Aztecs sack, intercept their way to victory in 34-0 drubbing of unbeaten Cal

Highlights from AztecFB's - win over California MWFB GoAztecs pic twitter com Gvp edtbMr Mountain West MountainWest September When head coach Sean Lewis took over the San Diego State football group last year the hype centered on the organization s Aztecs fast offense The hope was that it would lead to a turnaround for the scheme That hype fizzled as the inconsistent group wound up with - record But on Saturday night at an energized Snapdragon Stadium Lewis may have ascertained a new band identity Maybe call it Aztecs blast in honor of a defense that overwhelmed the Cal Golden Bears and produced a - preeminence for the Aztecs It s the second shutout of the young season for the Aztecs who beat Stony Brook - in their first competition How bout them Aztecs commented Lewis kicking off his post-game press conference That s a good club that played well on a good night I m really freaking proud of them Cal came into the championship with a - record to start the season while outscoring the opposition - They were favored by points in one analysis But they were briskly dominated by a defense that sacked and intercepted its way to mastery The Aztecs scored touchdowns on both an interception return and a fumble return We just trying to be the best defense we can be stated safety Dwayne McDougle We want to be the number one defense -YARD PICK SIX Make that two Aztec defensive TDs on the night CBSSportsNet pic twitter com AGzFaj DG Mountain West MountainWest September The Aztecs - received the ball first but had to punt after a short drive That gave Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele a true freshman an opportunity to engineer a long drive with a nice mix of passing and running to move the Golden Bears to the edge of the end zone After the Aztecs stopped Cal at the -yard line Cal head coach Justin Wilson decided to forego a chip shot field goal and went for it But Sagapolutele s pass into the end zone fell incomplete and the Aztecs took over deep in their own territory The Aztecs got the ball back but couldn t do much with it and wound up punting The Golden Bears started a new drive but the first quarter ended without any scoring It continued that way thanks to Aztec edge Trey White who sacked Sagapolutele for a loss forcing Cal to punt the ball with about minutes left in the half Then for the first time in the meeting Aztecs quarterback Jayden Denegal made his presence really felt throwing an -yard pass to wide receiver Jordan Napier who ran it down the sideline but stepped out of bounds at the -yard line The Aztecs wouldn t let the big play go to waste as Napier took a short pass into the end zone for a touchdown giving the Aztecs a - lead Napier finished the championship with yards receiving The ole SCOOP COUNT Aztec defense on CBSSportsNet pic twitter com Gkzzs tTmN Mountain West MountainWest September Cal got the ball back but the Aztecs defense again forced them a punt this time led by defensive lineman August Salvati who got a sack The Aztecs then drove for a -yard field goal to take a - lead It was Aztecs kicker Gabe Plascencia s th straight field goal dating back to last year He had been tied for the second longest streak in association history dating to at least the season The Golden Bears would rally on their next possession driving to the SDSU -yard line But consecutive false start penalties against Cal forced them into a -yard field goal attempt which they missed With the ball again the Aztecs drove yards in nine plays to give Plascencia another chance There were two seconds on the clock when he nailed a -yard field goal to give the Aztecs a - lead heading into halftime Cal got the ball first in the second half but went nowhere The Golden Bears punted which gave the Aztecs great field position on Cal s -yard line The Aztecs weren t able to take advantage but they downed a punt on Cal s four-yard-line pinning them deep in their own territory The Golden Bears were looking to maintain a long drive but running back Kendrick Raphael fumbled It was picked up by McDougle who took it yards for a touchdown giving the Aztecs a - lead With the Golden Bears way behind and time running out they turned to the passing contest to try and make up ground speedily And that led to the Aztecs big blow as cornerback Chris Johnson intercepted a pass near the end zone and returned it yards for a touchdown the fifth longest interception in Aztecs history for a - lead And they weren t done yet as Sagapolutele was intercepted again on the next possession this time by safety Dalesean Staley The rout was on and chants of overrated from the trainee section rained down on Cal Running back Lucky Sutton added a -yard touchdown run later in the quarter making it - Aztecs After the challenge players hollered and celebrated with fans as they made their way back to the locker room from the field Napier explained it was the loudest crowd he d heard at Snapdragon Moving forward we know we got a good squad we got a good squad he explained Cal is one of the better teams on our schedule this year and we balled NOTES This was the Aztecs first shutout of a power conference crew in years Cal and SDSU have met nine times since with Cal holding a - edge in the series This was the first time Cal has played at Snapdragon Stadium which was opened in Attendance was broadcasted at The Aztecs tried to attract more fans by offering tickets earlier in the week in honor of the Mountain West championship club Former head coach Rocky Long and running back Donnel Pumphrey were recognized as Aztecs Warriors for the encounter The Aztecs also gave away tickets at public engagement events throughout the region according to the San Diego Union-Tribune Up next is an afternoon road battle at Northern Illinois on Sept The competition is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN