SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sophomore free safety Kenny Chicoine intercepted two passes, returning one 68 yards for a touchdown, to lead No. 18 Cal Poly to a 58-13 non-conference victory over Sacramento State in the final football game of the regular season for both teams Saturday night.
Cal Poly, trying to earn its first-ever NCAA Division I-AA playoff berth, will learn Sunday if it is one of 16 teams invited to the postseason. ESPNews will carry the selection show live at 10:10 a.m. and the Mustang football team will watch the show at Firestone Grill in downtown San Luis Obispo.
Chicoine picked off his sixth and seventh passes of the season, a new DIvision I-AA school record. Kyle Shotwell also had an interception as Cal Poly finished with 25 for the regular season, two short of the school record.
The Mustang defense recorded seven sacks, giving Cal Poly 50 for the season, a new school record. Old mark of 46 was set by the 1990 squad.
Defensive end Chris Gocong, the nation's leader with 14.5 sacks entering Saturday's game, picked up three more against the Hornets while linebacker Jordan Beck had a pair.
Another school record was set by Beck as he collected 11 tackles, raising his season total to 135 and breaking the old mark of 128 he set a year ago.
Cal Poly earned its third win of the season against a Big Sky opponent for the first time and improved to 9-2 overall, its best record since going 10-1 in 1997. Cal Poly was ranked 16th in the final poll that season, but was not invited to the playoffs because of its strength of schedule.
Cal Poly's 58-point total is the highest since beating Sonoma State 64-30 in 1994, Cal Poly's first season in Division I-AA.
Junior quarterback Anthony Garnett completed 12 of 24 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown -- a 17-yarder to Adam Martinez late in the second quarter which gave the Mustangs a 24-7 halftime lead.
Six Mustangs scored touchdowns on the ground.
Senior running back Geno Randle finished a yard shy of his seventh career 100-yard game, netting 99 yards on a career-high 26 rushes. He scored on a five-yard run in the first quarter.
Backup quarterback Cordel Webb added 73 yards on 12 carries, all in the second half, and scored on a 15-yard run. Garnett contributed 45 yards and one touchdown on a two-yard run.
Also scoring rushing touchdowns for the Mustangs were Martinez (2 yards), Matt McCormick (6 yards) and Josiah Jennings (2 yards).
Senior placekicker Byungwoo Yoon added a 26-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Senior Darrell Jones was Cal Poly's top receiver with five catches for 98 yards. He now has 177 career receptions, a school record, for 2,460 yards (No. 3 at Cal Poly). His 62 catches this season is tied for No. 2 all-time with Jon Peck.
Jonah Russell added four catches for the Mustangs.
Sacramento State (3-8) was led by senior quarterback Ryan Leadingham, who completed 11 of 27 passes for 153 yards and one touchdown -- a one-yard pass to McRuben MFleurinord early in the second quarter -- with three interceptions.
Senior wide receiver Fred Amey caught nine passes for 143 yards while Kris Daniels ushed for 115 yards and one score -- a 70-yard jaunt in the third quarter which trimmed Cal Poly's lead to 24-13.
The Mustangs scored the final 34 points of the game.
Cal Poly had 499 yards in total offense and 30 first downs compared to 217 yards and 12 first downs for Sacramento State.
The Hornets lost at home to the Mustangs for the first time since 1996, but still lead the series against Cal Poly, 15-13.




