Vacaville Insider – Page 5 – VACAVILLE INSIDER

Success at last for Sac State

**The Hornets are in good hands when wide receiver Pierre Williams has the ball.**

Three victories in 2019 were enough to convince Pierre Williams that Sacramento State made the right decision in hiring Troy Taylor. The wide receiver was a redshirt freshman in 2018 when the Hornets finished 0-7 in the Big Sky Conference and 2-8 overall. A 3-2 start in 2019 made Williams a believer in his new head coach and a new direction.

Williams knew nothing about Taylor other than his father mentioning that Taylor had been successful at Folsom High School. The proof for Williams would have to come in what Taylor could do with the Hornets. Victories against Southern Oregon, Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington ensured Sacramento State would not finish 2-8 again.

Even more meaningful for Williams was the Hornets’ newfound perseverance in close losses against two FBS teams, Arizona State and Fresno State. The Hornets trailed 9-0 after three quarters against the Sun Devils in a 19-7 loss. Sacramento trailed 14-12 at halftime in a 34-20 loss to Fresno State. Williams was buying what Taylor was selling.

“It was just a different feeling,” Williams said Wednesday after practice in Hornet Stadium, where UC Davis will come calling on Saturday for the 68th Causeway Classic. “I just knew in 2019 that once we won more than two games that we were going to be OK.”

Williams would rather not be reminded these days about 2018. A season that had gone so wrong ended on the worst possible note with a 56-13 loss to UC Davis at the University of Nevada. At least the Hornets were spared from being humiliated at home because the Causeway Classic was moved to escape the wildfire smoke.

Compounding the agony of defeat for the Hornets was having to watch the Aggies celebrate on the field. The victory earned UC Davis a share of the Big Sky championship and its first ticket to the FCS playoffs. Sacramento State ended the season with a seven-game losing streak that resulted in head coach Jody Sears losing his job.

The only solace for Williams was realizing he would have three years to settle the score with UC Davis. “I was close to a lot of the seniors and it was kind of sad to see them crying and upset because it was their last game of ever playing football,” Williams recalled. “I just didn’t want to go through another season like that – not being on top.”

Sacramento State has been nowhere else since Taylor arrived. The Hornets shared the Big Sky title with Weber State in 2019 as both teams finished 7-1. Sacramento State claimed it outright last year by going 8-0 with the cherry on top being a 27-7 victory at UC Davis.

At stake for the Hornets on Saturday will be another perfect finish in the Big Sky, an 11-0 regular season and a top seed in the FCS playoffs. The 24-team playoff field will be announced at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on ESPNU as the dust is settling from the Causeway Classic.

Williams is as healthy as he has been in three years and proved it last Friday night at Portland State. The senior set season highs for receptions (seven) and receiving yards (136). He scored his fifth and sixth touchdowns of the season in Sacramento State’s 45-17 victory.

A torn knee ligament prevented Williams from joining his teammates to celebrate after the 2019 Causeway Classic. Ankle surgery last March forced Williams to miss spring workouts and he was kept out of contract drills when training camp began in August. He began to wonder if he would ever get back to what he once was and what he could be.

“Sometimes I get in my own head. I hadn’t been in a helmet and going live for so long,” said Williams, who caught just two passes for 16 yards against Utah Tech in the season opener Sept. 3. His performance against Portland State “reminded me of who I am.”

In case UC Davis needs a reminder, Williams will provide a refresher course.

It’s now or never for Gilliam

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UC Davis football fans must surely remember Ethan Hicks. Who can forget his two carries for 28 yards and a touchdown in the Aggies’ 56-13 victory over Sacramento State in the 2018 Causeway Classic? The game was shifted from UC Davis to the University of Nevada because of smoky skies, but the Aggies still managed to feel right at home.

Hicks’ performance was a total surprise since the senior had more tackles (20) on special teams than rushing attempts (five) in four seasons. Hicks was for once a contributor on offense. Head coach Dan Hawkins prefers to think of all of his players as contributors instead of designating those who are starters and those who do not play much.

