ARCATA — In its three previous games this season, Humboldt State's football team has struggled to score  in the second half, totaling only five points combined. That wasn't the case Saturday when the Jacks outscored their homecoming opponent, 14-7 in the final 30 minutes.

And that's about as far as the Jacks could stretch in looking for positives during a 49-24 rout dealt them by visiting Dixie State. By halftime, the Red Storm had built a 42-10 advantage that essentially salted the game away.

The loss dropped HSU to 0-4 on the season and 0-3 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Dixie State won for the first time in four tries, improving to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in league.

"We're making mistakes across the board. We make poor decisions on offense, then don't get stops when we need to on defense and have breakdowns on special teams," HSU head coach Rob Smith said. "It's all three phases. We're completely broken. It's bad as it can get."

In front of an enthusiastic homecoming crowd of 6,603 fans, the Jacks repeatedly handed the Red Storm opportunities, and the visitors gladly capitalized. Five Dixie State scoring drives occurred after receiving the ball via an HSU turnover.

Two interceptions of Kyle Morris passes and a recovery on Kevin Cooper's fumbled punt preceded two more interceptions thrown by the Jacks' reserve quarterbacks Spencer Phillips and Casey Mintz, each responsible for one. DSC strong safety Daniel Moffett picked off three of the passes, returning them a combined total of 56 yards.

Dixie State's balanced attack was led by quarterback Griff Robles, who was 22-46 passing for 283 yards, one interception and three touchdowns. He also utilized his quick feet, rushing 19 times for a team-best 118 yards while also scoring three touchdowns on the ground.

Robles' erased all hopes of a Humboldt comeback at the end of the third quarter with a 65-yard run on third down and nine that deflated the Jacks' already leaky defense. Prior to that effort, the Jacks had gained momentum with consecutive touchdowns, Morris accounting for both with short runs that cut the deficit to 18 points at 42-24.

Dixie State took advantage again, nailing down the win with a 17-yard scoring pass from Robles to tight end Joe Don Duncan that accounted for the final margin of victory.

Even though many of the Red Storm drives began with good field position following an HSU turnover, Dixie State still managed to roll up 558 yards of total offense. HSU finished with 331 yards, 186 passing and 145 rushing.

A rare bright spot for HSU was the effort of Jamarie Sanders, who has been moved to offense from his defensive back role to fill in for the Jacks' injury-decimated running back corps. Sanders rushed 23 times for a net 149 yards and an average of 6.5 yards per carry.

Running back, where the Jacks' top three are out for an indeterminate amount of time, is one of several areas where the Jacks have suffered physically. Three starting offensive linemen were out of action Saturday, as was starting safety Gianni Olivas.

Several other Lumberjacks are hampered with injuries, including defensive back Matt Kaufman, who exited early Saturday.

"We have injuries, but so what?" Smith said.  "We're a college team, and that happens. Our lack of depth showed itself again, but It's up to me and the coaching staff to find answers."