Spring Break
Football mid-season preview
At 1-4, the Hornets are having trouble in conference
Taylor Collis
Issue date: 10/29/08 Section: Sports
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The Hornets have been on the road for the past few weeks and have lost every single away game without the fans behind them cheering the team on.
"We rely on our teammates when we're away," said freshman cornerback Deionte Gordon.
The Hornets finally got to come back home to play the Montana State Bobcats Saturday and recover from being on the road. The Hornets were looking for a win after the last game against the Montana Grizzlies ending in a 7 to 43 loss with 9 penalties, but didn't find it against the Bobcats with a 20 to 31 loss. The Hornets record at home is now 3-2. Both the Hornets and the Bobcats came into that game losing the past two games and were looking to fight back for a victory.
The Hornets were able to utilize a few of their other wide receivers against the Bobcats like senior Torrell Baker and junior Ellon Paige who both helped the Hornets score in the fourth quarter with more than 20 yards receiving for each of them.
Before this extreme blowout by the Grizzlies, the Hornets were able to take a break and lick their wounds in the bye week recovering from another loss on the road against Northern Arizona losing 10 to 42 with 12 penalties.
"We had a chance to get healthy and take a couple days off," said Head Coach Marshall Sperbeck.
Starting sophomore quarterback Jason Smith was able to heal from his personal injury and recover from a stomach surgery during this time.
The players have been working their hardest throughout the season, Gordon said.
"We're way better than what we've shown (in the games). We just need to finish more and be the one to strike first," Gordon said.
Some players that have shown their skills on the field have been wide receivers senior Tony Washington and junior Kyle Hill. Washington caught 12 passes for 130 yards for a career high when on the road against Montana and has had 100 receiving yard games in five of the last eight games. Washington got close to having 100 receiving yards against the Bobcats, but came short with only 78 yards that game.
Hill shined in the close game against Colorado State catching a throw by Smith in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown. That game was the closest the Hornets have played against a Football Bowl Subdivision team since 2002.Although the Hornets lost to Weber State, Hill had a great game because he caught five passes for 85 yards. He had the second most receiving yards against the Bobcats with 45 yards and caught the longest pass for 31 yards.
The Hornet defense had a few players that have also shown their true colors like senior strong-side linebacker Mike Brannon. Brannon had a season high of three sacks against the Grizzlies and now holds the school record for all-time career sacks. He also added to his record with five sacks and four assists against the Bobcats.
Although the team has suffered horrible losses, they still keep each other motivated and stick together, said sophomore running back Bryan Hilliard.
"The team is more molded together and has been playing more as a team than as individuals. Everyone is putting in their effort and we realize the mistakes," Hilliard said.
But the team knows that they have a lot of work to do, especially when it comes to penalties.
"We have our good moments and a few disappointing moments. We need to practice more discipline and focus more on play-to-play action," Sperbeck said.
The Hornets have four more games left and three of them are Big Sky Conference games.
The next two games are on the road again, first against Eastern Washington on Nov. 1, and then the Causeway Classic against UC Davis. It will be in the Aggies territory at 2:05 p.m. on Nov. 8. The following game will be at home against Northern Colorado also at 2:05 p.m. on Nov. 15.
Taylor Collis can be reached at tcollis@statehornet.com
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