Portland State's youth continued to shine as the Vikings completed their 2024 Spring Football Game Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium. Six different quarterbacks, nine different runners, eight receivers and 25 defensive players made plays on the stat sheet. The common theme was youth as only four seniors recorded stats.
 
In all, there were 11 offensive series run. The Viking offense scored three touchdowns while the defense managed three three-and-outs and forced one turnover. In the 55-play scrimmage, the Vikings ran 36 times for 149 yards and completed 11-19 passes for 83 yards.
 
On the ground, redshirt freshman Delon Thompson led the way with 11 carries for 57 yards and scored on an eight-yard run. Another redshirt freshman, Eric Denham, is expected to help as a receiver and a rusher. He had 28 yards on six touches. Newcomer Branden Alvarez, a junior transfer from San Jose State, caught passes of 23 and 18 yards.
 
On defense, sophomore linebacker Michael Montgomery, named a freshman All-American by two media outlets, had five tackles and a sack in limited action.
 
The biggest defensive play of the day came from another redshirt freshman, DeMarcus Houston. He made a hit on a Viking receiver, forcing and recovering a fumble for the only turnover of the day.
 
Junior safety Ronan Gay led the defense with seven tackles. Sophomore Michael Hurst, a returning starter at safety, made four tackles, including one for a loss. Redshirt freshman linebacker Nate Richter had three tackles and a pass breakup.
 
The offense was mainly led by backup quarterbacks as Head Coach Bruce Barnum looks for support for the incumbent, senior Dante Chachere. After a goal-line series to open the scrimmage in which Chachere tossed a one-yard shuffle pass to Tanner Beaman for a touchdown, five backups battled to impress the rest of the day.
 
Three returners, Keegan Stancato, Gabe Downing and Jazel Riley, and two transfers, William Haskell and Rieger Sayre, were among the signal callers. Riley, a redshirt freshman, had the most impressive numbers, completing 4-4 passes for 40 yards in two brief series. Haskell, a junior, completed two of five passes for 21 yards, and rushed twice for 24 yards.
 
Portland State's youth saw a lot of live action throughout the spring and during the Spring Game. That will be invaluable as the Vikings will likely take on the toughest FCS schedule in the nation in 2024, including six playoff teams that finished ranked in the top 14 in the nation, and two FBS programs in Washington State and Boise State.
 
"We have 12 Division I's and it is the toughest in the nation. We have the team for it," said Viking Coach Bruce Barnum. "I like this team and I like my staff. The hardest thing we do is getting everything right with the people. This group wants to be here and that gives us a chance in the fall. We are getting them young and developing them. The group I have got right now, we can win with."
 
SCORING PLAYS
Dante Chachere 1-yard pass to Tanner Beaman
Delon Thompson 8-yard run
Christian Grubb 3-yard run
 
TURNOVERS
CB DeMarcus Houston forced fumble and recovered


Redshirt freshman DeMarcus Houston (23) makes a tackle. He also forced and recovered a fumble.
 
Passing: Dante Chachere 1-1-0-1, Gabe Downing 3-4-0-14, Keegan Stancato 1-3-0-7, William Haskell 2-5-0-21, Jazel Riley 4-4-0-40, Rieger Sayre 0-2-0-0
 
Rushing: Delon Thompson 11-57, William Haskell 2-24, Eric Denham 5-21, Rieger Sayre 3-23, Christian Grubb 6-13, Jalynnee McGee 3-2, Keegan Stancato 4-6, Branden Alvarez 1-3, Jalen Salavea 1-0
 
Receiving: Branden Alvarez 2-41, Jalynnee McGee 2-10, Travis West 2-7, Jayden Brannan 1-10, Christian Grubb 1-7, Eric Denham 1-7, Elias Spence 1-0, Tanner Beaman 1-1

Defense: Ronan Gay 7T, Michael Montgomery 5T-1SK-1TFL, Michael Hurst 4T-1TFL, Nate Richter 3T-1PBU, Slade Shufelt 3T, DeMarcus Houston 2T-1TFL-1FF-1FR, Isaiah Green 2T-1TFL-1PBU, Davin Beason 2T-1TFL, J'Querian Ladson 2T-1TFL, Michael McNeill 2T-1TFL, Jaxton Helmstetler 2T, Jordan Tagaloa 2T, Jeffrey Robinson 2T, Freddy Lujan 1T-1TFL, Bam Afalava 1T-1TFL, Ezriel Vasquez 1T, Elijah Eason 1T, Jayden House 1T, Peyton Wing 1T, Tre Taylor 1T, Jaymason Willingham 1T, Donte Hookfin 1T, Rob Silva 1T, Michael Jackson 1T, Elias Sanders 1T