The Sacramento State football team completed its offseason practice with the annual Spring Game at Hornet Stadium on April 12. Photo by Sacrament State University Athletics

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA - In front of a record-setting spring game crowd of more than 7,000 fans, the Sacramento State football team completed its offseason practice with the annual Spring Game at Hornet Stadium on April 12.
 
In a controlled setting, the offense accumulated over 500 yards and scored 10 touchdowns while the defense intercepted a pass and forced five tackles-for-loss, including three sacks.
 
"Sacramento is a football town and we're going continue to make sure we have a great fan experience to bring fans here and give them a great product on the field to be proud of," Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion said. "I just told the players that's it's really about their work and commitment to the program that's got excitement going and the buzz and the energy. None of this happens without the players' hard work and what they've done. I'm just very grateful to everybody in Sacramento who showed up and supported us."
 
The scrimmage began with the offense starting at their own 25-yard line. After allowing the offense to convert a third-and-2 for a first down, the defense responded with a third-down sack from Xavier Williams to end the drive.

The next series saw Cardell Williams lead the offense on an 11-play drive which was capped by a 1-yard rush of his own for the game's first touchdown. The two big plays in that series were an 18-yard rush from Michael Johnson and an 11-yard scamper from Williams. The defense again had a response as Jayland McGlothen sacks Williams on the final play of the first quarter.
 
The second quarter placed the ball at the defense's 40-yard line, but the defense struck first when Koa Akui intercepted Carson Conklin along the sideline for the only turnover of the game. Williams started his next series with a 40-yard toss to tight end Logan Tanner deep across the middle of the field for a touchdown.
 
After halftime, the offense was hard to slow down. Rodney Hammond caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Conklin on the opening drive and Damian Henderson II found the end zone on a 4-yard rush on the second offensive series.
 
The defense then produced back-to-back stops with an incompletion on third-and-10 and later a sack by Hunter Boeddeker on third-and-5.
 
Santino Chavez made his debut on the following series and completed all five of his pass attempts for a total of 40 yards. Chavez capped the series with a 4-yard fade to Tommy Poe for a score.
 
With ball starting at the defense's 25-yard line, Jamar Curtis tallied rushes of four, eight and 13 yards to score an offensive touchdown. The defense then got a stop and saw the offense miss a 41-yard field goal attempt to keep the team off the board. Conklin responded with a 23-yard run of his own and the drive was sealed with a 2-yard plunge from Hammond.
 
The offense continued to pile on points as Williams had a 24-yard completion to Ajon Bryant to set up a 1-yard quarterback sneak for a score. Conklin added a 4-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Norris and Hammond had a 1-yard plunge for his second score.
 
The quarterback trio of Conklin, Williams and Chavez completed 22-of-37 passes with four touchdowns and an interception. The completions were spread between 14 players with Onterrio Smith, Jr., leading the way with four receptions for 42 yards. Ten players had carries with Williams rushing for 99 yards and two scores and Curtis compiling 50 yards.
 
“I was proud of all three (quarterbacks) to just put it put it together today and go out there and give us a chance to go down the field and score," Marion said. "Today was just our base generic offense. I always say that's what you’re going to know, when the game's on the line, that's what you're going to depend on, and I was proud of how the guys operated it."
 
Defensively, Brodie Tagaloa, Xavier Williams and McGlothen each had sacks while Jalen Williams, Diego Davis and DeSean Watts combined for two tackle-for-losses.
 
"The guys flew around and made big plays," Marion said. "The first team defense shut out the one offense in the beginning and really got after it and I was proud of how they competed and how physical they were. We've got to continue to shore some things in the back end, but I like the way that the front seven is playing right now."
 
Sacramento State will start its season on Aug. 30 at South Dakota State. The team's first home game will come on Sept. 13 against Mercyhurst.