ALAMOSA, Colo. — Humboldt State showcased its offensive prowess and defensive resilience Saturday, building an early lead and holding off Adams State for a 36-24 victory in its season-opener.
Senior running back Bobby Thomas rushed for 143 yards on 23 carries, and sophomore quarterback Mike Proulx passed for 336 yards, completing 20 of 29 passes in a balanced offensive effort. Senior wide receiver Matt Smith was the recipient of three touchdown passes among his seven total catches for 138 yards.
Rolling up 507 yards of total offense, the Jacks had to overcome their own mistakes to record their first win in a season-opener since 2006. Humboldt State was assessed a staggering 20 penalties for 182 yards.
“Twenty penalties isn't going to get it done on most Saturdays,” HSU head coach Rob Smith said. “We've got to clean that up. We're still a young team, and we're a team that is so excited to play that we're going to make some mistakes.”
Quarterback Stephen Baca was a one-man gang for Adams State, finishing 18-of-32 passing for 178 yards and also leading his team in rushing with 91 yards on 16 carries.
Setting the tone on the Jacks' first play from scrimmage, Proulx connected with Corey Stollmeyer, who made two defenders miss on his way to a 77-yard scamper for the touchdown.
“It was great execution, and great downfield blocking,” Smith said. “Corey's an excellent running back, and we got the ball in the hands of a good football player and he did what good players do.”
Humboldt State survived three penalties that helped Adams State's subsequent drive, stopping the Grizzlies at the 8-yard-line and forcing a field goal attempt. The chipped-shot was missed, however, preserving the 7-0 lead.
Mixing runs and passes, the Jacks engineered an 8-play, 80-yard drive for another first-quarter touchdown. Thomas bulled across from 2 yards out, putting the Jacks ahead, 14-0.
“Adams State has not allowed teams to run the ball against them,” Smith said. “The fact that we were able to starts with our guys up front. (Offensive linemen) Taylor Boggs and Riordan Gomez did not miss a workout all summer long. They made a commitment and it showed today.”
Adams State found itself deep in its own territory following the kickoff, and the Jacks' defense took advantage of the situation. A host of HSU players led by Justin Hornsby trapped Baca in the endzone, recording a safety to put the Jacks up, 16-0.
The Grizzlies got on track early in the second quarter, moving the ball 59 yards in 11 plays for their first score. Baca finished it off with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Buderus, cutting the lead to 16-7.
Keeping the ball on the ground for much of their next drive, the Jacks completed it with an 11-yard TD pass from Proulx to Smith. The Grizzlies countered with a long play of their own, burning the Jacks' defense with a 65-yard scoring completion from Baca to Dustin Bolt that cut the Jacks' lead to 23-14 by halftime.
Adams State took advantage of the game's first turnover, an interception that Bryant Williams ran back 30 yards to the HSU 31-yard line. Three plays later Baca broke through several would-be tacklers for a 22-yard touchdown run, cutting the lead to 23-21 with 11:19 remaining in the third quarter.
Varying the attack again, the Jacks passed six times and rushed four in a 65-yard drive that ended when Proulx connected with Smith again, this time for a 8-yard touchdown pass. The PAT kick failed, however, leaving HSU with a 29-21 lead as the quarter ended.
Early in the fourth, Humboldt State's defense again augmented an Adams State drive with pass interference, roughing the passer and offsides penalties, helping move the ball to the Jacks' 4-yard line. But the unit tightened, keeping the Grizzlies out of the endzone and forcing them to settle for Dustin Bolt's 21-yard field goal.
Wes Montgomery's interception turned the momentum with 3:01 remaining to be played, giving the ball back to the Jacks on their own 46-yard line. Thomas exploded through the line for an apparent 18-yard touchdown scamper, but a holding penalty negated the score and kept the outcome in doubt.
HSU gambled on fourth and seven, and Proulx rolled the winner when he hit Smith in the corner of the endzone for a 36-24 lead with 19 seconds left.
“There was no reason not to throw it there,” Smith said. “Every time we were lined up in what we call our tough alignment, we can run that play. We preach giving Matt Smith and our other receivers the chance to make that play.”
