead all rushers. He only had one game over 100 yards last season.

Quarterback A.J. Bernhardt helped balance out the offense with 11 of 20 passes completed for 115 yards. He scored the first points of the game for the Hornets by scrambling for a five yard TD run. Later in the fourth quarter Bernhardt connected on a 15-yard strike to tight end Jeff Schultz for his lone TD pass.

"A.J.'s field presence has really improved. He called some audibles to help us get first downs. Those are the things that didn't happen last year," Volek said.

Now Sac State will bring their winning record into this Friday's home opener against Cal Poly SLO. There will be a ceremony to rename it Fred Anderson Field after the late builder and Hornet booster for his contributions and involvement at CSUS. Volek knows that this could be the catalyst for strong support at home.

"Our team needs to win a home opener for the fans; we haven't done that in a while. It's even more important that we're dedicating the field to Fred Anderson. We are trying to build a tradition here."