SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State football team capped its spring practice season with its annual Spring Game on Saturday night at Hornet Stadium. The offense was sparked by running back Elias Brown who recorded a pair of touchdowns while the defense tallied six sacks and an interception.
 
"There is always room for improvement but the guys bought in to our Green Line — 100 miles an hour, 100 percent of the time," Sacramento State head coach Alonzo Carter said. "You can't teach effort and I loved the energy. They all have talent, that is why they are here playing Div. I football, we just want to make sure the effort is where it needs to be. That is something we will always demand."
 
The first half of the scrimmage used a thud format where players were not tackled. Quarterback Carson Conklin completed 10-of-12 passes for 70 yards in his return to Sacramento State. However, it was the defense that made the first big plays, stopping the offense for no gain on 4^th-and-1 on the first drive and getting a sack from Collin Kallhoff to end the second series.
 
Jackson Sharman took control of the offense during the third season and found the end zone for the first time on a 6-yard run from Brown. The 70-yard drive was aided by a 22-yard completion to Jaxon Fresques and a 20-yard strike to Drey Garner. The offense also relied heavily on the ground game where Brown and Davion Godley combined for 25 yards.
 
The defense closed the first half by keeping the offense out of the end zone on the final six drives of the period. That included a pair of third-down sacks from Fata Puloka and Kallhoff as well as forcing an incompletion on 4^th-and-goal from the 7-yard line.
 
When the team's returned to the field for the second half, practice became live with tackling. After a pair of 3-and-outs, the offense marked 70 yards behind redshirt freshman quarterback Jaylen Patterson. The unit used eight plays to move down the field before Brown scored for the second time.
 
The defense made the final statement of the night when Lono Chouteau hauled in an overthrown pass for the game's lone turnover.
 
All four Hornet quarterbacks saw action in the game and the quartet combined to complete passes to 11 different receivers. Tight ends Jordan Williams, Elijah Huddle and Cedric Anton led the way with three catches each. Along with the pair of touchdowns, Brown also had a team-high 36 rushing yards.
 
Defensively, Kallhoff (2), Dante Antonini, Ivan Moore, Jr., Puloka and Xavier Williams each had sacks. Safety Noah King had a team-best six tackles.
 
Sacramento State will return to organized team practices in early August as the school begins its first season at the FBS level and in the Mid-American Conference. The Hornets' first game will come on Aug. 29 at Eastern Michigan.