The Cal Poly football team was in desperate need of a win on Saturday, and Andre Broadous rallied the team to 48-14 victory over South Dakota State University on Armed Forces Day at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. The United States Navy flew F/A-18 Hornets over the stadium prior to the game, but the real aerial show was performed by Cal Poly’s offense.
The Jackrabbits (1-2) were outmatched from the beginning as Broadous connected with Jarred Houston on a 29 yard touchdown pass on the Mustangs (1-2) first possession. Broadous, making the first home start of his career, threw for a career high 213 yards on 12 of 16 passing. He also rushed for 69 yards and two scores.
“Starting at home is definitely exciting,” Broadous said. “It is easier communication wise and it gives the team a sense of confidence.”
His 23 yard scramble for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter put Cal Poly up for good. Slot backs Mark Rodgers and David Mahr had explosive receiving days. Rodgers had a 69 yard touchdown reception and Mahr had a 41 yard catch that set up Broadous’ one yard touchdown run.
Once the Jackrabbits adjusted to try to slow Broadous’ passing, the Mustang rushing attack kicked it into gear against an undersized Jackrabbit defense. Senior fullback Jake Romanelli had 100 yards rushing, and Akaninyene Umoh contributed 51 yards on nine carries. It was Romanelli’s second career 100 yard rushing game. Overall, the Mustangs rushed for 289 yards, including three touchdowns, and did not surrender a turnover.
After struggling against the pass in its first two games, the Cal Poly defense made big plays on Saturday. Defensive end Kyle Murphy set the tone early when he sacked South Dakota State quarterback Thomas O’Brien on the third play of the game, the first sack of the season.
Murphy had three sacks and batted down a pass as the defense harassed O’Brien all day long. Sullivan Grosz also had two sacks. The defense also intercepted the South Dakota State quarterback three times, returning two for touchdowns.
Cornerback Bijon Samoodi returned an interception 46 yards in the second quarter to extend the Mustang lead to 27-7. Samoodi proved to be Cal Poly’s leading tackler with eleven stops, too
With 4:05 left in the third quarter Asa Jackson intercepted an O’Brien pass as the Jackrabbits tried to cut into the Mustangs 20 point lead and rocketed up the sideline 100 yards for the touchdown to clinch the game.
Jackson’s return tied a school record set in 1968 by Ross Bauer against San Francisco State. It was Jackson’s second career interception return for a touchdown. His first also came against the Jackrabbits in 2009.
The Mustangs rush defense was dominant throughout the game. They held the Jackrabbits to 38 rushing yards and stifled their wildcat formation.
Alex G. Spanos Stadium witnessed its fourth ever sell out for a football game Saturday with 11,075 fans.
Sept. 3 v. San Diego State
The disappointment was palpable when the Mustang football team left the locker room. Heads hung low, but head coach Tim Walsh patted players on the back and asked, “What did you learn?”
Having managed to keep the game within 14 points going into the second half the team thought they might have a chance to pull another upset against San Diego State following victories in 2006 and 2008.
But when the Aztecs Ryan Lindley found Colin Lockett for a touchdown midway through the third quarter and with the Mustang offense faltering, the game was out of reach and San Diego State cruised to a 49-21 victory at Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday night.
Walsh said that part of the slow start in the third quarter was due to the Mustangs headsets malfunctioning. The team looked disorganized and sloppy without the offensive coordinator being able to call in plays from the booth.
“We sputtered three consecutive series and from that point on we didn’t play very well,” Walsh said. “So give them credit for taking advantage of it but we had opportunities that we couldn’t take advantage of.”
In the first quarter Aztecs jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead, scoring on two out of their first three drives with the help of running back Ronnie Hillman who finished the game with 189 yards rushing.
Cal Poly got on the board after two big gains from Broadous. He completed his first passing attempt of 2011 to Chris Nicholls over the middle for 14 yards then sprinted down the sideline for 23 yards on the next play. Mark Rodgers punched the ball across the goal line with a three yard rush to open second quarter.
Rodgers led the team in rushing but with only 51 yards on 12 attempts.
He also showed off his passing skills when he threw to Lance Castaneda for 52 yards on a halfback toss, the longest play of the day for the Mustangs. Romanelli finished the drive plowing up the middle for 17 yards and the score on 3rd down.
The Aztecs dominated the second half as Lindley and Hillman kept the Mustang defense from committing too much to either the run or pass. Lindley finished the game with 203 yards passing and connected on four touchdowns putting himself atop the Aztec list for most passing touchdowns in a career with 71.
The Mustangs appeared to be outmatched all-around, something to be expected when playing a Football Bowl Subdivision school. Cal Poly competes in the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as I-AA, and have fewer scholarships among other disadvantages.
Jackson, who had five solo tackles, was impressed with Lindley but noted that the Mustangs need to tighten up their defense before traveling to Montana next week.
“There’s always room for improvement,” Jackson said. “I think we did some things well, but we’re going to go watch the film and see. We gave up a couple big plays that we’ve got to correct that first and foremost.”
When the Mustangs were good, their offense found a rhythm, quickly snapping the ball and keeping the Aztecs on their heels. What few passes there were opened up the rushing attack before San Diego State keyed in on the run once again.
This new style of offense, essentially a no-huddle triple-option attack, has the ability to keep defenses guessing but the size and speed of SDSU kept it from clicking on all cylinders. Broadous’ main duty, when he was not scrambling to avoid defensive lineman, appeared to be directing traffic, deciding when and where to hand the ball off or to keep it.
Walsh said that play calling was more cautious than it will be for the rest of the season, rushing the ball 46 times while only attempting 14 passes.
“We might have been a little more conservative than we wanted to be but that’s the way it goes,” Walsh said. “At 28-14 we were back in the game and we’d only thrown two passes at that point.”
Running back Rodgers actually led the team in passing until the fourth quarter when Broadous set up Cal Poly’s lone second-half touchdown, finding Brandon Michalkiewicz for a 49 yard completion. Broadous finished the drive from two yards out with a rush up the middle.
Broadous finished the game 6 of 13 passing with 95 yards and at least three balls were dropped on screen plays.
“I think we have to do a better job adjusting in the second half,” Broadous said. “We moved the ball a lot, we’ve just got to finish drives.”
The final score of the game came on the ensuing kickoff as Colin Lockett found a seem and went untouched into the end zone for a 94 yard return.