Humboldt State heads back to Arcata for its home-opener, scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday in Redwood Bowl. The Jacks will take on Western Oregon in a game that also marks the start of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Humboldt State...... 16 7 6 7 - 36 Record: (1-0)
Adams State......... 0 14 7 3 - 24 Record: (0-2)
Scoring Summary:
1st 11:10 HSU - Stollmeyer, C. 77 yd pass from Proulx, M. (Schierholt, K. kick), 1-77 0:13, HSU 7 - ASC 0
03:06 HSU - Thomas, Bobby 1 yd run (Schierholt, K. kick), 8-80 4:04, HSU 14 - ASC 0
02:54 HSU - TEAM safety, , HSU 16 - ASC 0
2nd 11:43 ASC - Bryce Buderus 4 yd pass from Stephen Baca (Dustin Bolt kick), 11-59 5:04, HSU 16 - ASC 7
08:28 HSU - Smith, M. 11 yd pass from Proulx, M. (Schierholt, K. kick), 7-80 3:15, HSU 23 - ASC 7
07:20 ASC - Dustin Bolt 65 yd pass from Stephen Baca (Dustin Bolt kick), 3-80 1:08, HSU 23 - ASC 14
3rd 11:19 ASC - Stephen Baca 22 yd run (Dustin Bolt kick), 3-31 1:05, HSU 23 - ASC 21
01:08 HSU - Smith, M. 8 yd pass from Proulx, M. (Schierholt, K. kick failed), 10-65 4:16, HSU 29 - ASC 21
4th 11:45 ASC - Dustin Bolt 21 yd field goal, 10-62 4:15, HSU 29 - ASC 24
00:19 HSU - Smith, M. 24 yd pass from Proulx, M. (Schierholt, K. kick), 7-52 2:42, HSU 36 - ASC 24
HSU ASC
FIRST DOWNS................... 23 18
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 39-171 23-102
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 336 184
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 29-20-1 35-19-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 68-507 58-286
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-2 4-35
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 4-78 2-51
Interception Returns-Yards.... 2-2 1-30
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 6-37.8 4-39.0
Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards............... 20-182 7-76
Possession Time............... 34:55 25:05
Third-Down Conversions........ 4 of 12 6 of 12
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 1 of 1 0 of 0
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 4-4 2-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-9 1-3
RUSHING: Humboldt State-Thomas, Bobby 28-143; Stollmeyer, C. 3-13;
Proulx, M. 5-12; Ricciarulli, N. 1-6; Boggs, T. 1-0; TEAM 1-minus 3. Adams
State-Stephen Baca 16-91; Bryce Buderus 4-9; Ryland Snow 3-2.
PASSING: Humboldt State-Proulx, M. 20-29-1-336. Adams State-Stephen Baca
18-33-2-178; Sean McDougal 1-2-0-6.
RECEIVING: Humboldt State-Smith, M. 7-138; Stollmeyer, C. 6-109; Devlin,
M. 5-59; Dallas, D. 1-20; Thomas, Bobby 1-10. Adams State-Dustin Bolt 6-95; Ryan
Hedberg 6-48; Shane McBurney 3-18; Bryce Buderus 2-12; Mohamad Hasoon 1-6; Scott
Kellogg 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS: Humboldt State-Montgomery, W. 1-2; Gatson, E. 1-0. Adams
State-Bryant Williams 1-30.
FUMBLES: Humboldt State-Boggs, T. 1-0. Adams State-Ryland Snow 1-0.
Stadium: Rex Stadium Attendance: 2047
Kickoff time: 12:00 End of Game: 3:14 Total elapsed time: 3:14
Officials: Referee: Pat Kane; Umpire: Gary Jordan; Linesman: D.J. Bremser;
Line judge: Frank Sciaaca; Back judge: Cecil Harrison; Field judge: William White;
Side judge: Doug Fosdick; Scorer: Chris Day;
Temperature: 75 Wind: Slight Weather: Sunny, Warm
