It was a slightly different Portland State football team that took the field Saturday, when the Vikings defeated the Division III Willamette Bearcats in a 36-10 victory. The Vikings (4-3 overall, 2-2 conference) have been left looking for new offensive weapons after the loss of all Big Sky running back Cory McCaffrey to injury against Montana two weeks ago.
It was a slightly different Portland State football team that took the field Saturday, when the Vikings defeated the Division III Willamette Bearcats in a 36-10 victory. The Vikings (4-3 overall, 2-2 conference) have been left looking for new offensive weapons after the loss of all Big Sky running back Cory McCaffrey to injury against Montana two weeks ago.
Portland State dominated play early against Willamette, scoring the first 22 points of the game, but there was no post-game celebration in the team locker room. Vikings head coach Nigel Burton felt the win was not convincing enough for his squad after facing consecutive losses coming into the weekend. Burton wasn’t bothered to see his team so unhappy with the win, as there seemed to be a consensus that much work still needs to be done.
“We won by 26 points and I don’t think there were any smiles in our locker room,” Burton said. “There are a lot of times where you can win by 26 and everyone is running around like it’s a party, but they look at it as they didn’t play to the best of their ability, which I think is a great thing.”
The game started off quickly for Portland State, as Willamette fumbled the ball on their opening drive, immediately giving the Vikings possession inside Bearcat territory. Things would continue in much of the same fashion for the Bearcats offense as they went on to fumble five more times throughout the game. Willamette lost three of their six fumbles, allowing the mistakes to turn into 13 points for the Vikings. The Vikings dominated both sides of the ball, holding a 36-3 lead for most of the second half before Willamette produced a final, touchdown-scoring drive with just over eight minutes remaining to close the game.
Portland State appeared to be opening up a new style of play on offense, passing for 255 yards and surpassing yards on the ground for the first time in a single game this season. Starting senior quarterback Connor Kavanaugh, who only played for the first half of the game, helped the team attain a 29-3 lead. Kavanaugh threw for a career-best three touchdowns, completing nine of 12 passes for 162 yards with no interceptions.
Three different quarterbacks saw the field for the Vikings against Willamette, each completing passes of 22 yards or more. Senior backup quarterback Drew Hubel got the start in the second half for the Vikings, completing three of eight passes for 54 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Senior Justin Engstom completed two of four passes for 39 yards.
Three receivers caught touchdown passes for Portland State, with Nevin Lewis leading the pack with 57 yards and a touchdown.
“We had drifted away from the passing game because the running game was so successful,” Kavanaugh said. “We want to open it back up and make sure we aren’t one dimensional.”
The run game didn’t put numbers up as dominant in previous outings, as the work load that had once fallen upon McCaffrey’s shoulders was spread around the roster. The Vikings still lead the conference in rushing, averaging 270.6 yards on the ground per game. Portland State accrued 230 yards rushing with four different players getting opportunities to run the ball. Freshman running back Shaquille Richard got the start for Portland State and ran for 85 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries. Senior running back Willie Griffin, who missed part of the season due to lingering injuries, came out strong for the Vikings, adding 61 yards on 10 carries.
Kavanaugh has been another major run threat this season, averaging 93.3 yards on the ground, but with the emphasis on the passing game, Kavanaugh only attained 37 yards on five carries.
The Vikings defense played with confidence all game, despite the loss of defensive lineman Myles Wade before halftime to a high ankle sprain. PSU held the Willamette offense to 212 yards of total offense, allowing the Bearcats only 91 yards of offense in the second half. The Vikings defense also shut down the run as Willamette ran for 149 yards on 45 carries.
Portland State forced three fumbles on the Bearcats run emphasized offense. The Vikings recovered three of the six fumbles and added two sacks on Willamette quarterback Brian Widing, who was held to 55 yards passing on 12 attempts. Portland State junior linebacker Ian Sluss played a large role in the success of the defense, accounting for five tackles, two forced fumbles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Senior safety Deshawn Shead led the Vikings with six tackles.
“We could have done better,” Vikings senior linebacker Ryan Rau said. “We know we can do better and just because we won by so many points does not mean we are satisfied.”
The Willamette football squad, led by the innovative “fly” offense, had some success on the night. The special teams for the Bearcats intercepted a pass from Vikings punter Thomas Duyndam on a fake punt play, setting Willamette up for a 40-yard field goal to get on the board. Four different running backs took snaps for the Bearcats, with Josh Dean leading all runners with 64 yards on the ground. Former Viking Dominic David led the Willamette defense with nine tackles, including one for loss.
The Vikings will return to Big Sky conference action next week as they take on the defending national champion Eastern Washington Eagles in Cheney, Wash. Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m at Roos Field, and the game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.
