final boxscore

Davis, CA - A productive Viking offense outlasted the Great West Conference favorite, UC Davis, at Aggie Stadium, 41-33. With the Portland State win, new Head Coach Nigel Burton had his first career win.

Portland State gained 435 yards, with 257 on the ground and 178 through the air. UCD had 331 yards of total offense. PSU evened its record at 1-1 on the season with a big game coming at Oregon next Saturday.

Zach Brown continued his excellent play, kicking field goals on the Vikings' first two possessions to give them a 6-3 lead early in the second period.

The biggest play of the half for the Vikings was an interception return by sophomore Joel Sisler. Junior DeShawn Shead tipped a pass by Aggie quarterback Randy Wright and Sisler picked it off, going 33 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion gave PSU a 14-3 lead.

The teams traded touchdowns the rest of the half. Junior Willie Griffin's eight-yard TD run completed a 67-yard drive by the Vikings. Despite a miss from 53 yards by Brown, PSU went into the locker room with a 21-16 lead.

Four touchdowns were scored in the third period - two by each team - as the game stayed close.

Portland State fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half. The Aggies recovered on the PSU 30. But, the Viking defense held, stopping the Aggies on a fourth-down play at the 28.

Quarterback Connor Kavanaugh then struck quick for the Vikings. First, he hit Justin Monahan for a 37-yard gain. A moment later, he caught the Aggie defense off balance and hit Nick Hutter in the right corner of the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown.

UC Davis answered a few minutes later on a two-yard touchdown run by Nick Aprile.

Cory McCaffrey made his biggest play of the year later in the period, breaking a run for 40 yards and a touchdown. At that point, PSU led 35-23.

Again, Davis put together a long drive. This time it was an 11-play, 70-yard effort that culminated in a 15-yard pass from Wright to Josh Reese.

PSU maintained a 35-30 lead entering the third period.

Zach Brown made his third field goal of the night with a 48-yarder at the 8:12 mark of the fourth period and the Vikings held a 38-30 advantage.

On the Aggies ensuing drive, they were stopped in Portland State territory and elected to kick a field goal with 5:48 to play. That made it just 38-33.

It appeared the Vikings were still in control, but on the following kickoff another fumble set up the Aggies at the PSU 18-yard line. But PSU forced a fumble two plays later and with the recovery the Vikings finally did have things in hand.

Another late field goal by Brown made it 41-33 and Burton had his first career win.

"Its unbelievable, the electricity on the field and in the locker room. Its exciting to be a part of," said Kavanaugh, who had 234 yards of total offense.

McCaffrey led the Vikings with 15 carries for 116 yards and a score. Griffin added 61 yards on 11 carries and a score. Kavanaugh was 15-24 passing with one interception, one touchdowns and 178 yards. He also rushed for 56 yards.

Manoa Latu had 13 tackles to lead the defense. Ryan Rau added 10 tackles. IN addition to Sisler's interception, safety Donte Almond picked off a pass in the closing seconds to end the Aggies' hopes.

GAME NOTES: Brown's field goal streak extended to 10 in a row before missing from 53 yards at the end of the first half. He made two more and now has made 21 of his last 24 with the only misses from 50+ yards during that span… Portland State's 41 points were the most in the last 19 games played… the Vikings ended a six-game losing streak overall and three-game losing streak to UC Davis… UC Davis was the Great West Football Conference champion in 2009 and has been picked to win it again in 2010.  The Aggies will join the Big Sky Conference in 2012… Portland State travels to Oregon next Saturday. Game time is 3:15 and can be seen on Comcast Sports Net in the Portland area. It can be heard on Freedom 970 AM.