Football Opens 2001 Season at Sacramento State
8/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 29, 2001
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Preview: Saint Mary's will open the 2001 season on the road against Sacramento State on Saturday, September 1 at Hornet Stadium with kickoff slated for 6:05 p.m. This will mark the fourth straight year the Gaels will open their season against the Hornets.
The game will mark the start the 76th year of Gael football as the program has compiled a 368-271-21 (.577) all-time mark. Saint Mary's posted a 6-5 record in 2000, the first winning season since the 1996 campaign when the team finished 7-4.
Radio Coverage: All Saint Mary's football games for the 2001 season can be heard on KSMC 98.5 FM and on the internet at www.SMCGaels.com. KSMC Sports Director, Denny Bulcao and Kristie Sinigiani will call the game action against Sacramento State.
Fans can access the game through the Saint Mary's website by clicking on the KSMC logo in the features section of the home page. If you don't have the real player needed to listen to the game, you can get a free download through the KSMC link.
Saint Mary's on the Web: Gael fans can access all the latest news and notes about Saint Mary's athletics on the web at www.SMCGaels.com. The official website offers the most up to date information and results of the Gaels' 15 intercollegiate sports plus much more.
The Opponent: Sacramento State is coming off a 7-4 campaign and a 5-3 record in the Big Sky Conference to finish tied for second with Portland State, Weber State and Eastern Washington. The Hornets posted victories over Saint Mary's (24-7), Cal Poly (37-18), Weber State (35-7), Montana State (24-13), Eastern Washington (25-22), Cal State Northridge (64-61), and Northern Arizona (28-24) in 2000. The 7-4 record marked the second straight year the Hornets have finished with a winning record.
Hornet head coach John Volek is 3-3 in season openers with all three wins coming against Saint Mary's in each of the last three years.
The Hornet offense will be powered by the offensive line which returns all five startersfrom last season. The line will be anchored by All-American senior center Terence Wagner. Wagner has started all 33 games in his career at Sacramento State. Coach Volek has a number of question marks at the skill positions with the loss of quarterback Ricky Ray, wide receivers Lamont Webb and Scott Towne, fullback Mike Wooster and All-American running back Charles Roberts.
The Hornet defense returns eight starters from the 2000 squad. The front four of Sacramento State, which returns intact, recorded 26 sacks last year. The experienced group will return All-Big Sky nose guard Bilal Watkins. At linebacker, Lee Turner returns for his fifth year and will start at middle linebacker. Turner recorded 31 tackles last season.
The Series: This will be the 15th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1971. The Hornets sport a 10-4 advantage over the Gaels after victories the past three seasons. Prior to the three opening day Hornet victories, Saint Mary's won three games in a row from 1993-95.
Last Meeting: The Saint Mary's football team dropped the season opener to Sacramento State (24-21) in 2000. Gael quarterback Gus Papanikolas rushed for 113 yards and was 8-for-18 for 140 yards and had three touchdowns to lead the offensive attack. Hornet running back Charles Roberts rushed for a game-high 219 yards in the victory.
After Sacramento State scored on its first drive of the game, Saint Mary's answered on the ensuing drive when Papanikolas hit J.C. Serrano for a 30-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline to knot the score at 7-7. As the second quarter got underway, Roberts scampered for a 21-yard touchdown run to give the Hornets a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter and the same lead at halftime.
The Gaels drove 76 yards in nine plays to open the second half, capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass from Papanikolas to Eric Billeci. Jimmy Sanchez hit a 48-yard field goal for Sacramento State to give the Hornets a 17-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Hornets opened the lead to 24-13 when Lamont Webb scored on a 24-yard touchdown reception from Ricky Ray. With time running down, Papanikolas led the Gael offense to a nine-play, 92 yard scoring drive to cut the score to 24-21 with just over a minute to play.
Scoring By Quarter 1 2 3 4 - FinalSacramento St. 7 7 3 7 - 24Saint Mary's 7 0 6 8 - 21
Scoring Summary SAC - SMC1st 10:02 SAC-Mike Wooster 2 yd run (Sanchez Kick) 7-0 08:19 SMC-J.C. Serrano 30 yd pass from Papanikolas (Scheppler Kick) 7-72nd 14:19 SAC-Charles Roberts 21 yd run (Sanchez Kick) 14-73rd 11:15 SMC-Eric Belleci 26 yd pass from Papanikolas (Kick Failed) 14-13 03:10 SAC-Jimmy Sanchez 48 yd field goal 17-134th 09:48 SAC -Lamont Webb 24 yd pass from Ray (Sanchez Kick) 24-13 01:08 SMC-Clint Wilson 24 yd pass from Papanikolas (Hansen pass) 24-21
2000 Recap: Tim Landis led the Saint Mary's charge to a 6-5 finish in his first year as the Gaels' head coach. The 6-5 record also marked the first winning season in the program since 1996, when the team finished 7-4.
Saint Mary's dropped the opening two games of the season before defeating Humboldt State (26-7) on the road and returning to Saint Mary's Stadium for an overtime victory over Central Washington (36-29). Saint Mary's would fall to UC Davis and Cal Poly before running past Menlo College (71-34) with a school record 71 points against the Oaks. The Gaels followed the record setting performance with a 37-20 victory over nationally ranked Colgate. Saint Mary's final loss of the season came to Southern Utah (43-14) in Ceder City, Utah, before picking up two big home wins against Towson (45-33) and Drake (45-43).
