Boxscore – HTM | PDF
 
Sacramento, CA – At the beginning of the 2018 season, Portland State Head Coach Bruce Barnum said his young team would continue to get better as the season progressed. Those words are proving to be prophetic as the Vikings won their third straight game, defeating Sacramento State, 41-14, at Hornet Stadium.
 
With the win PSU improves to 3-2 in the Big Sky Conference and moves into fifth place in the 13-team league. The Vikings are 4-4 overall.
 
Portland State also erased a three-game losing streak to the Hornets. PSU's three-game winning streak is its first since the 2015 season.
 
Portland State scored on its first possession of the game as Cody Williams kicked a 38-yard field goal. The score was set up by a 30-yard punt return by Beau Kelly – his longest of the season – that put PSU in Hornet territory.
 
The Viking defense continued its fine play with a pair of three-and-out stops against the Hornets to start the game and forced three first-quarter punts.
 
After that third punt, Jalani Eason came off the bench to engineer a 12-play, 91-yard scoring drive. Eason completed two passes for 25 yards, rushed twice for 17 yards, then Sirgeo Hoffman burst out on a 26-yard TD scamper. The extra point had PSU ahead 10-0 after one play in the second quarter.
 
The Hornets finally got on the board on an exciting catch-and-run by Pierre Williams. The freshman wide receiver caught a 45-yard pass from Wyatt Clapper and snuck into the right corner of the end zone.
 
Portland State wasted no time answering the Hornet score. On the next play from scrimmage, Davis Alexander tossed a good old-fashioned bomb to Mataio Talalemotu who did the rest of the work on an 81-yard touchdown pass.
 
Romeo Gunt picked off his second pass of the season on Sacramento State's next drive. The Vikings took over at the Hornets' 49. The Vikings ran nine plays to cover the distance with Darian Green scoring on a five-yard run. That gave PSU a 24-7 lead by halftime.
 
The Vikings were moving smoothly on offense with 127 yards on the ground and 127 through the air by the half.
 
Williams tacked on his second field goal of the game midway through the third quarter. This one came from 37 yards out and PSU led 27-7.
 
Gunt came up with another big play early in the fourth quarter. As the Hornets were driving inside the Vikings' 10-yard line, Houston Barnes stripped the ball away from the Hornets' BJ Perkinson. Gunt pounced on it for his second takeaway of the game.
 
Shortly after that turnover the Vikings put the game away. Eason broke through on a third-down-and-eight play for an 82-yard touchdown run. He added another electric 47-yard TD scamper later in the quarter and the Vikings rolled to an easy win.
 
For the game, Eason rushed for a career-high 165 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries. It was the most rushing yards by a Viking in 12 games.
 
"We know he is a talent. He was the fastest player on the field. The two key offensive plays he had to keep our score in good shape were big," said Barnum.
 
Portland State had 341 yards rushing and a total offense of 546 yards. The Hornets totaled 383 yards and were forced into three turnovers. The Viking defense also forced six three-and-outs and blocked a punt.
 
"We won the turnover battle again and the defense is playing lights out," said Barnum. "I liked how we came out off a bye week. We just have to keep the juice going."
 
Gunt led the Vikings with eight tackles and the two takeaways. Barnes had seven tackles and a forced fumble.
 
Elijah Dotson rushed 19 times for 183 yards and a touchdown to lead Sacramento State. The Hornets fall to 2-6 on the season.
 
GAME NOTES: Talalemotu had three receptions for a career-high 143 yards and a touchdown… Ryan Lesch also intercepted a pass for the Vikings... Jacob Bystry blocked a punt, giving the Vikings five blocked kicks this season… Davis Alexander completed 7-15 passes for 180 yards, a touchdown and an interception… Portland State returns home to host Idaho State next Saturday. The game kicks off at 7:05 p.m. at Hillsboro Stadium.