Vikings hold off Northern Arizona in 31-29 thriller

Without a doubt, the Portland State football program has opened the season with a point to prove. The Viks’ took down the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in a 31-29 nail-biter, displaying the potency of the pistol offense and the revival of their defense. Behind senior running back Cory McCaffrey and quarterback Connor Kavanaugh Portland State racked up 361 yards on the ground, good enough to help Viks’ lead the nation in rushing at the NCAA 1 FCS level so far this season.

“It was nice to play power football,” an exhausted McCaffrey said. “Find out who is going to be tougher and who will play harder and (that’s) what we did tonight.”

The running game was a major part of the Portland State win, but ultimately, it was special teams that tipped the scale, attaining the game winning block as well as a blocked punt that lead to a score for the Vikings earlier in the evening.

“This is exactly why we put such an emphasis on (special teams),” Portland State head coach Nigel Burton said. “That is why I hired a guy to focus on it and have it be his soul focus, it got us a win.”

However, the win over the Lumberjacks didn’t come easily, as NAU outscored Portland State 9-0 in the fourth quarter to come within two points of spoiling the Viks’ first conference win in seven tries. The team’s last Big Sky victory dated all the way back to October of last season when the Portland State defeated Idaho State 38-3 in the 2010 conference opener.

The game moved with ease in the first half for Portland State as the Viks’ cruised to a 14-0 lead in what looked to be the making of a shutout performance. NAU remained resilient and strung together a six play, 72-yard drive in less than two minutes to narrow the margin to seven points.

With the running game on point, Portland State proved too much for a weakened Northern Arizona defense. McCaffrey ran for 222 total yards and four touchdowns (including125 yards and three touchdowns in first half) and Kavanaugh added 134 yards on the ground as well. Overall, the Vikings gained 366 yards rushing and averaged 6.8 yards per carry as a team.

Portland State didn’t find the same success in the air, as Kavanaugh had trouble connecting with his receivers on a consistent basis, only throwing for 66 yards on 6-15 passing. He also threw two interceptions. The Viks’ rode a 24-14 lead into the half, but failed to completely shutdown NAU, as quarterback Cary Grossart threw for 176 yards and a touchdown in the first half.

Closing out games hurt the Viks’ last season, as four of their losses came off blown leads in the fourth quarter, and the team seemed to be headed towards another late-game breakdown. Portland State was held to only seven points in the second half, but the defense came through when it mattered most. As Northern Arizona crept back into the game, turning a Kavanaugh interception into a touchdown, Vikings’ senior safety DeShawn Shead broke up a pass on the two-point conversion to keep Portland State ahead with a 31-29 advantage.

The biggest play of the night came with only seven seconds on the clock as NAU lined up to take the potential game-winning field goal, however, transfer tackle Myles Wade tipped the ball, forcing it wide left to secure the emotional victory. After the game, the team, coaching staff and Viking fans celebrated with championship enthusiasm.

“Our guys deserved to win this game,” coach Burton emphasized. “It wouldn’t have been right if they didn’t.”

A tough-minded effort from the entire team was necessary for Portland State to collect their first Big-Sky conference victory in nearly a year and with key plays being made on defense and special teams, there is hope that we may see much different results than last years 2-9 record. The Viks’ will now travel to Fort Worth, TX to take on defending Rose Bowl Champion the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs in a non-conference battle. Kick-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24.

Two Viks’ get Big-Sky player of the week honors

After a tough win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, the Vikings showed the durability of their defense and special teams as well as the relentlessness of the running game. The driving forces behind a special teams that blocked the game winning field goal and an offense that piled up 361 yards rushing did not go unnoticed this week. All Big-Sky running back Cory McCaffrey and defensive tackle Myles Wade were the difference makers on Saturday night as the Vikings saw their first victory over NAU in four years.

After the first two games of the season, McCaffrey is ranked fourth in the nation for rushing with a 145.5 yards per carry average and is atop the leaderboard as the nations top point scorer, averaging 21 points per match.

Myles Wade’s effect on the field may not be as apparent in the stats sheet, but after blocking the potential game winning field goal for Northern Arizona and contributing to a defense that held Northern Arizona to 79 yards on the ground, the honor was well deserved for the Texas Tech transfer.