bengalcub
Active member
Say what you want about R. Hill at QB what he has and what he does not. This story says it all to me, he owns his mistakes and accepts responsibility for the mistakes. I can promise that I will always be pulling for this kid, each and every snap for the rest of his career. This story touched me something fierce.
From the Idaho State Journal...
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Of the 133 snaps during Idaho State's 38-17 loss Saturday at Sacramento State, a few lingered in Russel Hill's mind even after all the fans had cleared out of Hornet Stadium.
One of those snaps ended with him slinging the ball into the hands of Hornets cornerback Durrell Oliver before it could get to Bengals receiver Kelvin Krosch. Oliver returned the interception 37 yards for a touchdown.
There was another play that irked him even more, and it came on the next drive late in the second quarter. Pressured by Sacramento State's rush, Hill lobbed a pass toward freshman receiver Andrew Benavides even though he had three Hornets surrounding him. The ball was tipped and caught by cornerback Marquese Smith, and it didn't land on the turf again until Smith had transported it 83 yards the other way into the Bengals' end zone.
"I just shouldn't have thrown it there," said Hill, Idaho State's junior quarterback. "I've just got to be smarter with the football. It's the story of my career, right?"
The two interceptions go a long way toward bridging the chasm between Saturday's scoreline and nearly every other set of numbers in the box score.
Idaho State out-gained Sacramento State 368 yards to 335. The Bengals ran 83 plays on offense to the Hornets' 50, held the ball for 37-plus minutes to the Hornets' 22-plus and earned 22 first downs to the Hornets' 11. Sacramento State completed just one pass after halftime.
Those statistics seemed to point an Idaho State victory. Alas, Hill's three interceptions -- especially the two consecutive that went for touchdowns -- as well as Hornets running back Terrance Dailey's 178 rushing yards -- 152 of which came in the first half -- were also part of the box score. The latter set of numbers doomed Idaho State to its sixth straight loss to begin the season and its 18th straight setback on the road, this one before a homecoming crowd of 9,883.
"The scoreboard just didn't come out the way we wanted it to," said Benavides, a Sacramento-area native who had his first career touchdown. "But we were all fighting all the way through. We definitely had them on their toes."
The Bengals (0-6, 0-3) did that and more in the first quarter. Hill, making his first start of the season despite a sore thumb, completed all 10 of his passes for 93 yards and the touchdown to Benavides. Lining up in four- and sometimes five-receiver sets, Idaho State's wideouts gave Hill plenty of help by churning out yards after their catches.
Up until the middle of the second quarter, Idaho State successfully traded scores with Sacramento State (2-3, 2-1) and trailed 17-10.
And then, Hill made the two bad decisions that undid all of his good ones before that. On his first pick, he stared down Krosch, thus giving away his intention to attack the right side of the field. Oliver's interception return made it 24-10.
Hill then guided a 13-play, 59-yard drive that promised to make it a close game at halftime. Instead, Smith's pick and score, which came with 12 seconds remaining in the quarter, gave the contest the feel of a blowout.
"They're mistakes, and I guess I can learn from them," Hill said. "Take no chances. All of them, if I were just smarter with it and didn't take the chance, we wouldn't have that situation. They're learning points, but it's hard to swallow."
After the game, Hill sported a soft cast on his thumb, but he refused to blame his performance on the injury. Hill also exonerated his throwing glove, even though it sometimes got sweaty and slippery and, as a result, caused the ball to slide around in his grip.
"There were only a few throws that I was like, 'OK, if I didn't have the glove, it wouldn't have done that,'" Hill said. "That wasn't really the issue. It was really mental things that were more of the issue."
Hill wasn't the only Bengal who was guilty of those, though. Sacramento State's opening score came on a 42-yard run by Dailey, and Idaho State then allowed a 69-yarder to Dailey in the second quarter that led to another touchdown. Those were the two longest runs the Hornets have managed all year.
Sacramento State tacked on another score midway through the third quarter on a 54-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jason Smith to receiver Dylan Lane. That was Smith's only completion in eight tries after halftime, and he finished with just 108 passing yards.
But thanks to big plays like that, Sacramento State had a 38-10 lead.
"If we don't give up the long pass in the second half," Idaho State coach John Zamberlin said, "maybe it's a different ballgame and we're not in the position where we've got to go for it on fourth downs all the time. We can kick threes and put points on the board."
Sacramento State's huge lead forced Idaho State into desperation, go-for-broke mode by the third quarter, thus explaining the lopsided scoreline. The Bengals trimmed the lead with freshman and Minico High graduate Skylar Morgan's first career touchdown, but they also turned the ball over on downs twice when they could have kicked field goals.
As a result, their 17 points masked a huge improvement by their maligned offensive line. The unit surrendered just two sacks and opened enough gaps for a 110-yard rushing performance. Senior wide receiver JD Ponciano notched career-high totals of eight catches and 95 yards.
The Bengals' defense clamped down on the Hornets after halftime and recovered three fumbles.
"It's a rough feeling that we lost by that kind of margin," linebacker Phillip Arias said. "But defensively, we feel good about the second half, making plays individually and as a team, gathering around and swarming on each other."
But none of those plays could sway the game back in the Bengals' favor. The sum total of their positives couldn't quite erase the stain of their errors.
Two of the biggest arose from Hill's hands, a fact that haunted him as dusk settled over an empty Hornet Stadium.
