Get used to the sound of the cannon at Hornet Stadium this year.

If Saturday night is any indication, it will be put into action a lot this season. The Hornets jumped out to a 30-0 half-time lead versus Cal Poly, and went on to take a 37-18 victory, before a crowd of 16,557, the largest home-opening crowd that Sac State has ever had.

“The fans can help us, we need them,” said head coach John Volek, visibly pleased with the large crowd that saw his team improve to 2-0. “It was great hearing them get loud in the right situations. Our fans our learning.”

The Hornet players were also pumped up by the mass of Hornet fans that surrounded them. “It feels good to have that amount of people here,” said senior running back Charles Roberts, who rushed for 240 yards on 30 carries, moving him closer to the NCAA career rushing mark, while also running for three scores.

“I felt really good out there. I had a better feeling of the offensive line,” Roberts said. “All I had to do was run through the hole.”

Sac State earned the decisive victory despite the fact that they were without senior quarterback Ricky Ray for the last three quarters. Sophomore Garrett White, whose style of play is quite different than Ray