Marcus Fulcher – VACAVILLE INSIDER

Catching on to blocking

Devin Gandy does not earn his keep at Sacramento State by blocking. It might be mentioned in the fine print of the job description for a wide receiver, but the Hornets rely on Gandy for his sure hands and game-breaking speed.

Both attributes were evident last Saturday night at Stanford in Sacramento State’s 30-23 victory. Gandy caught a career-high five passes for 64 yards, including a 39-yarder on fourth-and-3 at the Stanford 45-yard line in the third quarter.

**Sophomore Devin Gandy has come back from knee surgery to give the Hornets a deep threat at wide receiver** **this season.**

That gave the Hornets a first-and-goal at the 6, but the drive ended when Kaiden Bennett threw an interception. The turnover was not costly because Stanford’s ensuing possession also ended with an interception.

Each team got two field goals after that with Zach Schreiber’s 44-yarder pulling Sacramento State into a 23-all tie with 4:08 to play. The Hornets defense then stuffed the Cardinal to force a punt at the Stanford 19.

Bennett gained 4 yards on first down, but he followed with an incomplete pass to leave the Hornets with third-and-6 at the Stanford 49. Sacramento State was a play away from wasting its best drive start of the night.

The third-down play did not go according to offensive coordinator Bobby Fresques’ plan. Bennett dropped back to pass and noticed tight end Marshall Martin stayed put to block instead of taking off into his route.

Marcus Fulcher stayed in the backfield to protect Bennett, but the running back missed a block on blitzing linebacker Gaethan Bernadel. Bennett scrambled to his right in a desperate search for an open receiver.

The only available target turned out to be Fulcher, who had the good sense to flare out to the right. Bennett was nearly sacked as Bernadel pulled him down from behind when he managed to flip the ball to Fulcher.

Gandy was running a deep route on the right, but the sophomore cut it off after looking back to see Bennett was in trouble. After Fulcher caught the pass and found room to run, Gandy transformed into a blocker.

Safety Alaka’i Gilman was the last Stanford player with a chance to stop Fulcher from reaching the end zone. Gandy made sure that would not happen by cutting off Gilman and knocking him out of Fulcher’s way.

Gilman had a 24-pound advantage on the 170-pound Gandy, but Gandy was prepared to confront the challenge.

“We’ve had a big emphasis on blocking the last couple of weeks, especially against Stanford,” said Gandy, who attended Silverado High School in Victorville. “They’re bigger guys because they play in the Pac-12.”

Sacramento State was not intimidated by Stanford’s size in its fourth win against an FBS team since 2011. Stanford was Sacramento State’s third Pac-12 victim, following Oregon State (2011) and Colorado (2012). The fourth victory came against Colorado State last season

By the time the Hornets returned to Sacramento, they were already looking ahead to Saturday’s game at Idaho. The game is one of two Big Sky Conference openers featuring two ranked teams. Sacramento is No. 4 and Idaho No. 7 in the latest FCS poll. No. 3 Montana State will travel to No. 8 Weber State.

Gandy did not play last October when the Hornets beat the Vandals 31-24. Sacramento State blew a 17-point lead but came back to win when quarterback Asher O’Hara’ scored on a 2-yard run with 1:48 to play.

Surgery on his left knee forced Gandy to miss the 2022 regular season, but he played in the two FCS playoff games. He could have returned sooner, but playing in five games would have cost him a year of eligibility.

The Hornets wanted to have Gandy available in case they had four playoff games, the maximum for his participation without losing a year of eligibility. He marked his return to action with three receptions for 60 yards in the 38-31 playoff victory against Richmond.

His first catch was for 39 yards and erased any doubts about his knee, especially on a rain-soaked synthetic field.

“It was the best feeling because I put in the work to make it back. It was a big play and they knew they could rely on me,” said Gandy, who probably had a better feeling after the surprising victory against Stanford.

Dropping disappointment

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Four points may have made all the difference in the football world for Sacramento State last Dec. 9 in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. Settling for a field goal after reaching Incarnate Word’s 5-yard line in the second quarter was costly.

Two running plays resulted in a loss of 2 yards, leaving the Hornets with one play to score a touchdown on third-and-goal at the 7. Running back Marcus Fulcher made it 12 yards to go with a false start penalty.

**Sacramento State** **coaches and players react after Marcus Fulcher dropped a pass in the 66-63 loss to Incarnate Word.**

The worst infraction for Fulcher came on third down. An opportunity to get a touchdown ended when Fulcher let a pass from Jake Dunniway slip through his hands. Fulcher was as open as a 24-hour convenience store and could have strolled to the end zone.

Kyle Sentkowski’s 30-yard field goal put the Hornets ahead 17-14. The lead did not last long. The Cardinals scored two touchdowns in the last five minutes of the first half to take a 28-17 lead to the locker room.

Halftime gave Fulcher a few minutes to decide whether he was going to allow one bad play to derail him. The junior had a productive first half with four carries for 51 yards and two receptions for 21 yards. His 35-yard touchdown run in the first quarter ended with Fulcher swiping a beverage from a fan at the north end of the field.

After he realized the beverage was beer, Fulcher pretended to take a drink before returning the plastic cup to the fan. He handled the cup much better than he did the pass from Dunniway that left the Hornets thristing for seven points.

Incarnate Word won 66-63, so four points could have resulted in Sacramento State hosting a semifinal game against North Dakota State. A victory would have also delayed head coach Troy Taylor’s departure to Stanford.

No one needs to remind Fulcher about all that. He has not forgotten and likely never will because of the lesson he learned from adversity.

“Me getting down on myself at that moment would have made it worse. You have to bounce back and be mature,” Fulcher said. “You have to own up to it and look in the mirror. You’re not just playing for yourself. I’ve got my parents watching me and my family watching me.”

Disappointment has turned into determination for Fulcher in 2023. He is the No. 1 running back at long last and proved himself worthy in last Saturday’s 38-24 win over Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La. The 5-foot-9, 215-pound Fulcher ran for 71 yards and two touchdowns. He also had two receptions for 17 yards.

Fulcher climbed atop the depth after Cameron Skattebo transferred to Arizona State. Skattebo also ran for 71 yards and scored a touchdown last Saturday in his debut with the Sun Devils, who held off Southern Utah for a 24-21 victory.

“Being No. 1 is what I’ve dreamed of,” Fulcher said “I’m ready for it. I feel like it’s time. I feel like no one can stop us.”

Texas A&M-Commerce will try its luck at containing Sacramento State at 7 p.m. Saturday at Hornet Stadium. The Lions had little luck against UC Davis last week, allowing 279 yards on the ground in a 48-10 loss.

Taking the Lions for granted would be a mistake, Fulcher said, because one play can turn the tide in any game. He knows that all too well.

Kyle Sentkowski’s 30-yard field goal broke a 14-all tie, but the Hornets did not have the lead for long. The Cardinals scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half to take a 28-17 lead to the locker room.

Redshirt freshman finds role

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**Elijah Tau-Tolliver ignited the Hornets by scoring on a 95-yard kickoff return.**

Returning a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown did not buy Elijah Tau-Tolliver a break. He had a few seconds on the sideline to celebrate with his Sacramento State teammates and get a squirt of water before returning to the field for the ensuing kickoff. He was still catching his breath when Kyle Sentkowski put his foot to the ball.

Such is the life of a redshirt freshman who earns his keep by playing on special teams. The Hornets do not need Tau-Tolliver to play at running back because they have sophomore Cameron Skattebo, who is the Offensive Player of the Year in the Big Sky Conference after leading the conference in rushing with 1,251 yards in the regular season.

Skattebo is fourth in the Big Sky with 178 rushing attempts. Senior quarterback Asher O’Hara is third with 189, which he has turned into 894 yards. O’Hara ranks second in the FCS with 19 rushing touchdowns. Skattebo has five. Junior Marcus Fulcher has run for 366 yards and two more touchdown runs than Skattebo on 113 fewer carries.

Those three backs have combined for 432 of the Hornets’ 532 rushing attempts. Tau-Tolliver has 23 carries for 175 yards, but most of his action has come during garbage time in lopsided victories against Utah Tech and Eastern Washington. Returning kickoffs and averaging 27.6 yards per return have made him valuable for the Hornets.

That was never more apparent than in last Saturday’s 38-31 win over Richmond in the second round of the FCS playoffs. The Hornets trailed 21-17 at halftime after scoring with 19 seconds to go in the second quarter. Tau-Tolliver said the talk in the locker room centered around receiving the second-half kickoff and getting off to a fast start.

Sacramento State came out of the break with momentum after cutting into a 21-7 deficit with a field goal and touchdown in the second quarter. The touchdown capped a nine-play, 66-yard drive that took just 95 seconds. Senior quarterback Jake Dunniway completed four of seven passes for 65 yards and Fulcher scored on a 1-yard run.

Tau-Tolliver figured he was due to break a return when the kickoff by Richmond’s Jake Larsen landed in his arms. And Sacramento State was overdue to score after winning the coin toss and deferring to receive the second-half kickoff. The Hornets deferred four times during the regular season without a single point to show for those decisions.

The fifth time was a charm and Tau-Tolliver provided it. The call was for a return to the right and Tau-Tolliver thought he could outrun two Richmond players charging from the left that the Hornets opted not to block. Those two players arrived faster than he expected, however, so he had to change course and looked to his left for room to run.

Tau-Tolliver followed Skattebo, who cleared the way with a crushing block on Tristan Wheeler. Tau-Tolliver then “turned on the jets,” put a spin move on Trae Tomlinson and skipped away from Kaiden Pritchett after Pritcheet dove at his ankles. He was escorted along the sideline and to the end zone by Darian Pollard, who cut off Larsen and then raised his arms to avoid the risk of being penalized for clipping.

His return was the Hornets’ third for a touchdown this season. The first two were unconventional with Skattebo and tight end Marshel Martin scoring after fielding onside kicks. Tau-Tolliver’s return tied the fifth longest in the program’s history. Mario Bobino and James Ferguson had 100-yard returns in 1984 and 1985, respectively. Tau-Tolliver had a 98-yard return as a senior at Reed High in Sparks, Nev., against Damonte Ranch in 2021.

Sacramento State had a season-high 472 yards of total offense against Richmond. Dunniway finished with a season-high 317 passing yards despite having to throw a rain-soaked ball. He tied the score at 31-all early in the fourth quarter with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Martin on third-and-19. O’Hara broke the tie with 6:28 remaining by lofting a 51-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Pierre Williams.

The pass was the longest of O’Hara’s career and tied Dunniway for the Hornets’ longest this season. Sacramento State had two 100-yard receivers in a game for the first time since 2019. Martin set career highs for receptions (10) and receiving yards (148) in the fourth 100-yard game of his career. The junior caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from O’Hara in the first quarter to give the Hornets a 7-0 lead. Williams caught four passes for 107 yards, reaching the century mark for the 10th time in four seasons.

Second-seeded Sacramento State will put its 12-0 record on the line Friday night when No. 7 Incarnate Word (11-1) visits Hornet Stadium. The teams do not have a common opponent, but there is one connection. Incarnate Word beat Nevada 55-41, Nevada lost 17-14 to Colorado State and Sacramento State routed Colorado State 41-10.