Tag Archives | Brian Hilliard

Crop Of Sac State Recruits Fills Holes, Sets Up Quarterback Battle

By on February 1, 2012 in Football

Two seasons ago, SilverAndBlueSports.com filmed a profile of former Nevada quarterback Mason Magleby, who was part of the Hornets’ 2012 signing class Wednesday.

By Bill Bradley, SacStateSports.com Editor

Sacramento State added 22 new football players Wednesday on 2012′s opening day of National Letter of Intent. Yet the most important ones to the Hornets’ immediate success may be already on campus.

Of the 22 signees, two of them were transfers from Football Bowl Subdivision schools and have transferred from junior colleges. All six have enrolled and will help the Hornets fill some holes when spring football starts later this semester. Two others also will come from the JC ranks next fall.

“We needed some guys that could help us win now,” Hornets Coach Marshall Sperbeck said Wednesday afternoon. “When you lose a (fullback) Jake Croxdale and (tailback) Bryan Hilliard – guys who have been in the program for awhile – to replace them with A.J. Ellis (from Fresno State) and Ezekiel Graham (from Southwest Junior College) helps us.

“Also, to get another bounce-back (from an FBS school) in quarterback Mason Magleby like we got in Jeff Fleming was huge.” Continue Reading →

Share
Comments { 5 }

Hornets Look To Bounce Back At Portland State

By on November 4, 2011 in Football

Defensive lineman Zack Nash (98) said he and the Hornets can't alter their routine as they try to end a two-game winning streak on Saturday at Portland State. Photo by Staff Photographer Jesse Charlton.

Sac State at Portland State, 1:05 p.m. Saturday, No TV, 93.1 FM and 950 AM.

By Kyle Madson, SacStateSports.com Staff Writer

Can Sacramento State’s football team rebound from back-to-back close home losses?

At the least, the Hornets should return their starting quarterback to the lineup they travel to Portland State for a 1:05pm kickoff.  The trip to Portland will be the Hornets’ final road trip of the 2011 season.

The Hornets (3-5 overall, 2-4 Big Sky Conference) have lost consecutive games to Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona by a combined nine points. Coach Marshall Sperbeck said the team won’t be taking those losses to Portland State (5-3, 3-2) with them.

“Each week you refocus whether you win or lose,” Sperbeck said.  “You’ve got to get on to the next opponent.  You’ve to get yourself prepared and ready to play a new opponent, a new game. It really doesn’t change much from week to week.” Continue Reading →

Share
Comments { 0 }

It’s Hard To Hide How Injuries Have Hit Hornets

By on November 3, 2011 in Football

Starting quarterback Jeff Fleming, left, has missed two games this season with a calf injury while tailback Brian Hilliard has come out numerous games this season with injuries. Photo by Ron Nabity.

COMMENTARY

By BILL BRADLEY, SacStateSports.com Editor

We can talk all we want about the fourth-quarter blown leads by the Sacramento State football team, including the last two excruciating home games. We can whine about the lack of a kicking game and how it has impacted the play-calling. And we can wring our hands over all of the questionable coaching moves all season.

Yet all of those factors are trumped by the biggest killer of a season that started with the highest of hopes: injuries.

Thanks to injuries, the Hornets are a shell of a team that pulled off the biggest upset of college football’s opening weekend at Oregon State, especially on offense. Since that landmark victory, the Hornets have been without a starting quarterback at times, had their backfield tandem cut in half and saw their receiving corps decimated.

As the Hornets (3-5) visit Portland State (5-3) on Saturday, they might be as healthy as they are going to get all season. But even that may not help them salvage a winning record. Continue Reading →

Share
Comments { 1 }

Hornets Can’t Run, Get Run Over In Loss To NAU

By on October 29, 2011 in Football

Sac State's Stephen Tezanos-Pinto fumbles at the 10-yard line during the first quarter, one of two Hornets turnovers in the red zone Saturday night. Photo by Ron Nabity. For more photos, go to nabityphotos.com.

BY KYLE MADSON, SacStateSports.com Staff  Writer

Sacramento State couldn’t run the football on offense, and couldn’t stop the run on defense.

The result was a heartbreaking 27-26 Big Sky Conference loss to Northern Arizona on Saturday night at Hornet Stadium.

The Hornets (3-5, 2-4 Big Sky) were coming off a game against Eastern Washington in which they rushed for 313 yards, but just could not get it going on the ground against the Lumberjacks (3-5, 2-4).

The Lumberjacks, on the other hand, ran roughshod thanks to sophomore Zach Bauman. He carried the ball 38 times for a career-high 246 yards of NAU’s 257 rushing yards.  Last year, the Hornets bottled up Bauman for just 30 yards on 10 carries.

“I was hungry (today),” Bauman said. “I couldn’t have another game like (last season).”

The defeat essentially eliminated Sacramento State from any possibility of gaining a postseason berth. The FCS playoffs committee has never selected an at-large team with more than four losses.

