As preseason football camp scrimmages go, usually one side of the football has a great day, then a week later the other side of the football responds to it. The Portland State Vikings managed to get that all done on Friday – their first scrimmage of 2025 – at Stott Community Field.
Early offensive success was met with resilience by the defense as the 90-minute brawl commenced. There were seven total touchdowns and eight total series' stops, six of which came without a single first down.
The Vikings offense rolled in the first half of the scrimmage, driving for touchdowns on three of the first four series, all of which went 75 yards. The defense then got stops on six of the next seven series, with three of those starting at midfield. The offense came back with scores on three of the final four series, but all were short field situations.
The main interest of the day, of course, came at the quarterback position, where five players are vying to be the starter in the Aug. 23 opener against Tarleton State. Once again, that position continues to make it difficult for Head Coach
Bruce Barnum and quarterbacks coach
Kieran McDonagh to make a choice.
"It's fun looking for a quarterback," said Barnum. "We have to weed that out in 22 days. I think we have a good (team) here, we just have to find the right trigger man. Production is most important. Are you moving the chains? Are you getting us into the end zone? Are you getting us out of trouble and not turning the ball over? I think today was great, nobody turned it over. I don't care how you look, I just want production."
In all, the quarterback position was productive, completing 32 of 38 passes for 359 yards without making a turnover. And all five quarterbacks had their moments.
Sophomore
Gabe Downing turned in a remarkable 11-12 performance in three series, throwing for 142 yards and two touchdowns. In his first series Downing was an efficient 7-8 for 61 yards with an 11-yard scoring throw to wide receiver
Terence Loville. He hit wide receiver
Branden Alvarez on passes of 55 yards and 15 yards and a score in his second series.
Not to be outdone, senior
CJ Jordan hit on nine of 11 passes for 123 yards and a 38-yard TD pass to
Andre Miller. Miller had six receptions for 105 yards on the day.
Redshirt freshman
Cru Newman was 8-9 for 62 yards and had runs of 13 and 18 yards. Sophomore transfer
John-Keawe Sagapolutele completed three of five passes for 28 yards. He hit
Chance Miller on a 25-yard score.
And though
Tyrese Smith was only 1-1 passing, he ran the ball well and rushed for a late score.
All that said about the offense, the defense had its moments as well. It was effective against the run game allowing only three runs of more than seven yards – two of which were quarterback scrambles. The run game was held under 100 yards on 36 carries during the scrimmage.
PSU's defense also got to the quarterback six times for touch sacks.
Coach
Bruce Barnum noted he wanted strength up the middle on his defense and that was apparent against the run. Defensive coordinator
Bryant Thomas commended the play of defensive tackle
Daniel Matagi, as well as newcomer linebackers
Aeden Seiuli and
Henry Amposta. Thomas is pleased with the addition of those two alongside returners
Jaxton Helmstetler and
Davin Beason.
"We are flying around and really hitting people. I think our overall speed is better than last year," said Thomas, of his defense. "We just need to do a better job of wrapping up."
Said Barnum: "The effort has been great on defense. We lost some guys in the portal, but the guys we replaced them with are very good. We have an aggressive, fast defense."
The Vikings now rest, then get ready for their next full week of practice beginning Monday. Another scrimmage comes on Saturday, Aug. 9.
"It was a helluva first week. The team is coming together and I think it is the best locker room I have had culture-wise," Barnum said. "Of course, that will get you a cup of coffee. I just hope on third downs and fourth-and-short and on the last play of the game, that's when we need that to pay off. I like that part right now. We'll see how far it takes us."
Coach
Bruce Barnum talks more about the Vikings first scrimmage today on the The Bald Faced Truth Radio Show With John Canzano on 750 The Game at 5:24 p.m.
COMING UP
PORTLAND STATE FOOTBALL PRACTICE
Mon, Aug. 4 9:30-11:45 a.m.
Tues, Aug. 5 9:30-11:45 a.m.
Wed, Aug. 6 9:30-11:45 a.m.
Thurs, Aug. 7 9:30-11:45 a.m.
Fri, Aug. 8 9:30-11:45 a.m.
Sat, Aug. 9 9:30-11:45 a.m. (scrimmage)
Sun, Aug. 10 Off Day
