SACRAMENTO (Interstat) — Massachusetts used five touchdowns and a strong defensive effort to defeat Sacramento State 35-6 in an NCAA Football Championship Division game Saturday at Hornet Stadium. The Minutemen improved to 4-0, while the Hornets moved to 1-4. Massachusetts scored in every quarter except the fourth and kept Sacramento State out of the end zone. The Hornets managed two field goals in the first half. The Minutemen added two touchdowns after halftime to pull away.

Massachusetts opened the scoring in the first quarter when William Watson III rushed right for a 13-yard touchdown with 11:48 remaining. Derek Morris added the extra point. Later in the first quarter, Morris missed a 40-yard field goal attempt. Sacramento State got on the board in the second quarter when Grant Meadors made a 20-yard field goal with 14:48 remaining. Watson answered with a 32-yard touchdown run up the middle at the 10:27 mark, and Morris converted the extra point. Meadors made a 29-yard field goal with 3:46 left in the second quarter. Massachusetts then extended its lead when Watson completed a short pass to Max Dowling for a 7-yard touchdown with 1:45 remaining. Morris kicked the extra point. Meadors missed a 40-yard field goal attempt with 44 seconds left in the half.

In the third quarter, Timmy Hinspeter intercepted a Jackson Sharman pass at the Sacramento State 49-yard line and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown with 13:31 remaining. Morris made the extra point. Massachusetts added its final touchdown when Kezion Dia-Johnson rushed right for a 3-yard score with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter. Morris again converted the extra point. The Minutemen defense held Sacramento State scoreless in the second half.

Sharman, a 6-foot-2, 189-pound quarterback, finished 24-of-43 passing for 221 yards for Sacramento State. Watson, a 5-foot-11, 176-pound quarterback from Springfield, Mass., completed 11 of 16 passes for 101 yards and rushed seven times for 72 yards. He threw for one touchdown and ran for two more. Dowling, a 6-foot-6, 245-pound tight end from Buffalo, N.Y., caught two passes for 9 yards and one touchdown. Reece Adkins, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end from Lake Mary, Fla., added two receptions for 9 yards. Jabari Lewis had three receptions for 38 yards. Dia-Johnson, a 6-foot, 180-pound receiver from Phoenix, Ariz., had one carry for 3 yards, one reception for 1 yard and one touchdown. T.Y. Harding, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound receiver from Cambridge, Mass., had three receptions for 44 yards, two carries for 21 yards and one punt return for 1 yard. Curtis Kimmons IV rushed 11 times for 61 yards. Justin Lewis carried four times for 20 yards. Jordan Washington, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound running back from Helena, Ala., ran five times for 16 yards. Logan Inagawa, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound quarterback from Atlanta, Ga., had one carry for 7 yards.

Defensively for Massachusetts, Tyler Martin, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound linebacker from Acton, Mass., recorded eight tackles. Isaiah Reed, a 6-foot-1, 165-pound defensive back from Tampa, Fla., and Aubrey Melvin each had seven tackles, with Melvin adding half a sack. Joshua Iseah, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker from Charlotte, N.C., made six tackles and one sack. Hinspeter, a 6-foot, 230-pound linebacker from Ramsey, N.J., posted three tackles, one interception and one touchdown. Zakar Morris, a 6-foot-2, 286-pound defensive lineman from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., had four tackles. Khari Bendolph, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound linebacker from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., had three tackles. Zeraun Daniel, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound receiver from Brooklyn, N.Y., Jahmad Harmon, a 6-foot, 180-pound defensive back from Indianapolis, Ind., Kendall Bournes, a 6-foot, 195-pound safety from Union, N.J., and Raheim Sexil, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound cornerback from Bradenton, Fla., each recorded four tackles. Robert Ekins added three tackles. Justin Krueger, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive end from Marietta, Ga., had two tackles and half a sack. Hollis Dirstine, a 6-foot-3, 276-pound defensive lineman from Acton, Mass., had two tackles and one sack. Joshua Nobles, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound defensive lineman from Blackwood, N.J., had two tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry. Andrew DePaepe, a 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive lineman from Bettendorf, Iowa, and William DePaepe, a 6-foot-6, 244-pound defensive lineman from Moline, Ill., each had one tackle and one quarterback hurry. Tim Passmore Jr., a 6-foot, 301-pound defensive lineman from Cocoa, Fla., DD Snyder, a 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back from Tampa, Fla., and Michael Pangaro each made two tackles. JC Clark, Samu Suominen, Romando Johnson, Michael Robinson, Chris Stanley, David Chiavegato and David Timson each had one tackle.

For Sacramento State, Sharman led the offense through the air. Kyle Koontz, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound tight end from Minden, Nev., caught one pass for 11 yards. Leki Holani recorded six tackles. Warren Smith Jr., a 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive back from Richmond, Calif., had five tackles. Dionte Thornton, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound cornerback from Carson, Calif., and Elias Mullican, a 6-foot-1, 172-pound cornerback from Rocklin, Calif., each made four tackles. Alex Rocha, a 6-foot-2, 213-pound linebacker from Bakersfield, Calif., Tim Thomas, a 6-foot-1, 221-pound linebacker from Tracy, Calif., and Boogsie Silvera, a 5-foot-11, 193-pound safety from Pembroke Pines, Fla., each recorded three tackles.

Massachusetts entered the game with previous wins over Stonehill, Sacred Heart and Rutgers. Sacramento State had lost to North Dakota State, Fresno State and Eastern Michigan and defeated Mississippi Valley State. Massachusetts is scheduled to host Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Ball State and Akron and visit Buffalo, Connecticut, Toledo and Bowling Green. Sacramento State is set to visit Bowling Green, Ball State, Central Michigan and Hawaii and host Ohio, Kent State and Toledo.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Sacramento State 29, Massachusetts 28. Interstat’s ELO system gave Sacramento State a 92.4 percent probability to win. Sacramento State was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -4.5. The over/under line was 48.5, and the game totaled 41 points.