Continue Reading →

Share
Comments { 0 }

First Quarter Update: Sac State 7, Eastern Washington 7

By on October 22, 2011 in Football

Sacramento State tailback Brian Hilliard ran 5 yard for touchdown and Eastern Washington’s Nicholas Edwards caught a 35-yard scoring passing, leaving the teams 7-7 lead after one quarter of their Big Sky Conference game at Hornet Stadium on Saturday night.

The Hornets started the game without star quarterback Jeff Fleming, who was sidelined unexpectedly with a calf injury despite practicing all week, according to a Sac State official.Fleming had started the last 16 games for Sac State.

Instead, Hornets Coach Marshall Sperbeck rotated between freshman Garrett Safron and sophomore Tommy Edwards. The swap worked wonders as the Hornets gained six first downs on their first drive. Hilliard’s finished off the possession with a 5-yard touchdown run that included two crucial runs for first downs by Edwards.

It only took four plays for Eagles to answer. After a pass interference penalty, Edwards fly past two Hornets defenders to catch a 35-yard touchdown pass from Bo Levi Mitchell, tying the score at 7-7.

Share
Comments { 0 }

Sac State-Eastern Washington Preview Capsule

By on October 22, 2011 in Football

Photo by Ron Nabity.

Sacramento State vs. Eastern Washington Eagles

Who: Eastern Washington Eagles at Sac State Hornets.

What: Big Sky Conference football game No. 5 for the Hornets, No. 6 for the Eagles.

When: 6:05 p.m. gametime (PST) .

Site: Hornet Stadium, an artificial turf stadium on Sac State’s campus that holds 21,195 spectators.

Weather: Gametime temperature is predicted to be 78 degrees and sunny with 3 mph winds from the northeast, according to weather.com. By game’s end, the temperature should rise to 65 degrees with clear skies. Continue Reading →

Share
Comments { 0 }

Rare Down Time for the Hornet Football team- What Will They Do With It?

By on October 15, 2011 in Football

With the bye week the Sacramento State football team gets a rare weekend to themselves.  With no game or practices, players finally have some down time on their hands.

But what do the players do with their down time?  Well, that depends on who you ask.

Zack Nash, Defensive Lineman: Nash said he’ll be using his bye week to “rest up, spend some time with the family.”  He is also looking forward to full days of watching both college and NFL football on television.

Derek Stickney, Offensive Lineman: Stickney said he’s still going to be working hard during his weekend off.  “I’ll probably just get into The Well to get a little extra lifting in to help keep my body strong,” Stickney said.  He also said when he wasn’t doing extra lifting he’d be staying off of his feet, icing, and watching his favorite team, the Denver Broncos. Continue Reading →

Share
Comments { 0 }

Hornets Avoid The Air In Rainy, Windy Victory At Northern Colorado

By on October 8, 2011 in Football

Editor’s note: The article was compiled from website TV, radio and sports information department reports.

By KYLE MADSON, SacStateSports.com Staff Writer

GREELEY, COLO. – The Sacramento State Hornets had fundamentals on their mind Saturday, but Mother Nature had other ideas as 30 mph winds and a steady rain ripped through Northern Colorado’s Nottingham Field on Saturday.

The Hornets called an audible on Mom by grinding out a 14-0 victory over Northern Colorado and set a record for the fewest passes thrown in a Football Championship Subdivision game by a team – 0. Yes, zero passes attempted by Sac State.

The victory allowed the Hornets (3-3 overall, 2-2 Big Sky Conference) to remain undefeated in six games against the Bears (0-6, 0-4), a team they said it would take fundamentals to beat.

“It was a totally different game plan,” said Sacramento State coach Marshall Sperbeck said. “Once we got here and saw the way (the wind) was blowing and the rain, we knew if we could limit our mistakes – and we knew we would get some turnovers with the defense, play the field position game – it would work out for us.” Continue Reading →

Share
Comments { 0 }

Sac State Tries To Not Take Winless Northern Colorado Lightly

By on October 7, 2011 in Football

UNC Bears football

Patrick Walker has been the leading receiver for Northern Colorado this season. Photo courtesy Flickr.com.

By Kyle Madson, SacStateSports.com Staff Writer

For the first time this season Sacramento State seems to have a breather on its football schedule.

After taking on Top 25-ranked teams in Montana and Montana State in back-to-back weeks, the Hornets will travel to Greeley, Colorado on Saturday to meet the winless Northern Colorado Bears at 12:35 p.m.

Although Northern Colorado (0-5, 0-3)  is in search of its first win, quarterback Jeff Fleming and the Hornets (2-3, 1-2 Big Sky) know that no win in the Big Sky Conference is an easy one.

“Every single team in the Big Sky, when they play always has a chance to beat somebody else,” Fleming said. “Just because a team is struggling at one time doesn’t mean they can’t turn it on at any moment.” Continue Reading →

Share
Comments { 0 }

Switch to our mobile site