|
Football Travels To Take On Hornets Complete Notes: Game 10 at Sacramento State Game #10 Information Date: Saturday, November 15, 2008 Kickoff: 2:05 p.m. Pacific/1:05 p.m. Mountain Location: Sacramento, Calif. Stadium: Hornet Stadium Capacity: 21,195 Series: SAC, 2-0 Last Meeting: Nov. 10, 2007, SAC 20-17 Radio: Northern Colorado Radio Network Greeley: 1310 KFKA Troy Coverdale, play-by-play Anders Nelson, color analyst Video Streaming: www.bigskytv.org Storyline The Bears look to keep the streak from last week alive in the Big Sky Conference where the road team was victorious in all five games as Northern Colorado heads to Sacramento State. The last two games between the clubs have been close as the Bears dropped a 14-9 decision in 2006 and were driving late in the game and last season lost 20-17 on a hail mary as time expired. Sacramento State has won its last two contests, against Eastern Washington and UC Davis, while Northern Colorado is looking to snap a four-game losing streak. The Matchup Saturday will be just the third all-time meeting between Sacramento State and Northern Colorado as the team's never met prior to the Bears joining the Big Sky Conference. Both previous games have been decided by less than a touchdown. 2006: Sacramento L, 9-14 2007: Greeley L, 17-20 Last Meeting With time expired, Sacramento State won the game on a hail mary pass in the end zone that was tipped in the air and eventually brought down by Tony Washington to give the Hornets the 20-17 victory over Northern Colorado. NC took the lead, 17-14 with 44 seconds left on the clock on a 24-yard pass from Dominic Breazeale to wide receiver Cory Fauver. The Bears drove 75 yards in 12 plays, eating four minutes off the clock. Fauver led the Bears with a then-career-most eight catches for a career-high 78 yards and one touchdown, while tight end Ryan Chesla, wide receiver Jason Caprioli and wide receiver Andy Birkel each had four catches. Fauver also tallied 17 punt return yards and 76 kickoff return yards for 171 yards of total offense. Seniors Approach 1,000 Two seniors are rapidly approaching 1,000 career yards in their respective categories as running back David Woods needs just 59 more rushing yards for the milestone, while tight end Ryan Chesla is now just 75 yards shy of 1,000 receiving yards. Making A Name Junior quarterback Bryan Waggener has completed 176 passes this season, which is the most for a quarterback since Northern Colorado began the transition to Division I and is the most since Mark Passard completed 187 in 2002. He now needs 328 yards to tie for 10th on the school's single season passing yards chart and 194 yards to tie for 10th on the total offense list. Waggener currently sits at 1,975 passing yards and 2,090 yards of total offense. His 219.4 passing yards per game is also the best total since the reclassification and he ranks 39th in the nation in total offense with his average of 232.22 per contest. NC Highlights vs The Hornets Senior wide receiver Cory Fauver tallied 171 all purpose yards last season with 78 receiving, 17 punt return and 76 kickoff return yards. Senior linebacker Casey Herron tallied a career-best nine tackles and sophomore linebacker Matt King notched a best 11 tackles last season, while junior defensive tackle notched a career-best two tackles for loss in 2007 against the Hornets. Senior wide receiver Jason Caprioli's long reception of his career of 19 yards came a year ago. Senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento has notched 20 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in two games against the Hornets. Continuing The Climb Senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento extended his streak of double figure tackle contests to four straight with 11 against Eastern Washington. He has also been in double figures in 16 of the last 17 games against FCS opponents, bringing his career tackles total to 351 to climb another spot in the school's record books. Sarmento now ranks sixth on the NC charts, needing 15 more to tie Darwin Kiselich (1976-79) for fifth. With his two sacks against the Eagles, he now needs just one more to tie for 10th on both the school's single season and career charts with 10 and 15, respectively. It Will Take You Miles Away Junior kicker Michael York is now 10th on both the Northern Colorado single season and career charts for field goals made. He has made 11 field goals this season to tie Kevin Jelden (1981), Keith Frazier (1987), Brian Donovan (1990) and Udon McSpadden (1979) for 10th and his 12 career field goals moves him past Jim Schmitt (1985-86) for 10th on the career charts. A Marked Improvement In 12 games last season, Northern Colorado scored just 136 points (11.3 per game), while this season through nine games the Bears have already surpassed that total, scoring 179 (19.9). The Bears have also thrown for 2,125 yards this season, compared to 2,091 a year ago. The defense has also made enormous strides, allowing just 28.6 points and 387.8 yards, compared to 34.6 points and 490.6 yards in 2007.