**UC Davis running back Ulonzo Gilliam**

The 43-point victory was the Aggies’ largest against the Hornets since 1982, when UC Davis won 51-6 on its way to finishing 12-1. Hawkins played fullback and Ken O’Brien starred at quarterback as UC Davis won the Northern California Athletic Conference championship for the 12th consecutive year. The Aggies were unbeaten until losing to Southwest Texas State in the Division II championship game.

That was then. Hawkins has not been as fortunate since 2018 against Sacramento State. The Hornets have turned the tide against the Aggies and the entire Big Sky Conference since Troy Taylor became Sacramento State’s head coach. The Hornets shared the Big Sky title with Weber State in 2019 and won it outright last season by going 8-0.

Sacramento State has not lost a Big Sky game on the road with Taylor at the helm. The last conference loss away from Hornet Stadium was in 2018 against UC Davis in Reno. That was the last game for Hornets coach Jody Sears after going 20-35 in five years. Sacramento State lured Taylor away from Utah by offering him a seven-year contract

The Hornets beat the Aggies 27-17 in 2019 by shutting out UC Davis in the second half. Sacramento State won 27-7 last season by holding UC Davis scoreless in the first three quarters. The Aggies would have hosted the Hornets in 2020, but COVID-19 led to the season being reduced to five spring games in 2021. Sacramento State opted to sit out.

Taylor is an offensive wizard, but defense was the difference for Sacramento State in those two victories. UC Davis managed just 61 rushing yards in 2019 and 73 last Nov. 20. Ulonzo Gilliam is the Aggies’ all-time leading rusher and gained 138 yards against the Hornets in 2018. Gilliam had more yards receiving (62) than rushing (61) against Sacramento State in 2019. The same was true last year as Gilliam was held to 17 yards on eight carries and caught eight passes for 58.

Gilliam has 43 rushing touchdowns in his career, but he has not reached the end zone in three games against the Hornets. He had three touchdown runs Saturday in the Aggies’ 46-26 victory at Idaho, setting career highs for carries (30) and rushing yards (164). Gilliam is the Big Sky’s second-leading rusher in 2022 with 1,132 yards.

Sacramento State’s Cameron Skattebo is the leader with 1,154 yards on 33 fewer carries than Gilliam. Skattebo played in his first Causeway Classic as a true freshman last November and rushed for 69 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown dash. The two talented backs will meet again Saturday when Sacramento State (10-0, 7-0 Big Sky) hosts UC Davis (6-4, 5-2) in what could be Gilliam’s swan song with the Aggies.

UC Davis has to win to have any shot at being among the 24 teams in the FCS playoffs. The field will be announced on Nov. 20. As many as five Big Sky teams – Sacramento State, Montana State, Weber State, Idaho and Montana – could make it since all five are ranked in the latest FCS Coaches Poll. UC Davis made it six this week when it broke into the poll at No. 24.

The Aggies will need much more than 17 yards on the ground from Gilliam to stand any chance.

Dean puts spin on Hornets’ win

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Patrick Dean was a dead man walking even though he was running as fast as he could. Weber State wide receiver Jacob Sharp had a step on the Sacramento State cornerback and Bronson Barron’s pass was on the money. Dean’s crime was biting on Sharp’s inside move, allowing Sharp to go free.

Dean was guilty of being deceived by Sharp, who went from making an inside move to turning outside and running away. Dean counted on his speed to catch Sharp. After all, Dean competed in track at Palomares High School in Pomona and had a personal best of 10.71 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

**Patrick Dean (2) thwarted a Weber State scoring opportunity with an interception.**

“I know I’m fast, so 99 percent of the time I can catch up,” Dean explained Wednesday as the Hornets prepared for Friday’s game at Portland State. Sacramento State is rolling at 6-0 in the Big Sky and 9-0 overall after a 33-30 victory in Ogden, Utah. Portland State is 3-3 and 4-5. The Vikings were no match for Weber State on Oct. 15 in a 42-7 loss at home.

