Mike Morales knew it would take a team effort to slow down Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's triple-option attack.
Simply put, the senior middle linebacker said stopping the option comes down to playing assignment football. Everyone had to do their job, and – more importantly – everyone had to trust the guy next to him would be doing his job, too.
Morales did his part on Saturday afternoon, and the rest of the UC Davis defense followed suit.
The Mustangs scored on two of their first three drives, but that's all they would manage as the Aggies earned a 23-10 win to keep their Great West Conference championship hopes alive.
The winner of next Saturday's UC Davis-North Dakota game at Aggie Stadium will claim the outright league title.
"It was an unbelievable team effort. It really was," Morales said. "We stumbled against (the option) at the beginning, but then we really picked it up.
"If it weren't for Jake Maxson and Andrew Benjamin and those guys up front, I wouldn't have made a single tackle. I really owe it to those guys."
Morales certainly earned his share of the credit, though, racking up 13 total tackles (11 solo).
"He was a man possessed today," UC Davis coach Bob Biggs said. "He really wanted this as a senior. … He wasn't going to be denied. He did his job today."
Cal Poly struck first on the game's opening possession. Fullback Jake Romanelli's 42-yard blast up the middle put the wraps on an eight-play, 77-yard touchdown drive.
UC Davis answered on the ensuing possession, driving 61 yards on nine plays. Greg Denham found tight end Brad Bispo over the middle for a 22-yard touchdown.
The Mustangs pulled ahead 10-7 when Chris Pinto kicked a 38-yard field goal with a shade under 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Cal Poly had a chance to extend its lead later in the quarter, but UC Davis' defense came up big pinned against its own end zone.
Cal Poly was looking at first-and-goal at the Aggies' 2-yard line but couldn't put any points on the board. UC Davis stuffed three Cal Poly rush attempts, then Pinto missed a 23-yard field goal to give the Aggies the ball.
"We've always been real tough around the goal line," Morales said. "Once you get to the goal line, it's just about who wants it. We just wanted it more."
The benefit of great field position and Sean Kelley's right leg then helped the Aggies to their first lead.
Cal Poly turned the ball over on downs on a failed fake-punt run midway through the third quarter, giving UC Davis the ball on its 47-yard line. Kelley then hit a 42-yard field goal to tie the score at 10-10.
Kelley struck again on the Aggies' next drive, this time from 52 yards out – tying a school record – to put UC Davis up 13-10. He's five for six on attempts of 40-plus yards this season.
The Aggies padded their lead with a 13-play, 91-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Freshman safety Nick Aprile, running UC Davis' version of the Wildcat offense, plunged in from four yards out to give the Aggies a 20-10 advantage.
Kelley's 35-yard field goal with 2:50 to play made it 23-10.
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