Ogden still no picnic for Viks
The Vikings went into Saturday night’s bout with hopes of continuing their drive to the playoffs. Weber State, however, was not about to let its record, showing no victories against a Division I program, hinder its performance. Weber was effective in stopping the Vikings’ ground attack, holding Portland State to just 20 rushing yards. All this lead to the eventual demise, 20-14, of PSU.
Going into the game, Portland State had been haunted by the home of Weber State, losing nine out of 11 outings in Ogden, Utah. Early in the game, it was the Vikings’ defense making a play to set up a score. Late in the first quarter, safety Steve Shinen picked off Wildcats quarterback Tate Bennett to give the Vikings the ball and a chance to strike first. Then, early in the second quarter, Wood put together a short but effective offensive series. Just four plays later, Wood hit tight end Tim Hester for a 22-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead.
Wood was able to hook up with DeOnte Taylor for the longest play of the year for the Vikings, an 80-yard scoring strike. It marked Taylor’s first score as a Viking. The Vikings now lead 14-7 after two quarters of play.
In the second half, Portland State’s offense lost its efficacy. The Vikings were only able to threaten with two field goals in the entire second half. A 51-yard attempt hit the right upright, and a 48-yard attempt, which was blocked by the Wildcats’ special teams, hampered chances of a road victory and a playoff contention. With four losses, the Vikings’ chances for the playoffs are now just a glimmer in the distance.
Down seven points, the Wildcats produced two second-half drives for scores. One came late in the third quarter and the other was early in the fourth. A botched extra point left the score at 20-14 in the fourth. Nevertheless, the Vikings could not find one last offensive series to tie to take back the lead for a 20-14 loss.
The Wildcats controlled the ball for 37 minutes, to the Vikings’ 22 minutes and dominated on offensive snaps taken. Portland State ran 57 offensive plays compared to 87 for Weber State. Ryan Fuqua was neutralized by a soggy playing field, bad ankle and stingy Wildcat defense for 27 yards on 11 carries.
Juston Wood had his best total for the year passing, on 18-38, 318 yards. Wood was picked off twice by Weber State. Wide receiver Jesse Levin caught seven passes for 131 yards, both season highs in the losing effort.
On defense, linebacker Marcus Green led the team with 13 tackles. Shinen backed him up in the secondary, making 12 tackles and one interception.
Portland State wraps up the season next Saturday at Montana State for the final conference game of 2002.
