4-3 , 3-1
Sacramento State
4-4 , 1-3
Cal Poly Rallies to Defeat Sacramento State, Improves to 3-1 in Big Sky
10/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior slotback Kenny Mitchell, junior wide receiver Roland Jackson Jr. and freshman fullback Joe Protheroe all scored their first career collegiate touchdowns as Cal Poly turned a 10-point second-quarter deficit into a 56-27 Big Sky Conference victory over Sacramento State on Saturday night at Hornet Stadium.
Coach Tim Walsh's Mustangs outscored the Hornets 42-3 after trailing 17-7 with 9:39 to go in the second quarter, earning its third straight win after a 1-3 start and improving to 4-3 overall and 3-1 for fourth place in the Big Sky.
Sacramento State fell to 4-4 and 1-3.
Cal Poly led 21-20 at the break as Jackson caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from Chris Brown and, after Brad Cornish kicked a 44-yard field goal for the Hornets, Mitchell secured a three-yard scoring pass from Brown.
The Mustangs turned the game around completely in the third quarter, compiling a 230-26 advantage in total offense and 21-0 on the scoreboard. Protheroe broke off a 62-yard run, senior fullback Brandon Howe ran two yards and sophomore slotback Kori Garcia ran four yards for Mustang touchdowns.
Cal Poly led 42-20 after three periods and Protheroe and junior quarterback Dano Graves added short touchdown runs in the final quarter to wrap up the victory.
Seven Mustangs scored the eight touchdowns. Protheroe scored his first two as a Mustang and Mitchell, Howe, Garcia, Chris Nicholls and Dano Graves each tallied one touchdown.
Garcia (pictured below) recorded his second 100-yard game of the season, rushing for 141 yards on just 13 carries. Protheroe added 72 yards, Lance Mudd 55 and Howe 48 as Cal Poly amassed 393 yards on the ground.
Brown completed eight of 11 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Mitchell was his favorite target with three catches for 12 yards.
Senior linebacker Nick Dzubnar (pictured above) matched a career-high with 19 tackles and also teamed with Chris Judge on a sack. Dzubnar also returned an interception 38 yards and a kickoff 30 yards. Linebacker Cameron Ontko added 14 tackles and cornerback Chris Fletcher had 11.
Dzubnar, who has recorded double-digit tackles in each of Cal Poly's seven games this season, now has 102 tackles, averaging 14.6 stops per contest. He entered Saturday's game as the FCS and Big Sky leader with a 13.8 average.
Sacramento State quarterback Garrett Safron completed 30 of 43 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 36 yards on 13 trips. Nmamdi Agude caught 10 passes for 152 yards.
Cal Poly, which has played five of its first seven games on the road, will play three of its next four at home, starting Saturday night with its Parent and Family Weekend contest against Montana at 6:05 p.m. in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
Team Stats
CP 0, SAC 3
SAC - Brad Cornish 32 yd field goal 7 plays, 39 yards, TOP 3:13
CP 7, SAC 3
CP - Chris Nicholls 3 yd run (Z.Schottenfeld kick), 4 plays, 77 yards, TOP 1:02
CP 7, SAC 10
SAC - DeAndre Carter 26 yd pass from Garrett Safron (Brad Cornish kick) 6 plays, 50 yards, TOP 2:26
CP 7, SAC 17
SAC - Garrett Safron 21 yd run (Brad Cornish kick), 7 plays, 64 yards, TOP 2:56
CP 14, SAC 17
CP - Roland Jackson 52 yd pass from Chris Brown (Z.Schottenfeld kick) 3 plays, 69 yards, TOP 1:08
CP 14, SAC 20
SAC - Brad Cornish 44 yd field goal 14 plays, 52 yards, TOP 5:33
CP 21, SAC 20
CP - Kenny Mitchell 3 yd pass from Chris Brown (Z.Schottenfeld kick) 8 plays, 68 yards, TOP 1:58
CP 28, SAC 20
CP - Joe Protheroe 62 yd run (Z.Schottenfeld kick), 1 plays, 62 yards, TOP 0:10
CP 35, SAC 20
CP - Brandon Howe 2 yd run (Z.Schottenfeld kick), 6 plays, 70 yards, TOP 1:48
CP 42, SAC 20
CP - Kori Garcia 4 yd run (Z.Schottenfeld kick), 7 plays, 55 yards, TOP 2:15
CP 49, SAC 20
CP - Joe Protheroe 2 yd run (Z.Schottenfeld kick), 5 plays, 12 yards, TOP 1:33
CP 49, SAC 27
SAC - DeAndre Carter 5 yd pass from Garrett Safron (Brad Cornish kick) 8 plays, 74 yards, TOP 2:44
CP 56, SAC 27
CP - Dano Graves 4 yd run (Z.Schottenfeld kick), 4 plays, 14 yards, TOP 1:40
