Wednesday morning's final Portland State Football scrimmage of the preseason was truly a day of give and take.

The Viking defense, which had been challenged in recent practices by an improving Viking offense, struck the first blow. PSU's coaching staff opened the scrimmage with eight goal line plays. The defense stifled the offense on the first six snaps, getting tackles from linebackers Sam Bodine and Kasun Jackett, and safeties Tyler Foreman and Braxton Winterton.

That run-stopping set the tone early for the scrimmage proper. The Viking running game struggled to gain yardage and was shut down on eight of the first nine possessions. The final stop came on a Donovan Olumba interception of a tipped ball. It was the only turnover of the scrimmage and came in a "two-minute drill" scenario for the offense.

"I saw the defense play as one and that was cool," said Viking Coach Bruce Barnum. "Then I saw a frustrated offense and I saw some leadership bloom over there. That was kind of cool too.

"Defense wins championships. I loved how (the defense) came out, but I also liked how the offense responded. They took what was given. The offense got stifled early when the defense was loading up the box. (The offense) was (then) able to pitch and catch and get (the defense) out of that. That's the game you have to play on game day."

The lone score among the first 45 plays of an 80-play scrimmage came on a deep pass. And that is where the offense took what the defense was willing to give. Challenged to the throw the ball downfield, the offense adjusted and scored on pass plays of 59, 35, 67 and 25 yards. 

SR QB Josh Kraght completed two of the touchdown passes. The first came on a third-and-10 play as he stepped up in the pocket and hit JR WR Andre Petties-Wilson on a 59-yard score. The other came later in the scrimmage, a 67-yarder to basketball player-turned-football player SR WR De'Sean Parsons.

The starting quarterback competition, in which Kraght is a favored player, was reduced to three as RS FR Davis Alexander and true FR Jalani Eason got the remainder of the snaps. Eason completed a 35-yard TD pass to Parsons, and a 25-yard touchdown to SO TE Charlie Taumoepeau. Alexander did not throw a touchdown, but had one big pass play, a 38-yarder to SR WR Trent Riley.

The battle for starting quarterback has just about concluded as Barnum confirmed after the scrimmage. "We will make a decision tonight (on who will start). I will talk to (Offensive Coordinator Steve) Cooper and we will decide who is going into game one. He has to take over the reps because of time. 

"The thing about that position is they are all athletes, so whoever becomes number two you will probably see him playing somewhere else. I have 63 scholarships. I'm not going to waste one of my best athletes holding a clipboard and telling me what down it is."

The scrimmage also included an overtime session. The first period included two defensive stops resulting in long missed field goals. The second period included a pair of touchdown runs which, fittingly, concluded the practice with a virtual tie. 

The first score came after SO RB Chase Morrison crashed into the goal line on three straight trips. Jackett made a pair of big stops, but Morrison was able to get through on the third try.

FR RB Jason Talley scored the second touchdown, coming on a 25-yard run on the first play of that overtime series. It concluded a strong performance for Talley. He had six rushing plays for 39 yards and two receptions for 33 yards. 

The other adjustment both sides of the ball had to make was to a full officiating crew. It marked the first time PSU has had live officials in the preseason. After early holding and pass interference penalties, the mistakes dissipated.

"We are young, and the only way to learn football is to play it. We saw a lot of good football today and a young team acting mature," Barnum said. 

Scrimmage Notes
• After the scrimmage, Barnum had praise for RS FR DL Noah Yunker, FR RB Antwone Williams and JR LB Kasun Jackett, as well as his cornerback group. "There are no stars here but there will be. By the end of the season, there will be some stars. You saw some great catches, some big tackles at the goal line. From every spot there was something to celebrate," said Barnum.
• Parsons caught three passes for 104 yards and two scores in the scrimmage.
• Jackett, the Vikings' middle linebacker, was in on two sacks and a total of eight tackles.
• Viking defensive linemen had five tackles for loss in the running game, including two by SR DE Davond Dade. SR DT Will Dawson was in on five tackles, including one for loss.
• Josh Kraght completed 5-8 passes for 163 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Jalani Eason was 7-16 passing for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Davis Alexander completed 2-9 passes for 40 yards.
• FR Hayden Cowden handled punting and kickoff duties in special teams, while FR Noah Brosio handled first-team kicking duties.
• In all, there were 17 offensive series', including four overtime drives, with six resulting in touchdowns.

UPCOMING PRACTICE TIMES
Aug. 17, 8-9 a.m.
Aug. 18-19, 8-10 a.m.
Aug. 21-24, 8-10 a.m.
Aug. 25, Travel Day
Aug. 26, Game at BYU