Sanders awakes offense with career high day
Out gained by 11 yards, and tied at the end of the first quarter
0-0 with an overmatched Weber State team, Rahsaan Sanders decided
to be the one to wake up his teammates.
Sanders ran for a career high 123 yards and one score in the
Rams 31-7 victory on Saturday. It was his third 100-yard game of
his career. His one touchdown came during the first drive of the
second quarter, which saw CSU march 68 yards down the field, thanks
in large part to Sanders.
“The hole just opened up.” Sanders said. “I don’t think that I
got touched. It was real nice.”
Sanders also had a chance to score his second touchdown of the
game during the first drive of the fourth quarter when he broke a
38-yard run, but was caught from behind at the Weber State 32-yard
line.
Former star running back Cecil Sapp, who now resides on the
Denver Broncos’ practice squad after an impressive preseason, was
on hand to witness Sanders get caught from behind.
“I was disappointed,” Sapp said with a laugh. “I told him if
that were me, I would have scored.”
Sanders didn’t have to worry too much about scoring that final
touchdown because by then, thanks to his second quarter
performance, the Rams had the game well in hand. After Sanders
found the end zone, backfield mate Marcus Houston also found the
end zone with an impressive 7-yard run that concluded with Houston
spinning out of a tackle and crawling over a pile of Wildcat
players. The Sanders-Houston duo totaled 213 yards on 36 carries
and two touchdowns while alternating every possession in the
backfield.
“We get to mix it up this way,” Sanders said. “It’s the best
thing for us. The switching keeps both backs fresh.”
Weber State Head Coach Jerry Greybeal seemed to agree.
“Both backs are talented running backs,” Greybeal said. “Both
are obviously able to run the ball well and bring a different
approach to the game.”
With the two-headed monster taking care of the groundwork, the
Ram offense found its groove collecting 494 yards of total offense.
Weber State finished with 212 yards, 131 of those yards coming in
the final three quarters.
“When you have two quality backs, it’s real nice,” said
quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt. “Whenever we struggle it’s nice to
hand off the ball to both of these guys.”
Sanders also finds motivation while watching Houston run.
“It gets me motivated to see Marcus make a nice run,” Sanders
said. “It makes me wish that I was in there running the ball. We
are real happy to see each other run for 100 yards, it’s a great
one-two tandem.”
In the end, Sanders turned out to be the back doing the
motivating on Saturday.
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