Box Score SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State scored a season high 47 points but could not stop the potent rushing offense of 14th-ranked Cal Poly in a 59-47 shootout loss at Hornet Stadium on Saturday night.
The Hornets fell to 1-8 overall and 1-5 in Big Sky Conference action. The Mustangs improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in league games.
Isiah Hennie scored three touchdowns and Nate Ketteringham passed for four scores to spark the Hornet offense. Hennie tied the school record with a 90-yard punt return for a score and also had a pair of receiving touchdowns. He finished the game with six catches for a season high 116 yards. Hennie's punt return tied Fred Amey's record from 2002. The pair are also the only two to have a pair of punt returns for touchdowns in school history.
Jordan Robinson anchored a Sacramento State rushing attach which totaled a season high 246 yards. Robinson recorded his second consecutive 100-yard game and finished with 117 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns. The senior now has seven touchdowns in the last five games and has 24 career scores.
Ketteringham completed 16-of-29 passes for 236 yards and tied his career high with four touchdown passes. He connected with seven different receivers and threw touchdown passes to Hennie, Jaelin Ratliff and Johnnie Rucker.
Cal Poly ran the ball 65 times for 527 yards and five scores. The 527 yards were the third-most in the FCS this year and set the school record. Joe Protheroe carried the ball 25 times for 168 yards and Kori Garica had 146 yards and 12 attempts. Dano Graves was just 8-of-15 for 147 passing yards but also had three passing touchdowns.
Sacramento State will be idle next weekend but returns home to face Portland State on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. The game will be the final home contest for the team this season.
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
12:54 - Kori Garcia scored on Cal Poly's first offensive play of the game. Garcia took the handoff and went around the right edge for a 64-yard touchdown.
8:52 - Jordan Robinson answered with a 38-yard rush up the middle of the field for his first touchdown. The rush capped an 8-play, 75-yard drive and tied the score, 7-7.
4:42 - Cal Poly regained the lead when Joe Protheroe caught a 4-yard pass from Dano Graves. The drive also featured a 32-yard completion to Kyle Lewis to take the ball to the Hornet 9-yard line.
Second Quarter
12:25 - Sacramento State pulled even when Hennie went 90-yards on a punt return. The junior caught the ball in traffic along the right sideline, avoided two would-be tacklers, and then brought the ball all the way to the left sideline where he followed a caravan of blockers into the end zone.
7:59 - After forcing Cal Poly to punt, Sacramento State took its first lead when Ketteringham lofted a ball to the corner of the end zone for Hennie for a 23-yard touchdown pass. The Hornets travelled 80 yards on just three plays and were aided by a career-long 39-yard rush from freshman Quincy Jountti.
0:00 - The Mustangs ended the first half with a 25-yard field goal from Casey Sublette as time expired. Cal Poly had 1st-and-goal from the Hornet 8 but were unable to advance the ball.
Third Quarter
13:45 - Cal Poly took the opening kickoff and drove for a touchdown. Graves hit J.J. Koski for a 40-yard strike for his longest pass of the game.
8:10 - Following a 3-and-out by the Hornets, Protheroe put Cal Poly up 31-21 with a 1-yard rush. The Mustangs converted a 3rd-and-25 during the drive with a 35-yard rush from Garcia.
4:55 - Cal Poly stretch its run to 24 consecutive points when Graves found Jake Smeltzer for a 16-yard TD pass. The drive started near midfield after Carter Nichols intercepted Ketteringham along the left sideline.
Fourth Quarter
12:22 - A barrage of fourth-quarter scoring began when Ketteringham threw an 11-yard pass to Jaelin Ratliff early in the period.
9:01 - Cal Poly responded with a 54-yard rush from Kyle Lewis to push the Mustangs' lead to 45-27.
6:47 - The back-and-forth play turned to Sacramento State who went 75 yards on seven plays before Hennie made a diving catch for a 2-yard touchdown. Ratliff also had a 29-yard reception during the series.
3:29 - Reagan Enger placed his name in the scoring column with a 39-yard TD run on the ensuing series to make the score 52-34.
1:56 - Sacramento State answered back with Robinson's second touchdown run. Hennie had a 45-yard reception on the second play of the drive to switch field position for the team.
1:47 - An on-sides kick attempt was recovered by the Mustangs giving the team a short field and Jared Mohamed made the most of the opportunity with a 47-yard touchdown run on the first play.
0:46- Sacramento State posted one final touchdown when Johnnie Rucker was able to get both feet into the corner of the end zone on a 3rd-and-10 pass from the 15 yard line. Ratliff also had a 37-yard reception during the drive.
NOTES:
• Robinson now has eight career 100-yard games.
• Hennie went over 100 receiving yards for the first time in his career. The junior also now has two punt returns and a kickoff return for scores during his career.
• The Hornets had not allowed a team to rush for 400 yards since Cal Poly had posted 424 in 2013. However, tonight marked the second time this season as the Mustangs joined North Dakota (422).
• Sacramento State's previous high in points 41 against Montana State. The points were the most since a 59-56 loss to Montana State on Oct. 4, 2014.
• Leading tackler Manoah Pearson did not play for Sacramento State in the game and was replaced by John Wagstaff who had five tackles. Manny Scott-Anderson led the team with a career high 16 total tackles and Tyler Meteer added 14.