Nov. 18, 2006

San Luis Obispo. Calif. - No. 16 Cal Poly rushed for 434 yards and five touchdowns, posting the largest winning margin in 48 years with a 55-0 victory over Savannah State in a non-conference football game Saturday afternoon before 7,867 in newly dedicated Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

Sophomore James Noble rushed for 127 yards and one score, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his Cal Poly career, while senior Jeremy Konaris scored three times while netting 65 yards on 10 trips as the Mustangs completed the regular season with a 7-4 record, their fourth straight winning campaign.

Savannah State, held to 144 total yards, finished its season 2-9.

Cal Poly scored on its first eight possessions. The ninth Mustang drive ended at the Savannah State 7-yard line as time expired as Cal Poly never had to punt.

Noble scored on a six-yard run 4 1/2 minutes into the game and the scoring parade was on as five of Cal Poly's eight touchdowns were scored on the ground. Konaris scored on runs of 12, 5 and 20 yards -- his first touchdowns since the 2002 season -- and Tredale Tolver scored on a 30-yard run around left end.

Sophomore quarterback Matt Brennan completed just three of five passes, but two were for touchdowns -- an 18-yarder over the middle to Jon Hall in the first quarter and a 58-yarder to Anthony Randolph in the second period as Cal Poly built a 41-0 halftime lead.

The other Mustang score started with Kenny Chicoine's second interception of the game, fifth of the season and 20th of his career, a school record. After returning the theft eight yards, Chicoine lateraled the ball to linebacker Kyle Shotwell, who scampered the final 65 yards for his first career Cal Poly touchdown.

Cal Poly finished with 521 total yards, averaging 8.1 yards per play. The scoring margin equalled a 55-0 win by the Mustangs over Cal State Los Angeles in 1958.

Noble is the first running back in Cal Poly history to register back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, finishing the 2006 campaign with 1,009 yards. He joins three other Mustangs who twice rushed for 1,000 yards in a season -- Antonio Warren, Craig Young and Louis Jackson.

Savannah State, which entered Cal Poly territory only twice in the game, was led by quarterback Garrett Williams, who completed nine of 16 passes for 90 yards. Mark Williams was his favorite target with five catches for 73 yards. Chad Cone rushed for 31 yards on nine carries.

Shotwell notched eight tackles for Cal Poly, finishing eight stops shy of the 400-tackle mark for his career. Jason Relyea also had eight tackles for the Mustangs, who recorded just one sack -- by Chris White.

The $21.5 million Alex G. Spanos Stadium was officially dedicated on Saturday, expanding capacity to 11,775, and Cal Poly's 16 seniors were honored in a postgame ceremony.