Oct. 4, 2008

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Bakari Grant caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Greg Denham on the game's final play on Saturday night as UC Davis rallied to beat Northern Colorado 34-30 in a thrilling nonconference football game before 9,675 fans at Aggie Stadium.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for UC Davis which improved to 2-4. Northern Colorado remained winless, falling to 0-4. Denham completed 25 of 35 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns while Joe Trombetta rushed 27 times for 113 yards and a two-yard score.

Bryan Waggener threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns to lead Northern Colorado.

UC Davis picked up the improbable touchdown two plays after a false start erased a try for a potential game-winning 50-yard field goal attempt by Sean Kelley. An incomplete pass led to the final throw in which Grant hauled in Denham's pass in between four defenders just past the goal line.

"It was all so fast," said Grant, who finished with eight catches for 86 yards. "I just felt the ball and squeezed it as tight as I could. Denham put the ball up, and he has a great arm. If somebody is going to get it there, it's Denham. He got it to the right spot and just made it happen."

Aggie coach Bob Biggs said the win was an exciting turnaround for the Aggies who opened the season with four losses in five games, three of them by a total of 11 points and each coming late in the game.

"As a football team, we needed that win," he said. "To be able to finish the way we finished it after all we talked about trying to finish games says a lot."

Northern Colorado appeared in good position for its first win after taking a 30-28 lead with 1 minute, 18 seconds left on a 26-yard field goal from Michael York. However, without the benefit of any remaining timeouts, Denham drove the Aggies to the Northern Colorado 33 by completing three passes for 28 yards, two of them to Brandon Tucker for 20 yards.

UC Davis spiked the ball with nine seconds to go in order to set up for a 50-yard field goal try. However, a crucial five-yard penalty resulted in the offense coming back onto the field. An incomplete pass left three seconds on the clock and the game's exciting finish.

It was a fitting conclusion to an exciting game which saw the Aggies take a quick 7-0 lead on Trombetta's two-yard score only to have the Bears answer with a pair of touchdown passes from Waggener later in the quarter. He found Ryan Chesla on a short two-yarder before hitting Cory Fauver from 16 yards on the second.

Denham and Brandon Rice connected from 20 yards with four seconds left in the first quarter, tying the game, 14-14.

Field goals from 35 and 25 yards, respectively, from York were sandwiched around a 19-yard TD pass from Waggener to Brandon Smith, helping Northern Colorado take the game's biggest lead at 27-14 midway through the third quarter.

Rice hauled in his second score from Denham - this time from 12 yards on a great pass and catch in the back of the end zone - as UC Davis took a 28-27 lead early in the fourth, setting up York's final field goal and the game's memorable finish.

Linebacker Mike Morales had seven tackles, including 2.5 tackles-for-losses, to help lead the Aggies' defense while defensive back Kenneth Brown had five stops and three pass breakups. Linebacker Mike Healey had four tackles and a first-quarter interception.

Linebacker Cristian Sarmento posted a game-high 10 tackles for Northern Colorado while also forcing a fumble.

Trombetta's 100-yard rushing day was the fifth of his Aggie career. He had missed the last two games with injury before returning strong on Saturday night.

Waggener had 65 rushing yards for the Bears, including a 66-yard run in the third quarter.

UC Davis, which began a five-game homestand with Saturday night's game, returns to action next Saturday against Southern Utah at 6 p.m.

UC Davis Aggies Football

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