Barron completed 21 of 31 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns against Portland State. He was not as efficient against Sacramento State, completing 15 of 38 passes for 154 yards and two scores. His best throw of the day came in the third quarter with Sharp, a graduate of Bethel High in Vallejo, going against Dean.

Weber State trailed 23-14 and faced third-and-10 at its own 19-yard line with six minutes to go in the quarter. Barron took the snap with the intent of getting more than a first down for the Wildcats. Barron maneuvered in the pocket as he kept his eyes locked on Sharp and let the ball fly.

Sharp had an opportunity to redeem himself after a 5-yard pass on first down went through his hands and off his chest. Barron’s third-down heave traveled 50 yards and reached Sharp at the Sacramento State 36. The ball went off Sharp’s hands, however, and stuck in Dean’s right elbow.

Dean managed to keep the ball tucked away as he tumbled over Sharp, landed on his head and spun on it as if he were breakdancing. “I didn’t know I had the ball until I got to the ground,” he said. “I don’t know why I was spinning. I was in kind of an awkward position. I was just trying to get up.”

His interception kept momentum on Sacramento State’s side and the Hornets made the most of the turnover. Sacramento State drove 75 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown to extend its lead to 30-14. The drive drained nearly six minutes off the clock and culminated on the first play of the fourth quarter when quarterback Asher O’Hara scored on a 1-yard run.

O’Hara can thank Dean for his second rushing touchdown of the game and his 16th this season. O’Hara and Montana State’s Sean Chambers share the Big Sky lead in rushing touchdowns. They are tied for second in the FCS behind North Alabama’s ShunDerrick Powell with 17.

There is no statistic for an assist in college football, but O’Hara would credit Dean with one after Dean picked the perfect time to get his first interception in two seasons with the Hornets and then putting his own spin on it.

More expected of Aggies coach

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Four convincing victories in the past four weeks have done nothing more for UC Davis than prove the Aggies can have their way with the also-rans in the Big Sky Conference. More is expected of a team that coach Dan Hawkins predicted would be the best in the program’s history. Then again, maybe more should be expected of Hawkins.

UC Davis alumni cheered when Hawkins returned to his alma mater in 2017. The cheers became much louder in 2018 when the Aggies went 10-3, shared the Big Sky championship and advanced to the FCS playoffs for the first time. That seems much longer than four years ago. COVID-19 deserves most of the blame, but Hawkins is by no means innocent.

Let’s not forget that Hawkins won in 2018 with players recruited by Ron Gould, who is now the running backs coach at Stanford. Gould was 12-33 in four seasons with the Aggies with his only saving grace being three victories in four tries against Sacramento State.

Erase the 2018 season and Hawkins’ record is 26-23. He has guided the Aggies to winning records in just two of his first five years at the helm and that includes a 3-2 record in the spring of 2021. And let’s remember that Sacramento State opted not to play in that makeshift spring season. Hawkins is 0-2 against Troy Taylor and the Hornets.

That will surely become 0-3 in two weeks when the Aggies visit Hornet Stadium for the 68th edition of the Causeway Classic. The Hornets have not won three straight against their rivals since winning five in a row from 1988 to 1991. It will be a must win game for the Aggies if they want to stand any chance of advancing the FCS playoffs for the third time since 2018.

And that is only if UC Davis can come out with a victory on Saturday at Idaho. The Vandals are ranked No. 25 in the FCS Coaches Poll three weeks after knocking off No. 3 Montana 30-23 in Missoula. The coaches made it clear how they feel about the Aggies’ four-game winning streak against cupcakes. None of them voted for UC Davis.

Idaho can hang its hat on upsetting Montana and losing by just three points to No. 3 Sacramento State on the road Oct. 29. UC Davis does not have one victory worthy of comparison. Narrow losses at No. 1 South Dakota State (24-22) and at home to No. 6 Weber State (17-12) are noteworthy, but there are no brownie points for falling short.

Seventeen of Hawkins’ 36 wins have come against Cal Poly, Idaho State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and Portland State. Those teams are a combined 7-23 in the Big Sky this season. Four wins were against the University of San Diego. Cal Poly is 0-6 in the Big Sky and 1-8 overall this season with that one victory coming against San Diego.

At least a few of those victories had to be taken into account when Hawkins got a six-year contract extension after last season. Cal Poly, Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado can look forward to more losses. And UC Davis fans can look forward to five more years of the Aggies being just good enough to finish in the middle of the pack.

That will likely be the Aggies’ fate this season. If this is the best team in Aggies history, maybe Hawkins should be history. What began as a feel good story when Hawkins returned has become a tale of mediocrity. And this is the worst time for UC Davis to be stuck in neutral with Taylor pushing the pedal to the metal at Sacramento State.

UC Davis raised the bar in 2018, but it now appears to be out of reach. Hawkins would have to climb on Taylor’s shoulders to stand any chance of coming close. At least he has five more years to try.

Much more on fourth-and-4

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No one would have questioned Troy Taylor had the Sacramento State coach called a running play on fourth-and-4 at Montana’s 30-yard line. Cameron Skatteboo is averaging 7.8 yards per carry and leads the Big Sky Conference in rushing yards with 851, so the sophomore was about as close as Taylor could come to having a sure thing.

Taylor figured the Grizzlies would be expecting Skatteboo to carry the ball. Taylor also anticipated Montana’s defensive backs would jam Sacramento State’s wide receivers to prevent a short pass by quarterback Jake Dunniway from turning into a first down. Taylor made it seem as if Montana would be ready for whatever play he called.

The Grizzlies had no idea what was coming. Taylor called for wide receiver Jared Gipson to run a stutter route on the right side. Gipson accelerated from the line and stutter stepped once he was inside the 25. Montana cornerback Jayden Dawson must have thought Gipson was gearing down to turn back and be in clear view for Dunniway.

Dawson bit on the stutter move and Gipson sprinted past him to catch Dunniway’s pass just inside the 5 before going out of bounds. The Grizzlies argued that Gipson had stepped out as he made the catch, but an instant replay review upheld the ruling on the field.

As the play was being reviewed, Gipson watched the replay on the Hornet Stadium scoreboard and it “showed I was clearly out of bounds. I was like ‘Oh no.’ My heart dropped.” His disappointment did not last long as the review upheld his reception for 26 yards.

Gipson was confident the play would work because practice makes perfect – or at least close enough. “We run the play so much that it’s almost like perfection ,” he said. “Well, not perfection. I wouldn’t say perfection. We’re just really good at it.”

The Grizzlies might have prompted Taylor’s call with their aggressive defense. “They bring a lot of pressure and a lot of movement. And they kept bringing it,” Taylor said. “It was a perfect opportunity (for the stutter route) and our guys executed it.”

Dunniway has come to think along the same lines as Taylor and was not surprised by the coach’s call even though the senior admitted it was “ballsy. Dunniway added, “(The Grizzlies) were probably thinking we were going to run the ball or throw something short. I thought it might work because they were trying to jam us.”

Asher O’Hara replaced Dunniway on the next play and dashed into the end zone for his 12th rushing touchdown this season to tie the score with 3:39 to play. O’Hara added his 13th in overtime with a 7-yard run as Sacramento State improved to 7-0 with a 31-24 victory.

Students stormed the field last Saturday as midnight approached to celebrate. Dunniway heard the coaches calling for the players to go to the locker room, but he could not break away from all the hugs and pats on the back. ESPN2 televised the game, so a national audience saw how the FCS half of Division I football can be captivating.

Another battle is in store for Sacramento State at 6 p.m. Saturday when Idaho visits Hornet Stadium for a showdown between 4-0 Big Sky teams. The Vandals are 5-2 overall and their two losses have come against FBS teams, Washington State and Indiana.

Quarterback pulls rank at UCD

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Ulonzo Gilliam carries more weight at UC Davis than his 189 pounds. His teammates listen intently whenever Gilliam speaks because the senior running back has earned their respect in word and deed. He is not just a team captain on a power trip when it comes to addressing his teammates.