Gunn's A-Blazing Freshman wide receiver Dominic Gunn had a breakout game against Eastern Washington as he topped his previous career best receiving yards mark in the first quarter with 35 yards. He went on to amass 107 receiving yards, just the second time this season a Bear has topped the century mark, and he also tallied 34 punt return yards for 141 all-purpose yards in the game. Gunn now has 275 all-purpose yards for the season, averaging 30.6 per game. Putting Them In A Position The Bears have returned 40 kickoffs this season and 21 of those have been returned at least 20 yards. Junior Alex Thompson lead the team with nine returns of 20 or more yards, while junior Quincy Wofford has five and senior Eric Brown has four returns. The Bears are averaging 21.2 yards per return with one touchdown. Double Trouble For the second time this season, Northern Colorado had two players end the game with double figures in tackles as both senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento and sophomore safety Max Hewitt tallied 11. Sarmento and senior corner back Myles Hayes were both in double digits against Weber State. Hewitt's total is a career-best, surpassing his previous best of nine from the Texas State game. The Century Club Senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento surpassed the 100 tackle mark against Montana State and now has 117 for the season with two contests remaining. He is 18 tackles shy of his total from last year of 135. With 34 more tackles he will tie the Big Sky Conference single season record of 151 held by Greg Belzer of Eastern Washington (2000). Quietly Getting It Done Junior rover Stephen Michon has now recorded at least three tackles in 21 straight games, dating back to the finale of the 2006 season. He has also had three or more stops in 25 of the last 27 games, bringing his career tackle total to 137, which is third among active players behind linebackers Cristian Sarmento and Joe Kenney, whom are both seniors. Going Streaking Both seniors Ryan Chesla and Cory Fauver have good streaks going in regards to receptions. Chesla, a tight end, has caught at least one pass in 21 straight games and in 23 of the last 24 he has played in while Fauver, a wide receiver, has at least one reception in 22 straight contests. Seeing Red Northern Colorado continues to have the best red-zone defense in the Big Sky Conference, allowing opponents to score just 69.4 percent of the time. The Bears have forced two fumbles, intercepted four passes and forced two turnovers on downs. Against conference opponents, the Bears are holding the opposition to just 60.9 percent, holding Sky teams to 14-of-23 within the 20-yard line. What Can Brown Do For You? Senior cornerback Eric Brown entered the season as one of the top return guys in school history after amassing 538 yards in kickoff returns in 2007. Then at Purdue in the season opener, he injured his hand, requiring him to stick to defense. That all changed when the cast was removed and Brown made his comeback to the return game. In three games, Brown has amassed 165 yards on five returns, giving him 703 for his career to rank seventh in school history. With just 43 more yards he will move past Cliff Harris (1973-76) for sixth. Getting To The QB In the first five games of the season, the Northern Colorado defense recorded eight quarterback sacks. In the last four, the Bears have tallied 10 qb sacks, including five by senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento. Northern Colorado has 18 sacks for 124 lost yards this season. Honored Northern Colorado player shared the Big Sky Conference defensive player of the week honors two straight weeks as senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento and sophomore safety Max Hewitt both were named. Sarmento was named after the game against Weber State. Sarmento registered 17 total tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup in the 17-10 loss to No. 18 Weber State. He finished with eight solo stops. Hewitt became the first Bear to earn a weekly honor in 2008 after the win over Idaho State. He was second on the team with five tackles and tallied two interceptions, one on the one-yard line saving a Bengal score. He also broke up one pass. Block Party Sophomore safety Max Hewitt became the sixth active player on the roster to block a kick when he blocked a Weber State punt. He is the third player to block one this year, as sophomore Mike Van Portfliet has blocked two punts and junior Ryan Lutz has blocked one. Martin Awachie and Cristian Sarmento have also blocked kicks during their career. Since reclassifying to Division I, the team record for blocks in a season is seven in 2004. Rewriting The Books Several different players have made a name for themselves in the record books already this season. Those accomplishments follow:
|
             |
Copyright © 2008-2009 | University of Northern Colorado | Campus Box 117 | Greeley, Co 80639 | Contact
