San Jose State logged a well-taken road win 38-12 over Nevada Reno in the California Conference Northern division.
This was a very physical game and Reno did well to ask some questions of the Spartans.
It took a while for SJSU to find their shape, and the players later acknowledged that the change in altitude (Reno is over 4,000 feet above sea level) had an effect, especially earl in the game.
After halftime, San Jose State started to find their structure. Scrumhalf Migs kicked to space smartly and kept the attack moving, as well.
In the backs Kevin Hernandez and Victor Baird unleashed their speed and elusiveness, while RJ Anderson continually broke tackles.
With a faster tempo in the second half the Spartans pulled away and a try off their maul led them to the 38-12 win.
Nevada were good hosts and learned much from this game, and they are on a road to improvement.
Cal Poly Humboldt defeated Fresno State 36-27. This was an excellent road win for the Lumberjacks and moved them to 2-1. Fresno State unleashed some powerful runners and that opened up some space for Demetrius Watts at wing (three tries), and Isaia Kruse (two tries).
For Humboldt, flyhalf Jaden Ayala was very smooth in using his variety of attacking weapons, and he scored as well. Scrumhalf Tomu Sawada was consistently aggressive on offense and defense, and set the tone early with a try when he sniped off the ruck.
Fullback Sebastian Pena kicked well, going 5-for-6 on shots at goal, while the midfield tandem of Nathan Riley and Anthony Ricci, combined with No. 8 Keelan Tagoa’i, were tackline machines.
San Francisco State defeated a depth-challenged Stanford side 86-17, while American River joined SJSU at 3-0 with a 51-19 defeat of Chico State.