Said Hill: "If not for a couple of mistakes, namely mine, maybe it would be a different outcome."
From the Idaho State Journal...
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Of the 133 snaps during Idaho State's 38-17 loss Saturday at Sacramento State, a few lingered in Russel Hill's mind even after all the fans had cleared out of Hornet Stadium.
One of those snaps ended with him slinging the ball into the hands of Hornets cornerback Durrell Oliver before it could get to Bengals receiver Kelvin Krosch. Oliver returned the interception 37 yards for a touchdown.
There was another play that irked him even more, and it came on the next drive late in the second quarter. Pressured by Sacramento State's rush, Hill lobbed a pass toward freshman receiver Andrew Benavides even though he had three Hornets surrounding him. The ball was tipped and caught by cornerback Marquese Smith, and it didn't land on the turf again until Smith had transported it 83 yards the other way into the Bengals' end zone.
"I just shouldn't have thrown it there," said Hill, Idaho State's junior quarterback. "I've just got to be smarter with the football. It's the story of my career, right?"
The two interceptions go a long way toward bridging the chasm between Saturday's scoreline and nearly every other set of numbers in the box score.
Idaho State out-gained Sacramento State 368 yards to 335. The Bengals ran 83 plays on offense to the Hornets' 50, held the ball for 37-plus minutes to the Hornets' 22-plus and earned 22 first downs to the Hornets' 11. Sacramento State completed just one pass after halftime.
Those statistics seemed to point an Idaho State victory. Alas, Hill's three interceptions -- especially the two consecutive that went for touchdowns -- as well as Hornets running back Terrance Dailey's 178 rushing yards -- 152 of which came in the first half -- were also part of the box score. The latter set of numbers doomed Idaho State to its sixth straight loss to begin the season and its 18th straight setback on the road, this one before a homecoming crowd of 9,883.
"The scoreboard just didn't come out the way we wanted it to," said Benavides, a Sacramento-area native who had his first career touchdown. "But we were all fighting all the way through. We definitely had them on their toes."
The Bengals (0-6, 0-3) did that and more in the first quarter. Hill, making his first start of the season despite a sore thumb, completed all 10 of his passes for 93 yards and the touchdown to Benavides. Lining up in four- and sometimes five-receiver sets, Idaho State's wideouts gave Hill plenty of help by churning out yards after their catches.
Up until the middle of the second quarter, Idaho State successfully traded scores with Sacramento State (2-3, 2-1) and trailed 17-10.
And then, Hill made the two bad decisions that undid all of his good ones before that. On his first pick, he stared down Krosch, thus giving away his intention to attack the right side of the field. Oliver's interception return made it 24-10.
Hill then guided a 13-play, 59-yard drive that promised to make it a close game at halftime. Instead, Smith's pick and score, which came with 12 seconds remaining in the quarter, gave the contest the feel of a blowout.
"They're mistakes, and I guess I can learn from them," Hill said. "Take no chances. All of them, if I were just smarter with it and didn't take the chance, we wouldn't have that situation. They're learning points, but it's hard to swallow."
After the game, Hill sported a soft cast on his thumb, but he refused to blame his performance on the injury. Hill also exonerated his throwing glove, even though it sometimes got sweaty and slippery and, as a result, caused the ball to slide around in his grip.
"There were only a few throws that I was like, 'OK, if I didn't have the glove, it wouldn't have done that,'" Hill said. "That wasn't really the issue. It was really mental things that were more of the issue."
Hill wasn't the only Bengal who was guilty of those, though. Sacramento State's opening score came on a 42-yard run by Dailey, and Idaho State then allowed a 69-yarder to Dailey in the second quarter that led to another touchdown. Those were the two longest runs the Hornets have managed all year.
Sacramento State tacked on another score midway through the third quarter on a 54-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jason Smith to receiver Dylan Lane. That was Smith's only completion in eight tries after halftime, and he finished with just 108 passing yards.
But thanks to big plays like that, Sacramento State had a 38-10 lead.
"If we don't give up the long pass in the second half," Idaho State coach John Zamberlin said, "maybe it's a different ballgame and we're not in the position where we've got to go for it on fourth downs all the time. We can kick threes and put points on the board."
Sacramento State's huge lead forced Idaho State into desperation, go-for-broke mode by the third quarter, thus explaining the lopsided scoreline. The Bengals trimmed the lead with freshman and Minico High graduate Skylar Morgan's first career touchdown, but they also turned the ball over on downs twice when they could have kicked field goals.
As a result, their 17 points masked a huge improvement by their maligned offensive line. The unit surrendered just two sacks and opened enough gaps for a 110-yard rushing performance. Senior wide receiver JD Ponciano notched career-high totals of eight catches and 95 yards.
The Bengals' defense clamped down on the Hornets after halftime and recovered three fumbles.
"It's a rough feeling that we lost by that kind of margin," linebacker Phillip Arias said. "But defensively, we feel good about the second half, making plays individually and as a team, gathering around and swarming on each other."
But none of those plays could sway the game back in the Bengals' favor. The sum total of their positives couldn't quite erase the stain of their errors.
Two of the biggest arose from Hill's hands, a fact that haunted him as dusk settled over an empty Hornet Stadium.
Said Hill: "If not for a couple of mistakes, namely mine, maybe it would be a different outcome."
