Back on track

On a snow-covered field in Greeley, Colo., on Saturday, the Big Sky Conference’s first-ranked passing offense faced the conference’s first-ranked passing defense and pulled out a hard-fought victory for the Vikings.

“I’m just so proud of the players and the coaches…I don’t know if the kids have played any harder than they played today,” said head coach Jerry Glanville.

On Portland State’s first possession, the Bears made it clear the Vikings would have to fight for every inch.

Junior quarterback Drew Hubel led the team downfield, only to have a pass intercepted at the Bears’ 12-yard line by cornerback Korey Askew, who ran it back for a touchdown and an early Northern Colorado lead.

The Bears’ secondary pestered the Portland quarterbacks all day. Before game’s end, Hubel would throw another pick deep in Colorado territory and sophomore backup Connor Kavanaugh would see his go-ahead touchdown pass intercepted at the goal line.

Despite these mistakes and constant pressure from a Bears’ defensive line that registered four sacks, the offense came up big.

Hubel and Kavanaugh shared leadership duties by alternating series, and they did it in the best way they knew how.

Hubel is the arm. He threw one 22-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Lavonte Kirven in the end zone, exhibiting great touch by putting the ball where only Kirven could get it. Hubel completed 18 of 25 passes for 193 yards, his lowest total for a game all season.

Kavanaugh is the legs. He ran for the first Viking touchdown on a drive comprised of nothing but rushes by himself, senior Bobby McClintock and freshman Evans Okotcha. Kavanaugh ran 11 times for a total of 56 yards and finished the game with the most rushing yardage by either team.

Mirroring the Viking offensive strategy, the Bears also substituted out their starting quarterback Bryan Waggener for Dylan Orms, their own scrambling backup.

“It was a day for a running quarterback…Kavanaugh was tremendous for us,” Glanville said.

Also tremendous was McClintock, who proved himself an asset to the team. After sitting out for two weeks due to injury, it was unclear if he would even play. But he was handed the ball 18 times in the game, the most in a single game in his career, and had 40 receiving yards.

“I feel pretty beat up. But, hey, we got the win—and that’s all that matters,” McClintock said.

The Vikings’ offense also had support from the kicking game and defense, which were there to pick up the slack when the offense got bogged down.

Freshman kicker Zach Brown came through to hit three field goals for 33, 40 and 50 yards, with the longest made in the snow.

Needing an improvement on their turnover ratio, the Vikings forced three turnovers, two of them from sophomore cornerback DeShawn Shead. He intercepted a pass at the Portland State 28-yard line, and when the Vikings failed to score on the following drive, Shead forced a fumble just outside the Colorado red zone.

It was on the next play that Hubel hit Kirven for the touchdown that gave Portland State a 20-15 lead.

Another defensive play that the Vikings may not have won without came from sophomore safety Cody Worthen.

About two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Bears were down five points and drove 68 yards in five minutes to find themselves at the Portland State 3-yard line.

On third-and-three, Waggener looked for his go-to receiver Alex Thompson in the front corner of the end zone. But Worthen read the play and was there on the tackle to prevent the touchdown. The play, clutch and perfectly executed, held the Bears to a field goal and took the wind out of their sails. It would be the last score they would get.

The Vikings not only won the game on three fronts, they exorcised some demons in the process.

Entering Saturday’s game, Glanville’s Vikings had only converted on third down 39 percent of the time, similar to their percentage last year. In this game, they converted 50 percent of the time.

Red-zone offense had also been problematic in the previous five games, as the Vikings were able to capitalize on eight of their 13 visits to the opposite end of the field. On Saturday, they scored on two of their three trips.

Penalties have been an issue for the team. This contest saw one penalty on the Vikings for 10 yards, whereas they had averaged 7.6 penalties in each game for 70.6 yards.

The fact that this was a road win cannot be lost on the team. Prior to this, the Vikings had been on an eight-game losing streak on the road.

In defeat, Northern Colorado has given the Vikings a couple of things to think about.

The Portland State defense was solid most of the game, with the exception of two long passes for 40 and 74 yards, showing that the secondary can be burned for big plays.

The Vikings also showed they can use the run to control the clock. They rushed 45 times for an average of only 2.4 yards per rush, but it allowed them to control the clock and possess the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game.

The Vikings face the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (3-2) next on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 1:05 p.m. at PGE Park.