Gilliam and sophomore linebacker Teddye Buchanan were voted team captains before the start of the season. Gilliam is the first three-time captain in the program’s history. To put that distinction in perspective, four former Aggies who played in the NFL – Ken O’Brien, Mike Moroski, Bo Eason and J.T. O’Sullivan – are among the players who were two-time captains.

Buchanan and Gilliam are joined by two additional captains whom they pick for each game. There will be just one additional captain in the final four games. Quarterback Miles Hastings will join Gilliam and Buchanan beginning on Saturday when Cal Poly visits Davis.

Coach Dan Hawkins made the announcement at his weekly press conference Monday. Hawkins shared that Gilliam made a point when addressing the team to say he was not picking Hastings as a captain just for the Battle for the Golden Horseshoe. Gilliam added three games because of all Hastings has endured – losing the starting job last year, regaining it this season and proving he can take charge of the offense.

“That’s how strongly (Gilliam) and the rest of the guys feel about it,” Hawkins said. “Every quarterback goes through an up-and-down journey. I always say a quarterback has to walk through the valley of death at some point in his career. (Hastings) never wavered. He’s never batted an eye.”

Hastings opened more than a few eyes in the past two weeks as UC Davis routed Northern Arizona 56-27 at home and Northern Colorado 58-10 in Greeley, Colo. The sophomore completed 39 of 47 passes (83 percent) for 579 yards and five touchdowns in the lopsided victories. And he did not throw an interception in either game. That is certainly worth noting.

Interceptions were a problem in 2021 for Hastings, who was picked off eight times in 215 passing attempts. He threw five interceptions in the final three games, including two in a 56-24 loss at South Dakota State in the FCS playoffs. A season that began with five consecutive victories ended with three losses in a row, leaving the disappointed Aggies with an 8-4 record.

“I didn’t play well last year toward the end. We didn’t finish the season the way we wanted,” said Hastings, who has thrown for 1,840 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. He leads the Big Sky Conference in average passing yards per game at 262.9. He is second in passing yards and completion percentage (68.3).

Eight victories are out of reach this season for the Aggies, who are 3-4 and will likely have to win their final four games to stand any chance of returning to the FCS playoffs. That will be a tall task with two games on the road against ranked teams – No. 14 Idaho on Nov. 12 and No. 2 Sacramento State in the 68th annual Causeway Classic on Nov. 19. Stay tuned.

Hornets unleash Skatteboo

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Cameron Skatteboo had yet to be unleashed last October when Sacramento State traveled to Montana and came away with a 28-21 victory. The win was the first for the Hornets in 13 trips to Missoula. The loss was the first at home for the Grizzlies since 2018.

Skatteboo was a sophomore at Rio Linda High School in 2018. He made the varsity team and proved he belonged with the big boys, running for 992 yards and nine touchdowns. That was a preview of coming attractions. Skatteboo was honored as the Sacramento Bee Offensive Player of the Year in 2019 after leading the Knights to the state Division 5A championship by running for 3,550 yards and scoring 42 touchdowns.

Rio Linda’s playbook was easy for Skatteboo to comprehend because there were just six running plays out of the Power I formation. Sacramento State’s offense is far more challenging with multiple formations and personnel packages. Hornets head coach Troy Taylor admits to asking more of his running backs than taking a handoff and finding a hole, so Skatteboo was overwhelmed when he first looked at the playbook.

“It was shell shock for sure,” Skatteboo said after practice Tuesday. “I know I’m a smart football player and could learn the playbook. It took a minute to get going. I knew I could get the hang of it. It was just a matter of time for the coaches to trust that I got it.”

Opportunity knocked for Skatteboo last season when junior Elijah Dotson left the program and entered the transfer portal. Skatteboo climbed one rung on the depth chart and playing time followed because Taylor shuffles running backs in and out of the game. Skatteboo saw extensive action for the first time against Northern Arizona last Oct. 23. The freshman’s first run went for 6 yards. His second was an 11-yard burst for a touchdown to give Sacramento State a 30-0 lead en route to a 44-0 victory.

