Grand Forks, ND – Three first-half turnovers by Portland State ignited the 20^th-ranked North Dakota Fighting Hawks as they rolled to a 50-20 win over the Vikings at Alerus Center.
 
The Vikings were out-gained 446 to 228 overall and turnovers cost them 14 points in the game. PSU dropped to 0-3 with the loss while UND improved to 1-1.
 
Fighting Hawks Quarterback Jerry Kaminski took full advantage of the Vikings mistakes, rolling up big numbers in leading his team to the win. In three quarters of play, he passed for 164 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for 70 yards and one touchdown.
 
Portland State got 146 passing yards, a touchdown and two interceptions from new starting quarterback John-Keawe Sagapolutele. He led both Viking scoring drives and also saw about three quarters of action. The Vikings added a defensive touchdown on a fumble return by Jaxton Helmstetler.
 
After a rough first half, the Vikings matched the Fighting Hawks, 14-14, in the second half.
 
North Dakota drove nine plays in its first series for an opening touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, the Vikings fumbled the ball away. Now on a short field, the Fighting Hawks needed only four plays to go 17 yards and score again. A two-point conversion meant the Vikings trailed 15-0 before ever snapping the ball on offense.
 
Late in the first quarter, the Vikings finally struck paydirt. Sagapolutele hit a wide-open Jaylen Lynch on a 34-yard touchdown down the middle of the field. Sagapolutele passed for 67 yards in the series. Still, the Vikings trailed 22-6 at the end of the first quarter and it was an uphill battle the rest of the way.
 
On the next series for the Vikings, Sagapolutele was intercepted. That led to another five-play, 60-yard scoring drive by the Fighting Hawks. Later in the second another interception set up UND on a short field and they scored again.
 
The Fighting Hawks led 36-6 at halftime. UND had run 42 plays to just 24 for the Vikings in the half as PSU essentially gave away two drives with turnovers. The Fighting Hawks had 276 total yards to 106 for Portland State.
 
Sagapolutele engineered the Vikings' best drive of the season in the third quarter – a 13-play, 80-yard march for a touchdown. Twice he completed key third-down passes, first to tight end Kristian Ingman, then tight end Brooks Ferguson. Running back Delon Thompson finished it off with a three-yard run for his first TD of the season.
 
In the fourth quarter, the defense came up with a big play as end Jayden Brannan made a strip sack of the UND quarterback. Helmstetler scooped the ball and raced 70 yards for a touchdown.
 
Wide receiver Terence Loville had the most offensive yards for the Vikings with three receptions for 25 yards and four running plays for 30 yards.
 
On defense, the Vikings had nine tackles for loss and four sacks. Defensive end Spencer Elliott led the way with a career-high 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Helmstetler had nine tackles, two for losses, a sack and the fumble return touchdown.
 
"We are young and banged up, but we are throwing guys in there and getting better. Baby steps. This isn't who you want to do it against. (North Dakota) is a helluva football team," said Vikings Coach Bruce Barnum.
 

GAME NOTES

• 20^th-ranked North Dakota was Portland State's third consecutive nationally-ranked opponent to open the season.
• John-Keawe Sagapolutele became the third quarterback to start in three games for the Vikings.
• Jaylen Lynch's receiving touchdown was the second of his career… Delon Thompson's score was the ninth of his career.
• Helmstetler's fumble return for a touchdown was the first by a Viking since 2021.
• The Vikings play one more non-conference road game against Hawai'i next week before beginning Big Sky Conference play at home on Sept. 27 against Northern Arizona.