Redemption couldn?€™t come in a better form than with the taste of victory at the hands of the fourth-ranked Montana Grizzlies. Despite coming off of consecutive heartbreaking losses, the Vikings gave a spirited effort with an outstanding rushing attack and innovative play calling by the Portland State coaching staff to beat Montana, 35-32, at PGE Park.
The Vikings earned their biggest win since a victory in 2000 over Hawai?€™i. PSU raised its mark to 4-4 on the season, 2-3 in Big Sky play. And, the game was perhaps a better representation of PSU football this season, as opposed to the last-second losses the previous two weeks.
It was the Vikings first win over Montana since 1999. That season, Montana was ranked second at the time of the game. The Grizzlies dropped to 6-2 on the season, 3-1 in the Big Sky
The Vikings, with the benefit of excellent field position throughout the first half, took a 21-14 advantage to halftime.
However, the Grizzlies carried momentum to the locker room at the break scoring on an 11-yard touchdown run by Lex Hilliard to pull Montana within seven.
Coming out of the break Montana continued to build momentum with a solid first drive that netted them a field goal to close the gap to only four. But the Vikings answered right back with a prolonged drive capped off by a 17-yard naked bootleg by Joe Wiser, who outraced the Montana linebacker around the edge and into the end zone, giving the Viks a 28-17 lead.
In this game of give and take, the Griz came right back with a drive of their own but Portland State?€™s Odell Jackson intercepted a pass by Montana quarterback Craig Ochs at the three-yard line to squash the drive. It was the third turnover of the game for the Grizzlies, a season high.
Montana found itself again in scoring position following an interception return by Tyler Thomas to the Portland State 10 yard line. One play later the Grizzlies were in the end zone on a Jon Talmage touchdown reception from Ochs making the score 28-24.
The Vikings would again rise to the occasion putting together a sustained drive covering 60 yards on nine plays and eating 5:36 off of the clock. The drive was capped by a 16-yard Ryan Fuqua jaunt into the end zone with 4:23 left in the game pushing the lead back to 35-24.
Montana again raced down the field to score once more on an eight-play drive that took only 1:38 off the clock. Ochs scored on a six-yard keeper and Montana made the two-point conversion to put the score at 35-32 and put the crowd into a frenzy for the final two and a half minutes.
However, the Vikings took the ensuing kickoff, converted a pair of first downs with their running game and sealed the win.
?€œWe needed to win a game like that,?€ť said a jubilant Tim Walsh. ?€œPeople don?€™t know how much this team has suffered the last two weeks. To come back from that and beat a team of this caliber ?€“ they really deserved it.?€ť
The Vikings had an effective attack, gaining 207 yards on the ground and 195 through the air. Joe Rubin rushed for 76 yards, Ryan Fuqua had 73 yards and a touchdown, and Allen Kennett also gained 21 yards and scored once.
Quarterback Joe Wiser had one of the best games of his career, completing 17 of 26 passes for 195 yards. He hit Shaun Bodiford and Adam Whitehead for first-half touchdowns.
Andrew Dorsey recovered two first-half fumbles by Montana to go with his four tackles. Tolo Tuitele had eight tackles to lead the Vikings.
Portland State will be home again next week, hosting Idaho State at PGE Park. The Vikings have already tied last year?€™s win total and will go for a fifth win against Idaho State.
