2023-10-13 12:00:00
It rained Tuesday afternoon, and it was a welcomed change of weather for the Sacramento State Hornets, who have sweated out drills and crash-into-you sessions since August.
The football team delivered its best practice in weeks, as evaluated by coaches who are harsh critics to their otherwise superb outfit.
You don’t climb to No. 4 in the FCS national rankings because the helmets glisten nicely in the sunshine. You earn it, and the Hornets have with a 4-1 start to the season amid their quest to four-peat as Big Sky Conference champions. Sacramento State takes its 1-1 conference record into Northern Colorado on Saturday for a noon kickoff, needing to maintain the momentum to remain in the title hunt. The Hornets are a veteran and well-prepared lot, having seen six of their last seven Big Sky games come down to the final possession.
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That loss was a last-second crusher to Idahonow ranked third nationally. On Oct. 21, Sac State will host No. 2 Montana State at Hornet Stadium, expecting a sell out for the ESPN telecast.
The Idaho setback halted a 22-game regular-season winning streak, a 19-game Big Sky winning streak and a 15-game road winning streak against FCS teams. The Hornets bounced back with a 31-30 home victory over Northern Arizona, a game in which Coleman Kuntz rushed for the go-ahead score midway through the fourth quarter. Kameron Rocha sealed it with an interception in the end zone late. Then the team had its bye week to rest, recover, practice and evaluate.
“Guys came back after the bye week and are ready to compete and had good energy, and we continue to get better,” Hornets coach Andy Thompson said.
The coach added: “We got some guys back that we haven’t had. They brought a little energy to the practice. This team does not lack enthusiasm to play. They’ve come out and played every single game.”
Fans see the finished product — the games. The coaches see everything else — the practices, the repetition, and then again on drone-film breakdown.
“Our execution is what we have got to continue to improve on,” Thompson said. “How much better can we be with our execution? Pre-snap penalties. Post-snap penalties. Those 15-yard penalties after a play? No. Play cleaner without stealing the joy of the game.”
To that end, Thompson and his right-hand guys, such as offensive line coach Kris Richardson and offensive coordinator Bobby Fresques, make practices as much of a game-like scenario as possible. Instead of crowd noise, it’s loud speaker noise with music.
At every level, this game still boils down to blocking and tackling, making plays and making stops. And there is always the theme to be mindful of every opponent, regardless of record. Northern Colorado is 0-5, including a 28-21 loss to then-No. 13 Weber State.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to teach,” Thompson said of practice sessions. “When you get in the games, you can make adjustments, but the teaching part is big. Today, we did two-minute drills, short-yardage, third downs. We work on fundamentals of tackling every day you have a chance to teach. We’ve done that in spurts. We need to do it for four quarters.”
Fulcher out
A man who’d like to see any quarters is leading rusher and senior leader Marcus Fulcher. He scored the winning touchdown off a reception to beat Stanford 30-23 and then had two scores at Idaho, but he hasn’t played since.
Fulcher hurt his ankle early in the Idaho game but grinded through it. He didn’t fully realize how bad it was until it swelled up on the flight home. Fulcher has gone from a walking boot to an ankle brace, and for a guy who craves to compete, this is a tough pill to swallow. He remains game-to-game.
“I’ve been healthy, missed one game last year, a minor tweak, but it’s very frustrating,” Fulcher said. “I want to help my team out. I have their back.”
He also coaches up players when he can’t go, in a game or practice or both. And Fulcher does not filter. He says what he thinks.
“You can coach them up and be encouraging, and you can really tell them what they don’t want to hear, like if they need to do a good step (on a play), or they did their step wrong,” Fulcher said. “These are your brothers and your friends, so you can be honest with them.”
Redshirt freshman Zeke Burnett from Elk Grove High School had his first carries at running back for the Hornets against Northern Arizona, rushing for 40 yards and one touchdown on six carries. He will see more action at Northern Colorado.
Quarterback Kaiden Bennett of Folsom High leads the Big Sky and is eighth in the FCS with 298.2 yards of total offense per game. He has passed for seven touchdowns and rushed for four.
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