The Saint Mary's offense set or tied eight school records in the first year of the spread option attack installed by Landis. The Gaels rushed for a school record 3,409 yards and averaged 309.4 yards per game to rank fourth in I-AA football. The offense also totaled a school record 4,774 yards of total offense, 50 touchdowns, 233 first downs, and rushed for over 500 yards three times, setting a school record with 535 yards on the ground against Drake.
The Coaches: Tim Landis (Randolph-Macon, 1986) returns for his second season at the helm of the Saint Mary's football program. Landis is 41-41-1 (.500) in eight years of coaching and guided the Gaels to a 6-5 record in his first season, reviving past winning traditions. Landis, who became the 16th head coach on March 10, 2000, brings enthusiasm and a unique perspective to the field, while providing excitement to Gael football. Before being named head football coach at Saint Mary's, Landis served a seven-year stint as head coach at Davidson College where he accumulated a 35-36-1 career record. In his last two years with the Wildcats, he guided the team to historical seasons, posting an 8-2 mark in 1998 and 8-3 in 1999 - matching the school's highest win total in the 102-year history of the program.
John Volek (UC Riverside, 1968) is 24-41-1 entering his sixth season as the head coach at Sacramento State. Volek led the Hornets to a 7-4 record in 2000, his best finish at CSUS and the second consecutive winning season for Sacramento State since the 1991 and 1992 seasons. Before taking over the Hornet football program in 1995, Volek was the head coach at Fresno City College from 1988-94. He posted a 51-24-1 mark with the Rams, including three Central Valley Conference titles and six post-season bowl berths. Volek is 3-0 lifetime against Saint Mary's.
Papanikolas Back to Lead Offense: Senior quarterback Gus Papanikolas (Salt Lake City, UT) made the transition to the spread option attack a smooth one for the Gaels in 2000. Papanikolas narrowly missed becoming the first Gael to pass and rush for 1000 yards in the same season. He completed 86-of-164 passes (14 for touchdowns) for 1,236 yards and nine interceptions. He also found time to rush for 966 yards on 194 attempts and eight touchdowns. He averaged 200.2 yards per game of total offense in 2000 to rank 42nd in the nation in that category.
Following last years stellar season, Papanikolas' name can be found in the top ten in a number of Saint Mary's career records. He is currently sixth in total offense with 3,542 yards and needs 38 yards to pass Randy Nelson (3,579 yards) for fifth place and 68 yards to move into third all-time, passing Scott Wood (3,609 yards). He is seventh in passing touchdowns with 23 and needs one TD pass to pull even with Cree Morris for sixth and two TD passes to equal Randy Nelson for fifth all-time. He also has completed 189 passes in two seasons and is eighth in that category, while his 2,495 career passing yards rank ninth.
Travis White Returns to Wreak Havoc on Quarterbacks: Last season Travis White (San Pedro, CA) emerged as a valuable threat on the defensive line for the Gaels. White tallied 10 sacks from his defensive end position to finish tied for fifth in I-AA football in that category and fourth in a single season at SMC. He also posted 17 total tackles for a loss, good for seventh in a season at Saint Mary's. Following that outstanding season, White was honored with a First Team I-AA Independent selection and he garnered Don Hansen's Honorable Mention All-America status.
White's 2000 accomplishments did not go unnoticed as he was picked as Lindy's magazines I-AA Independent Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The fifth year senior currently ranks 10th at Saint Mary's with 26 career tackles for a loss.
Fifteen Starters Return from Last Season: With 15 starters returning to this years team, coach Landis and the rest of the coaching staff are excited about the 2001 season. The offense returns seven starters, four on the offensive line and three skill players, including Papanikolas, slot back Andre Coleman (Compton, CA) and wide-out Nate Brown (Pullman, WA). With this core of players returning Landis believes the experience will make the team better than it was last season - the first year of the spread option. Coleman, a converted defensive back to running back, returns after a tremendous freshman season, capped by a 220-yard rushing performance against Drake in the season finale. He rushed for 527 yards, averaged 52.7 yards per game and 8.4 yards per carry in 2000.
The defense returns eight starters from last season, which will add experience to a relatively young defensive unit. Highlighting the defense are White, defensive end David Taylor (Monrovia, CA) and free safety Weston Borba (Chowchilla, CA). Taylor led the 2000 team with seven takeaways and tallied seven sacks. He will move from linebacker to defensive end for his junior season. Borba tied Taylor for the team lead with four interceptions last season, while racking up 146 return yards and one touchdown. He also blocked the team's only punt.
Injury Report: #3 Loranzo King (Ankle), Probable, #4 Chris Klingerman (Groin), Questionable, #8 Chris Tucker (Hamstring), Probable, #18 Terrance Hudson (Knee), Out, #33 Myron Chivis (Concussion), Probable, #60 James Fabian (Knee), Out, #85 James Blades (Ankle), Out, #97 Victor Williams (Hamstring), Probable.
Next Week: The Gaels will host Humboldt State for their home opener on September 8 with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. This will be the 18th meeting between the two schools with Saint Mary's holding a 13-4 advantage in the series. The Gaels have won the last five meetings including a 26-7 victory in Arcata, CA last season. In that game Saint Mary's rushed for 512 yards and saw three players break the 100-yard mark.
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