Skatteboo rushed for a team-high 117 yards on 10 carries against the Lumberjacks. After having just two carries for 19 yards in the first five games, Skatteboo ran for 501 yards and six touchdowns on 55 carries in the final six games. He came close to gaining a first down every time he tucked the ball into his arms, averaging 9.12 yards per carry.

“We knew (Skatteboo) was going to be pretty good, but we also knew he had a lot to learn,” Taylor said. “He started getting more and more reps (in practice), so he got comfortable in the offense and got confident. That allowed him to play fast and physical.”

Montana will get its first look at Skatteboo on Saturday night when the Grizzlies invade Hornet Stadium at 8 p.m. ESPN2 picked a great game to televise nationally. Sacramento State is 6-0 for the first time since 1991, ranked No. 2 in the FCS poll for the first time in the program’s history and is the only Division I team (FBS or FCS) to have not trailed at any time in a game this season. Montana is 5-1 and ranked No. 7.

Eastern Washington can give Montana a scouting report of what to expect from Skatteboo, who rushed for a career-high 201 yards and caught a touchdown pass last Saturday in the Hornets’ 52-28 win over the Eagles. Jake Dunniway and Asher O’Hara split time at quarterback as usual. Dunniway threw for three touchdowns and O’Hara ran for three to give him a team-high 11 rushing scores. Skatteboo is second with five.

Skatteboo has no problem with O’Hara carrying the ball in goal-line situations. And even if he did, he would never say anything. “I’ve never complained, ” he said. “No matter who gets the ball, it’s never been a fight. Of course, I want the ball. I might have thought it myself, but that’s not something you bring to the attention of anybody else. You keep that to yourself and you keep your head down and you play for your tea

Ex-Viking now inflicting pain

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**Armon Bailey (30) relied on his teammates** **for support as he battled injuries.**

Most of Armon Bailey’s teammates bolted to the locker room once practice ended Tuesday at Sacramento State. Bailey remained on the field for extra work as if the senior was a freshman or sophomore trying to impress the coaches in hopes of earning playing time. Bailey starts at inside linebacker for the Hornets, so his playing time is a given.

Northern Colorado will see plenty of Bailey on Saturday when the Bears pay a visit to Sacramento to battle the Hornets at 6 p.m. The Bears may be in for a long night because they are 2-3 and have allowed an average of 44 points in the three losses. The Hornets are 4-0 and ranked fifth in the latest FCS poll. They are averaging 45 points a game.

Bailey does not take any game for granted. The Vanden High graduate has come too far and endured too much to think he has got it made. Injuries forced Bailey to miss four games in 2019 and nine last season. The Hornets opted not to play in the spring of 2021 when COVID-19 led to the 2020 season being rescheduled and reduced to five spring games.

Spending a few minutes after practice to sharpen his skills is nothing compared with all the Saturdays he spent in street clothes on the sideline. Bailey is majoring in criminal justice, but he has already earned a degree in perseverance. It would have been so easy to toss in his doo rag and limp away with little to show for his college career.

**Defensive coordinator Andy Thompson never lost faith in senior Armon Bailey**.

Defensive coordinator Andy Thompson never lost faith in Bailey because Bailey never gave Thompson a reason to do so. Bailey attended all team meetings and studied film with his teammates even when he was a bystander at practice and games.

“You have to keep yourself engaged with the team,” said Thompson, who coaches the linebackers. “When you’re connected with the team, when you know your coaches and teammates care about you, you can get through the tough times. (Bailey’s) injuries were setbacks. They were bumps in the road and he had to overcome them.”

The support of his teammates was all Bailey needed to push through his injuries in hopes of rejoining them on the field one day. Injured players are easy to dismiss when they have nothing to contribute, but Bailey’s teammates never turned their backs on him.

“I had dark days, but my teammates were always there to pull me out of it,” Bailey said. “I tried to stay with my teammates as much as possible. I tried to stay inside the game.”

