Back at Jeld-Wen Field for the season finale against Eastern Washington University, it looked like the 26 seniors suiting up for their final game at Portland State might go out on a high note against their longtime rival. As the rain fell in Portland, the Vikings surged to a double-digit lead in the first half and then again in the second. But with a share of the Big Sky title on the line, Eastern Washington rebounded both times and snatched the victory in the final two minutes to win the Dam Cup.
DANIEL JOHNSTON/VANGUARD STAFf
On the verge: Viking running back DJ Adams evades defenders during the Dam Cup at Jeld-Wen Field. Portland State came close to an upset bid over Eastern Washington, losing by a touchdown in the final two minutes.
The Vikings didn’t make it easy for them, taking an early 13-0 lead on the strength of two touchdowns by tailback DJ Adams. Capitalizing on excellent field position thanks to two Eastern Washington fumbles and a bad punt snap, PSU racked up 120 yards of offense and controlled the time of possession in the opening quarter.
Eastern Washington continued to sputter offensively in the second quarter until former Southern Methodist University quarterback Kyle Padron relieved freshman starter Vernon Adams. Standing tall in the pocket, Padron coolly drove the Eagles downfield for two touchdowns and a one-point lead at halftime.
PSU quarterback Kieran McDonagh found senior receiver Justin Monahan for a six-yard touchdown pass on the Vikings’ first drive of the third quarter, reclaiming the lead 19-14. Adams would follow that up with his third rushing touchdown of the game on the subsequent drive that put the home team ahead 26-14. The Viking defense did everything it could to hold onto that lead.
“Our goal going into the game was to stop the run so we could only focus on defending the pass, and we successfully did that,” senior linebacker Ian Sluss said.
The Vikings held Eastern Washington to zero net yards on 28 carries, but Padron continued to hit his receivers for big gains. The Eagles would finish the game with 463 yards of offense, all through the air. Their first score of the second half was set up by a miraculous kick-save catch by Brandon Kaufman, who reeled in the ball just short of the goal line to set up a short touchdown run. The second came on a 36-yard strike from Padron to Nicholas Edwards to take the lead 27-26.
After Eastern Washington made it 34-26 following Padron’s second touchdown to Edwards, McDonagh responded by leading the Viking offense downfield on a 78-yard drive that the quarterback finished on a two-yard keeper for the score. McDonagh then lofted a high pass to Monahan for the two-point conversion, tying the game at 34-34 with less than five minutes remaining.
Padron then went back to work, hitting prime targets Kaufman and Greg Herd before carrying the decisive touchdown over the goal line himself. Portland State would have a final chance to send the game to overtime, but Eastern Washington linebacker Zach Johnson snatched his second interception of the day to end the Viking comeback bid.
“That’s the game sometimes,” head coach Nigel Burton said after the game. “Last year [against Eastern Washington], we threw a ball over the middle that bounced off three different people, and we scored. At that moment, they probably had the same feeling I had [in this game] when the ball got kicked off somebody’s foot: ‘This isn’t going to go very well today.’ I’m sure that was their feeling last year, and it came back and got us this year.”
The Eagles were indeed able to turn fortune in their favor to close the season against PSU. But the Vikings can take solace in the fact that they ended the year with a tremendously gutty performance against the 2012 Big Sky champions, making the Eagles work for their victory every step of the way. There can be no doubt that PSU’s seniors have gone out on a high note.