What a night to be a Hornet

Brian Martin
State Hornet
Published September 22, 1999

20,993.

It is not the number of times Sac State students have been begged to support their football team, but the record-breaking number of people who attended last Saturday’s Causeway Classic.

The crowd set records for the largest crowd ever for a Sac State home football game as well as the largest Causeway Classic crowd in its 46 years of existence.

“It’s huge to have that kind of support,” head coach John Volek said. “And we want it every week.”

With the support of the crowd, the Hornets defeated the UC Davis Aggies 48-27. Prior to Saturday’s victory, the Aggies had won seven of the last eight Causeways.

The crowd was a mix of long-time supporters and new fans catching their first taste of Hornet football.

And it is a taste that everyone can get used to.

“We’ve come up on the short end the last couple of years,” said junior Bill Hodges. “It’s nice that we’ve finally turned the program around.”

Hodges’ sentiments are echoed by Betsy Armstrong, an alumna from 1993, who always attends the Causeway Classic.

“We’ve been waiting for this,” she said. “Last year’s game was just humiliating.”

Volek sees a direct connection between fan support and the quality of the football team.

“Right now I think we’re putting a heck of a football team out on the field,” Volek said. “The more people we get in the stands, the more resources we’re going to get and we can put an even better team on the field.”

The 1999 Hornets continue to prove that they are on the rise, reflected by their No. 29 ranking among Division I-AA schools, according to last week’s USA Today.

“This 1999 team is much better than last year,” said Eddie Canonico, father of sophomore free safety Ed Canonico. “We have a passing game that we did not have last year.”

A major contributor to the improved passing attack of the Hornets is junior transfer quarterback Ricky Ray.

Matt Stephens attended Shasta Junior College with Ray and came to the game to watch his performance. Stephens plans on attending Sac State next year.

“This is the first game I’ve come to,” he said. “But I am definitely going to keep coming out.”

That is the attitude Volek would like from all Sac State students.

“I never want it (the attendance) to go down,” Volek said. “I always want the students to rally up behind us, because we need them against Montana State.”

The Hornets face Montana State Saturday at Fred Anderson Field in an opportunity to pick up their first Big Sky win.

“We need a Big Sky win to get into the playoff chase,” Volek said. “The students have to understand that the Big Sky is the major thing. They wanted us in a major conference and now we have a chance to get going.”