Victorious sendoff

All facets come together for Bulldogs on senior day

By Jeffery Christian
The Collegian

Fresno State’s underclassmen and coaching staff wanted to send off the graduating seniors with a win in their final home game of what has been a disappointing and frustrating season.

The Bulldogs didn’t just win their final home game, they played their most complete game as a team and thoroughly dominated visiting Idaho in a 34-0 victory.

The win marks the second straight for the Bulldogs as the team finally seems to be gaining chemistry together.

“That was a great way for the seniors to go out. Going into this season those guys had won 23 of 28 [home] games from when they really took over,” Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. They had some great games here and I am just glad that they were able to finish in their stadium with a nice win over a much improved Idaho team.”

Despite being able to petition for an additional year of eligibility, running back Dwayne Wright decided this season will mark the end of his career at Fresno State. Wright, who graduates this year, was announced with the other seniors prior to the game.

“It was a hard decision but I just had to do what was best for me and my family. It really started sinking in after halftime when we came out I noticed that all the seniors were trying to enjoy the moment walking down the hill. I’m going to miss playing here at Bulldog stadium,” Wright said.

In his final game at Bulldog stadium, Wright rushed for 143 yards and also caught an 18-yard touchdown pass. The tailback, who has rushed for over 1,000 yards on the season, has been a workhorse for the offense and has proven skeptics that doubted his ability to return from a devastating knee injury wrong each week.

Saturday’s game was also emotional for senior safety Josh Sherley who made sure he savored the moment as much as possible on his final walk down the tunnel.

“I was sitting in that tunnel with big eyes soaking everything in and years from now I’m going to be sitting in those stands and I’ll want to remember what it was like coming out for the last time,” Sherley said.

The defensive shutout was icing on the cake for a senior group that had high expectations entering the season.

“Because of the way the season has been going it’s been really tough on the seniors because that’s the last thing we had on our mind. But getting back on track these last two games and putting a shutout on defense was a big morale booster,” Sherley said.

The defense was so dominant that Idaho was unable to move the ball past midfield and into Fresno State territory in the second half.

On Saturday Fresno State continually substituted fresh legs onto the defensive line and backfield and the result was a stifling defensive effort led by a strong pass rush and pass coverage downfield.

While the defense shutdown the Idaho offense, the Bulldogs offensive line dominated the Vandals defense. Despite playing only their second game together, the offensive line opened up holes like an experienced veteran unit as the ground game racked up 290 yards rushing.

Regardless of who was carrying the ball, Fresno State’s tailbacks shredded the Idaho defense for several long runs. Although Wright was the main fixture in the backfield, freshmen running backs Lonyae Miller and Anthony Harding both had explosive touchdown runs as well.

The success in the running game helped disguise some of the weaknesses in the passing game. Quarterback Tom Brandstater threw two touchdown passes and two interceptions and the young receivers got another game of experience and timing in the passing game.

“We’re not executing very well in that phase but I think that a lot of that has to do with the fact that we’re running guys in every play,” Hill said. As those guys get more reps we’ll get better and better but we don’t have real good timing right now. The passing game is going to come. I think we’ve got some pretty exciting athletes there and it’s just a matter of time.”

Fresno State must quickly bounce back from the emotion of Saturday’s win as they travel during an already shortened holiday week to face Louisiana Tech on Friday. The Bulldogs will end their season on the road against rival San Jose State Dec. 2.

“A year ago today we’re getting off the bus at the coliseum right now getting ready to go and where we are right now has taught us a lot,” Hill said. “It taught us a lot as players and coaches. My main thing is the ‘Dogs will be back and we’re going to be fine. The main thing I want to do is getting back to playing hardnosed aggressive football like we did tonight.”

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