Post-Game Notes

Complete Statistics

DAVIS, Calif. - For the third straight week the University of Northern Colorado football team watched in disbelief as a last second play dashed hopes of victory. This time, UC Davis (2-4) scored on a 38-yard pass as clock expired, giving the Aggies the 34-30 win and dropping the Bears to 0-4 on the year.

With 1:18 left in the fourth quarter, the Bears regained the lead on a 26-yard field goal by Michael York, his third of the game, and the team could see a win on the horizon. However, UCD marched down the field 50 yards in seven plays, setting up the final pass, a Bakari Grant reception from Greg Denham with zeroes on the clock.

Northern Colorado tallied over 300 yards of offense for the third time in four games, garnering 329 on a fairly balanced attack. The Bears rushed for 117 yards and passed for 212, while UC Davis tallied 404 total offensive yards. 

After last week's 25-22 loss to Northern Arizona, the Bears knew they had to take better care of the ball and did so against UC Davis, turning the ball over just once on an interception on the first drive of the contest.

Junior quarterback Bryan Waggener led the team in rushing with 65 yards. He also completed 19-of-38 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns with just one pick and one sack. Waggener completed five passes to sophomore wide receiver Brandon Smith for 42 yards and a touchdown, four passes to senior wide receiver Cory Fauver for 65 yards and a touchdown and three passes to junior wide receiver Alex Thompson for 63 yards. He also hit senior tight end Ryan Chesla twice for 10 yards and one score.

Thompson led the squad in all-purpose yards as he also gained 54 yards on three kickoffs for 117 on the evening.

Defensively, senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento kept his streak of double figure tackles against FCS schools alive and well at 12 straight with 10 stops. He also had a sack and forced a fumble. Safeties Stephen Michon and Max Hewitt each tallied eight tackles, while Quincy Wofford had seven, all solo, as well as an interception.

The Aggies struck first on the scoreboard, intercepting a pass and marching down the field for a touchdown on a seven-play, 52-yard drive over 2:55 for the early 7-0 score.

Wofford returned the kickoff to the 22-yard line to start the Bears' second drive. Wilson gained six on the ground and after a four-yard pass to freshman Patrick Walker, the Bears got 15-yards on a late hit to Waggener. After loss of eight yards on two running plays and a false start, Waggener hit Thompson for 42 yards. The Bears had two short gains on the ground and then even with 12 players on the field, junior running back DC Wilson rushed for 11 yards and the first down, giving the Bears a first-and-goal situation. Wilson gained another two on the ground and then for the first time this year, Waggener found Chesla in the end zone and a York kick evened the score at 7-7. The Bears went 78 yards on 11 plays in 5:27.

NC's defense responded to the offensive drive, forcing the Aggies into a three-and-out. Safety Ryan Lutz blocked the punt for the third straight blocked punt this year by the Bears and gave NC possession on the 16 yard line. The Bears went those 16 yards in two plays in 12 seconds with Waggener hitting Fauver after an incomplete pass on first down. York made the kick for the 14-7 advantage.

UC Davis drove 70 yards in six plays as Denham hit Brandon Rice for a 20-yard touchdown with four seconds remaining in the first quarter and the kick knotted the score at 14-14.

The defense held the Aggies to begin the second quarter, as they again forced a three-and-out and the Bears took over control on their own 40-yard line. Two big penalties forced NC into a punt of its own and freshman Cameron Kaman boomed a 47-yard punt to the 12-yard line and there was no return.

Wofford continued his stellar play, intercepting a Denham pass and returning it 18 yards, setting up a 35-yard field goal by Michael York for the 17-14 lead with 1:13 remaining in the half. The Bears drove five yards on four plays in 33 seconds.

On the third play of the second half, freshman VJ Holmes recovered and an Aggie fumble, forced by Hayes, giving the Bears a short field. After a short gain, UCD again got penalized for roughing the passer, spotting the ball on the 19-yard line. Waggener found his favorite target this season, Brandon Smith for a 19-yard touchdown, giving Waggener 1,000 yards on the season. He becomes the second fastest in school history to hit a grand, as only Harlon Hill winner Corte McGuffey did so faster in 1998. York's PAT gave the Bears the 24-14 advantage.

Shocking the crowd, Waggener broke free for a 66-yard run, the longest run by a Davis opponent this season, setting up a 25-yard field goal by York increasing the lead to 27-14.

With 52.2 seconds left in the third quarter, the Aggies pulled within seven, scoring on a 19-yard pass from Denham to Chris Carter. The point-after brought the score to 27-21.

The UC Davis defense sacked Waggener on back-to-back plays to end the third quarter and start the final one, and Kaman used a 40-yard punt to pin the Aggies in their own territory. They were able to drive the field, however, scoring a touchdown with 11:19 left and the extra point gave the Aggies a one-point lead, 28-27. The drive was 54 yards in seven plays, lasting 2:57.

York hit the 26-yard field goal with 1:18 remaining and then the heart-breaking drive by the Aggies ended the contest.

Northern Colorado returns to Big Sky Conference action next week as they host winless Idaho State for Homecoming on Saturday. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1:35 p.m. and will be televised on Altitude Sports and Entertainment.