San Jose State Spartans running back Jabari Bates answers questions from the media postgame, with a 163-yard rushing performance against the Cal Poly Mustangs on September 12.
By Sean Mentzer
SAN JOSE–On the opening possession, Spartans quarterback Luke Weaver fumbled trying to navigate out of the pocket on third down, giving the Mustangs the ball on the Spartans’ 32-yard line. However, the Spartans answered back, forcing the Mustangs into a turnover with an interception by sophomore Greco Carillo in the end zone.
The Spartans’ closest attempt to scoring was a 42-yard field goal that missed wide right by Trajan Sinatra.
A scoreless first quarter saw both teams try to establish their run game, but they produced little, with 39 rushing yards combined.
The Mustangs broke the scoreless tie with a touchdown from Fidel Pitts. The Mustangs missed the PAT on the same side of the field Sinatra missed his 49-yard attempt.
The Spartans answered back immediately. The passing game jolted the offense to life as the second quarter began. A 39-yard pass to Jordan Anderson set the offense up in the red zone, where a touchdown pass to Carson Clark gave the Spartans the lead.
The second quarter ended with two more field goals from Sinatra, extending the Spartans’ lead to seven.
The Mustangs wasted no time scoring to open up the second half. A quick two-minute drive was capped off by a Jaden Green touchdown to tie the game.
Halfway through the third quarter, Anthony Ivey returned a punt to the Mustangs ‘ 49-yard line, and the Spartans offense got right back to work. Jabari Bates’ running helped set up a touchdown to Cooper Hoch, giving the Spartans the lead back.
A run-heavy drive by the Mustangs tied the game 20-20 at the start of the fourth quarter. The ensuing kickoff return by Dominique McKenzie placed the offense at the Mustangs’ 44-yard line, but only mustered a field goal, giving San Jose State a three-point advantage.
As the Mustangs built up a persistent drive looking to take the lead, a jump ball thrown to the end zone was intercepted by Caleb Womack.
“It was just a great overall call by our coordinator [Bojay Filimoeatu], got me to drop back to the deep half,” Womack said. “We had the D-line just pressuring the quarterback, made him just throw the ball up, and at that point, got back to the receiver days and had to go up and get the ball.”
Bates’ tough running didn’t slow down, bringing the Spartans to midfield where Weaver threw a 41-yard pass to Clark for his second touchdown of the game.
“He just keeps his head down and goes,” quarterback Luke Weaver said about Bates. “He doesn’t complain about anything, he doesn’t sub himself out, and that’s really a testament to him.”
“Well, he’s one of our best players,” Spartans Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “And people get confused by his size; watch him in the weight room. He’s one of the strongest guys on the team pound for pound.”
The Spartans’ defense did a strong job containing Mustangs’ dual-threat quarterback Anthony Grigsby Jr., who entered tonight’s game with 96 rushing yards on the season, getting four sacks and seven tackles for loss.
The Spartans’ passing game fueled the offense all night, even when the running game came alive in the second half. Bates finished the night with 27 carries for 163 rushing yards. Maintaining that offensive balance will remain key for the Spartans when they host Fresno State on September 19.
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