His days are much brighter this season. Bailey leads the Hornets in tackles with 25 after having a total of 16 in victories over Colorado State and Cal Poly the past two weeks. In each of those weeks, he was named the Defensive Player of the Week in the Big Sky Conference. Bailey is just the third defensive player in school history to earn the award twice in a season. Anybody want to bet he will be the first to do it three times?

The awards are a testament to Bailey’s commitment to the Hornets. He strived to come back as much for his teammates and coaches as he did for himself. “That speaks to his character,” Thompson explained. “It’s easy to coach kids who work real hard and are unbelievable people off the field. Armon is an unbelievable kid.”

Bailey believed in himself even in the darkest times. So did Thompson. “He never gave up on me,” Bailey said. “I never had a doubt that I was going to make it back.”

UC Davis gets kicked around

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UC Davis coach Dan Hawkins admitted Monday to asking too much of kicker Isaiah Gomez in Saturday’s 17-12 loss to Weber State. Gomez set a school record for field-goal attempts in a game with five. And all five came in the first half. The senior made two, shanked two and Weber State’s Maxwell Anderson got a hand on the fifth to send it wide right.

Each miss came from 50 yards. It was surprising that Hawkins called for a field goal from that distance because Gomez has never made a field goal longer than 45 yards. And Gomez has been inconsistent this season, missing as many field goals (six) in four games as he did in 12 games last year.

“I really trust (Gomez) a lot,” Hawkins said, “so I probably put him in some bad situations.” Those situations may have been born out of desperation because the offense scored more touchdowns (six) in defeating San Diego 43-13 on Sept. 17 than it has in three losses (five).

**UC Davis tight end McCallan Castles is stopped just short of the goal line after catching a pass from Miles Hastings.**

His first 50-yard try Saturday was in the first quarter after quarterback Miles Hastings’ 3-yard pass to running back Ulonzo Gilliam on third-and-12. That was after a 1-yard pass to wide receiver Justin Kraft on second down at the Weber State 36-yard line. The Aggies seemed intent on keeping a tight leash on Hastings, who completed 39 of 57 passes with 21 going for 5 or fewer yards.

Gomez bounced back with a 41-yard field goal with 7:47 to play in the first half to leave UC Davis trailing 14-6. His second miss from 50 came four minutes later. The Aggies gave Gomez one more opportunity by forcing the Wildcats to punt with 1:50 to go. Hastings completed seven consecutive passes for 59 yards to give UC Davis a first-and-goal at the Weber State 1. Hastings made it eight in a row with a pass on first down to tight end McCallan Castles, but Castles was tackled short of the goal line.

That left Hawkins with a choice of going for a touchdown or settling for a gimme field goal from 18 yards. To put that in perspective, an extra-point kick is 20 yards. Hawkins opted for a field goal, but Weber State’s Maxwell Anderson came around the left side to deflect the kick and send it wide right.

Hawkins defended his decision to go for three points because “you don’t want to chase points. It was too early to chase points. If we got that field goal, we’d be down by one score coming out of the tunnel (for the second half).”

**Weber State’s Maxwell Anderson (3) celebrates with his teammates after deflecting a short field-goal attempt.**

Gomez’s right leg got a break in the second half. He was needed for one kickoff after Hastings’ 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver C.J. Hutton with 5:33 to go in the third quarter. The Aggies went for a two-point conversion, but Hastings’ pass to wide receiver Lance Babb fell incomplete.

The loss was difficult for Hawkins to accept because he believes his team outplayed Weber State. The statistics bear that out. The Aggies outgained the Wildcats 417-356, ran 21 more plays, had a six-minute edge in time of possession and forced three turnovers without once giving the ball away.

“You look at the stats and you’d think ‘Boy, the Aggies won that game,’ but we didn’t,” Hawkins explained. “Anytime you get three turnovers and you don’t turn it over, you’re probably going to win that game. “

Hawkins stuck out his neck earlier this month when he proclaimed his 2022 team will be the best in history. The Aggies are 1-3 and likely will be 1-4 after playing Montana State in Bozeman on Saturday. Montana State is ranked fourth in the latest FCS poll and has won six in a row against UC Davis.

