ATHERTON — Overcoming a plethora of injuries to key personnel, Humboldt State utilized its depth to pull away from Menlo College, 44-16 in a non-league game played Saturday.

With quarterback Mike Proulx and center Taylor Boggs both sitting out with injuries, and running back Bobby Thomas leaving the game early with one of his own, the Lumberjacks patched together an offensive attack that scored all six times it penetrated the red-zone. And with top defensive lineman Justin Hornsby also missing from the lineup, the Jacks forced three turnovers and held the Oaks to only three third-down conversions in 13 attempts.

The victory lifted Humboldt State to 2-1 on the season heading into next week's Great Northwest Athletic Conference game at Dixie State. Menlo College fell to 0-3 despite more than doubling the point total it managed in its first two games.

In fact, the surprising Oaks took advantage of a Humboldt State miscue in the game's early minutes, recovering an fumble at midfield and needing only eight plays to take the ball in for a score. Payton Bell finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run, and a two-point conversion gave the Oaks an 8-0 lead.

Humboldt State stalled again on its next drive attempt, with back-up quarterback Chris Bolt directing the offense in Proulx's absence. The Jacks finally put together an 8-play, 68-yard drive late in the period, Thomas rushing in from 1-yard out before the unsuccessful two-point PAT left the Jacks trailing, 8-6.

"We didn't have any continuity early in the game," Humboldt State head coach Rob Smith said. "We struggled to find the consistency that comes with having the usual presence in the huddle."

Taking the lead midway through the second period on Kyle Shierholt's 25-yard field goal, the Jacks never looked back. After Thomas sustained a leg contusion, freshman Nick Riccicardulli made his season debut by scoring from two yards out following a botched Menlo punt, and an Oaks' fumble set up the short field again, Bolt capitalizing with a 5-yard TD rush of his own that put HSU up 23-8 at the half.

HSU's first possession of the second half ended with a 44-yard touchdown pass completion from Bolt to Matt Smith, extending the lead to 30-8. But the Menlo defense pinned the Jacks at the 1-yard-line following a punt, and a holding call in the endzone provided the Oaks with a safety and the ball.

Following the free kick, Menlo's offense responded with a 7-play, 48-yard drive, quarterback Nick Ruhl's 11-yard pass to Kenny Cavness further cutting into the Jacks' lead. A failed PAT left HSU with a 30-16 advantage.

Ricciardulli and redshirt freshman Daniel Wyatt took over on the ground for the Jacks, grinding out yards in Thomas' absence.  But it was yet another Menlo turnover, this time a fumble at its own 10-yard line, that opened the door for Ricciardulli's 7-yard scoring run with just over a minute left in the third quarter.

Wyatt and Ricciardulli ran the ball 10 of the Jacks' 11 plays on their final scoring drive, briefly interrupted with an 18-yard completion from Bolt to freshman tight end Alex Hiebert that converted a big third down. Wyatt completed the march with a 3-yard touchdown run that accounted for the final margin of victory.

"What fans got today is a glimpse of our future," Smith said. "We have some talented players who put up big numbers in high school and were heavily recruited. They stepped in there and played very well for us today."

In his first collegiate start, Bolt, a sophomore, completed 15 of 26 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown. Ricciardulli racked up 78 yards on 14 carries and Wyatt finished with 32 yards on eight carries.

Defensively, linebacker Bubba Reynolds led HSU with eight tackles, six of them solo. Cornerback Elzie Gatson made five tackles to go along with two pass break-ups, and Justin Price had an interception.

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
Humboldt State......  6 17 14  7  - 44       Record: (2-1,0-1)
Menlo...............  8  0  8  0  - 16       Record: (0-3)



Scoring Summary:
1st 10:55 MENLO - Payton Bell 12 yd run (James Bassett pass from Nick Ruhl), 8-50 3:07, HSU 0 - MENLO 8
    01:53 HSU - Thomas, Bobby 1 yd run (Bolt, C. rush failed), 8-68 3:52, HSU 6 - MENLO 8
2nd 07:14 HSU - Schierholt, K. 25 yd field goal, 12-73 4:45, HSU 9 - MENLO 8
    04:14 HSU - Ricciarulli, N. 2 yd run (Schierholt, K. kick), 3-10 1:23, HSU 16 - MENLO 8
    00:21 HSU - Bolt, C. 5 yd run (Schierholt, K. kick), 3-6 0:58, HSU 23 - MENLO 8
3rd 11:04 HSU - Smith, M. 44 yd pass from Bolt, C. (Schierholt, K. kick), 3-39 0:56, HSU 30 - MENLO 8
    08:59 MENLO - TEAM safety, , HSU 30 - MENLO 10
    05:21 MENLO - Kenny Cavness 11 yd pass from Nick Ruhl (Nick Ruhl pass failed), 7-48 3:38, HSU 30 - MENLO 16
    01:09 HSU - Ricciarulli, N. 7 yd run (Schierholt, K. kick), 2-18 0:31, HSU 37 - MENLO 16
4th 05:09 HSU - Wyatt, D. 3 yd run (Schierholt, K. kick), 11-76 6:20, HSU 44 - MENLO 16



                                    HSU    MENLO
FIRST DOWNS...................       15       13
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   41-167    27-82
PASSING YDS (NET).............      191      200
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  26-15-0  36-22-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   67-358   63-282
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............     2-24      5-3
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     2-44    8-106
Interception Returns-Yards....     1-35      0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............   5-38.0   7-30.9
Fumbles-Lost..................      3-2      2-2
Penalties-Yards...............   11-101     4-25
Possession Time...............    31:10    28:42
Third-Down Conversions........  6 of 15  3 of 13
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   2 of 2   1 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      6-6      2-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........      1-8      1-5


RUSHING: Humboldt State-Ricciarulli, N. 14-78; Schierholt, K. 1-42;
Wyatt, D. 8-32; Thomas, Bobby 11-14; Bolt, C. 5-3; Stollmeyer, C. 2-minus 2.
Menlo-Nick Ruhl 6-35; Payton Bell 14-33; Cruz Castillo 2-13; Jaronimo Wright
4-3; TEAM 1-minus 2.

PASSING: Humboldt State-Bolt, C. 15-26-0-191. Menlo-Nick Ruhl
19-32-1-177; Cruz Castillo 3-4-0-23.

RECEIVING: Humboldt State-Smith, M. 6-83; Stollmeyer, C. 4-34; Dallas, D.
1-28; Ramos, K. 1-28; Hiebert, A. 1-18; Ricciarulli, N. 1-0; Allen, S. 1-0.
Menlo-Brad Wilkinson 5-23; Payton Bell 5-17; Kenny Cavness 4-54; Lance Walkup
3-31; James Bassett 2-52; Sean Villareal 1-16; Kyle Campas 1-5; CJ Mclelan 1-2.

INTERCEPTIONS: Humboldt State-Price, J. 1-35. Menlo-None.

FUMBLES: Humboldt State-Bolt, C. 1-0; Ricciarulli, N. 1-1; Thomas, Bobby
1-1. Menlo-Kenny Cavness 1-1; Brad Wilkinson 1-1.

Stadium: Conner Field          Attendance: 500
Kickoff time: 12:00 pm  End of Game: 2:58 pm   Total elapsed time: 2:58
Officials: Referee: Bruce Bondi; Umpire: Craig Large; Linesman: Brian Michelson;
Line judge: Catherine Conti; Back judge: Greg Toler; Field judge: Richard Ross;
Side judge: Craig Miers; Scorer: Johnny Pham;
Temperature: Mid 70's  Wind: Light     Weather: Clear skies