Nov. 27, 2005

DAVIS, Calif. - Jon Grant threw for 279 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Tony Kays had 125 receiving yards, as UC Davis extended its consecutive winning seasons streak to 36 while claiming a share of the Great West Football Conference Championship with a season-ending 24-14 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday at Toomey Field.

UC Davis finished its season with a 6-5 overall record, continuing a string that has season the Aggies post a winning mark every year from 1970 through the current one. The Aggies completed their conference season with a 4-1 mark, the same as Cal Poly. UC Davis beat the Mustangs, 20-13, on Oct. 29, however, there is no conference tiebreaker to decide the league champion.

Northern Colorado, which was led by 131 receiving yards from Andy Birkel, finished its season with a 4-7 overall mark and a 0-5 record in the GWFC. The Bears were held to just 31 rushing yards by UC Davis on Saturday.

Grant threw touchdown passes of 19 yards to tight end Daniel Fells in the first quarter and 10 yards to Blaise Smith in the second to help stake the Aggies to a 14-7 halftime lead. A five-yard touchdown run by Nelson Doris midway through the third period followed by a 21-yard field goal by Emmanuel Benjamin late in the same quarter helped UC Davis assume a 24-7 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Bears, who tied the game with 10 minutes, 47 seconds to go in the second quarter on a short one-yard run by fullback Garrett Bliss, picked up their final score when quarterback Nick Hager found Zac Carlson on a 27-yard soring strike early in the fourth quarter. The Aggies, however, were able to keep Northern Colorado out of the endzone the rest of the way and claim the victory.

"What a year," said Aggie coach Bob Biggs. "If you would've written this script in the beginning of the year, I would have said 'fictional."

The streak of consecutive winning seasons was in jeopardy heading into the regular-season finale during four other seasons prior to 2005. However, this season marked the first time UC Davis needed a victory to grab a winning record. During the other four times, they had a winning mark going into the final game and needed a win to maintain it.

"(It's) not a unique pressure," said senior linebacker Dan Elbanna in reference to keeping the streak alive, "but a unique opportunity."

Grant echoed similar thoughts.

"At the end, we had two goals; to have a winning season and a to win a championship," he said. "And we accomplished them both."

The league title was the first for UC Davis since tying for first in the former American West Conference in 1993 during Biggs' first year at the helm. The Aggies were an independent from 1994-2003.

UC Davis took the first step on Saturday towards accomplishing its two goals when Grant, who also rushed for a career-high 65 yards on 10 carries, capped a 10-play, 83-yard drive by hitting Fells down the middle on a 19-yard scoring pass. Smith's touchdown reception in the second finished off another long drive of 10 plays and 92 yards while Benjamin's field goal came at the end of a 13-play, 81-yard drive in the third quarter that consumed 6:59 off the clock.

The Aggie defense, meanwhile, concluded one of its finest seasons ever by holding Northern Colorado to just 31 rushing yards on 33 carries; a total that was helped by six sacks of quarterback Nick Hager. UC Davis, which entered the game with the third-best rushing defense mark in the Div. I-AA standings at 91.1 ypg., allowed just four teams this season to eclipse 100 rushing yards in a game.

Andre Wilson led the Bears with 44 net yards on Saturday but was the only Northern Colorado player with more than seven. Six different Aggies were credited with at least a half-sack, including linebacker Nolan de Graaff who had 1.5 sacks, and tackle Aaron Campbell, safety Luis Amaral and end Thomas Blake who each had one.

UC Davis broke up seven passes during the game, as well, with seven different players getting one each. Cornerback Kyle Tarp had the game's only interception. Cornerback Adam Cook led UC Davis with eight total tackles.

"This is one of the finest defensive years," said Biggs. "The challenges this defense faced week in and week out, and they way they played, was incredible."

Running back Nelson Doris paced UC Davis with 80 rushing yards, helping them to 182 for the game. Kays took the lead for the most receptions in either the I-A or I-AA stats, picking up eight more on Saturday to finish his prolific season with a school-record 93. Kays ended the season with 1,213 yards, third most for an Aggie season. His 125 yards on Saturday marked the seventh time he had at least 115 receiving yards in a game this year.

Safety Reed Doughty, a candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in I-AA, finished with 15 tackles, tying linebacker Joe Kenney for team-high honors. Linebacker Jake Duren finished with 12.

UC Davis accomplished its winning season after starting the year with an 0-2 record. However, a major upset of Pac-10 member Stanford followed by a 37-7 win over rival Sacramento State helped the Aggies get back on track. They claimed a share of the Great West Football Conference title with four straight league wins after losing their opener at South Dakota State in early October.