Saturday’s game will be on ESPNU at 7:15 p.m.

Baseball is his career, life

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Rule No. 1 on a road trip for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats is no coach or player can go No. 2 in the bus bathroom. Jim Czajkowski has been on more buses that he would care to count in his 22 years as a minor-league pitching coach, including the past two with the Fisher Cats. The 1982 Fairfield High School graduate would much rather have a 10-hour trip stretch to 12 if a few extra stops will keep the bus smelling as fresh as a daisy.

Czajkowski speaks from experience after spending 34 seasons in professional baseball, including 12 as a player. The Fisher Cats ended their season at home Sunday when four pitchers combined on a shutout in a 1-0 win over the Harrisburg Senators. With a one-year contract, Czajkowski has no idea if the Fisher Cats or any other team will offer him a job for a 35th season. This is his second stint with the Fisher Cats. His first was in 2014.

His 59th birthday will arrive Dec. 18, so more than half of his life has been spent coaching in Georgia, Virginia. Florida, Canada and New Hampshire. “I used to think I should get a 9 to 5 job so I could be home and play with (sons Josh and Zak),” Czajkowski said. “As long as there’s a place for me, I’m going to keep doing it.”

There is no way Czajkowski could do it without the support of his wife Cheri. He recalled how the couple relied on loans to make ends meet when he was pitching in the minor leagues and was not paid for going to spring training. All those years of living with a tight budget paid off in 1994 when he made it to the major leagues. Czajkowski made his debut with the Colorado Rockies on July 29, 1994, two weeks before a strike by major-league players halted the season.

“I prayed and asked God to give me just one day in the big leagues, I got 15 times what I asked for. I kept thinking, ‘Why didn’t I ask for five years?’” said Czajkowski, who had one memorable moment during those 15 days.

Czajkowski joined the Rockies in San Francisco for a four-game series with the Giants. He managed to get 75 tickets for each game so his family and friends would be on hand if he happened to pitch. The call came in the seventh inning of the second game with Barry Bonds, Matt Williams and Darryl Strawberry to bat for the Giants. Each hit a single to produce a run, but a double play bailed Czajkowski out of the inning with no more damage.

His second opportunity came in the series finale. The Rockies were fuming after accusing Giants pitchers of throwing beanballs earlier in the series. An inside pitch to Andres Gallaraga left the Colorado slugger with a broken hand. Having Czajkowski settle the score would have made sense because the no-name rookie had nothing to lose.

That was not Czajkowski’s intent after allowing home runs to Bonds and Williams. Pitching inside got him to the major leagues and he figured he had to stick with that strategy if he was going to survive. The Giants thought otherwise after he plunked Royce Clayton and Kurt Manwaring to ignite a bench-clearing brawl.

“I faced Royce in Double A and I knew he liked the ball out over the plate. I pitched him in,” Czajkowski said. “I would throw my fastball on guys’ hands and they would hate it. I knew if I was going to stay in the league, I had to pitch how I pitch. I had to own the inside.”

Czajkowski was fearless to the extent of balking at an order from manager Don Baylor to issue an intentional walk to Bonds. “I would have rather thrown four pitches inside,” Czajkowski said, “and maybe even hit him.”

His time in the major leagues amounted to 8 2/3 innings in five appearances with the Rockies. His duty now as a minor-league coach is to develop pitchers so they will make it to the major leagues and last longer than he did.

“I play a part in getting them to where they’re going and they all want to get to the next level,” Czajkowski said. “With the technique these guys have, it’s easy to throw hard. It’s still not easy to throw strikes.”

Making a living as a minor-league pitching coach is not easy, but there is nothing Czajkowski would rather be doing. “It’s been a long road. I stuck with it even though it was tough at times,” he said. “I get to watch a baseball game every night. That’s a pretty good gig.”