Making a final statement

The mantra Portland State football has lived by this season boils down to a single word—finish. The Vikings (7-3 overall, 5-2 conference) have persevered through a few mid-season stumbling blocks but are currently ranked No. 25 in the Sports Network Media Poll and are the winners of four straight games with a shot at making the NCAA postseason.

The Vikings’ chances at grabbing an at-large playoff berth will greatly increase should they win their last game and end the regular season on a winning streak. Standing in Portland State’s way are the Weber State Wildcats (4-6 overall, 4-3 conference), who will meet the Vikings this Saturday at Jeld-Wen Field. The 20-team tournament field will be announced this Sunday.

This Saturday’s regular season finale will be an emotional experience, as the seniors taking the field could be suiting up for the last time in their football careers. The Vikings have 27 seniors on their roster, 11 of whom are starters, and Portland State head coach Nigel Burton understands that keeping emotions under control will be important.

“We are going to have to play with a lot of discipline,” Burton said. “It’s going to be a pretty emotional day for the seniors. In the end, we are going to have to move past a little bit of that and focus on still doing their jobs.”

Portland State’s preseason talk about closing out games played out on the field this year. The Vikings have won three games by seven points or less this season, including last week’s 23-17 victory at Northern Colorado.

Weber State handed Portland State heartbreaking losses in the past two seasons, coming back to win on both occasions when the Vikings held leads in the closing minutes. The Wildcats have also won four straight in the series, leading the conference matchup 9-6 including a 4-3 record at Portland.

A more complete Vikings team will take the field this weekend, including a defense and special teams that has been a huge factor in the team’s success. Senior linebacker Ryan Rau and safety DeShawn Shead have been the defensive leaders for the Vikings once again this season.

Shead has started every game in his four-year career (44 games total), accumulating totals of 207 tackles, 11 interceptions, five fumble recoveries, 29 pass breakups and four forced fumbles. This season, Shead is second on the team with 60 tackles and has eight pass breakups, two interceptions and a touchdown.

Rau has been the leader upfront, starting at middle linebacker for three years and leading the team in tackles each of those seasons to accrue an astounding 255 career tackles. Rau is leading the team with 78 tackles this year, including 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.

The Weber State defense has been porous, giving up 433 yards and 32.1 points per game. However, Weber State has averaged 199.2 yards rushing this season and are coming off a record game from running back CJ Tuckett, who ran for 254 yards on 27 carries last week. Running back Josh Booker has led the Wildcats’ rushing attack though, accruing 678 yards and five touchdowns on 113 carries this season.

“This game is going to be all about physicality,” Rau said. “They are a physical downhill running team and if we hit and stay at it the whole time, make it hard for them to run the ball and stop the run against this team, they can’t win.”

Portland State leads the conference in rushing, averaging 260.6 yards on the ground per game. The credit has been distributed between three running backs since losing All-Big Sky running back Cory McCaffrey mid-season. Senior tailback Willie Griffin has been the primary back, running for 334 yards and two touchdowns in the last four games.

Vikings senior quarterback Connor Kavanaugh is coming off a 132 yard rushing performance against Northern Colorado and averages 102.8 yards rushing to lead the team.

Kavanaugh has also improved his passing this year, completing one or more passing touchdowns in each of the last four wins. He has completed 105 of 182 passes for 1,264 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions this year. Junior wideout Justin Monahan has been Kavanaught’s main target, catching 47 balls for 627 yards and five touchdowns.

Both Weber and Portland State have experienced offensive success this year, but it may very well be whichever team’s defense is able to make stops that will determine the victor. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m at Jeld-Wen Field this Saturday and can be heard on Freedom 970 AM.