Portland State University Athletics

HILLSBORO, Ore. — When a penalty gave the Vikings a first-and-goal late in the third quarter, down 20-7 to Southern Utah, it looked as if the energy of the game had shifted. The Vikings went into the end zone on the next play on a direct snap to Cru Newman.
 
A play later, the quarter ended and the entire Portland State football team ran onto the field jawing at their opponents. The act – which stayed civil, as evidenced by no flags being thrown – showed the energy, belief and pride that head coach Chris Fisk and his staff have worked so hard to instill in their first year on the Park Blocks.
 
The belief carried over into the fourth quarter with players bouncing up and down on the sidelines and imploring the Hillsboro Stadium crowd to get louder throughout the final 15 minutes. The defense held the Thunderbirds to just one first down over their next two drives, while the Viking offense responded with a 12-play, 81-yard drive for a touchdown to go ahead 21-20 with 1:51 remaining in the game.
 
But Southern Utah quarterback Will Burns led the Thunderbirds down the field, setting up a 33-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining that proved to be the decider in a 23-21 loss for the Viking Friday night at Hillsboro Stadium.
 
Burns rushed for 29 yards on the final drive, while he converted a third-and-8 from the PSU 37-yard line with a nine-yard pass to David Spjut. A 10-yard rush by Burns on the next play put the Thunderbirds (5-6, 4-4) well within field goal range for kicker Jayden Rogers who was 3-for-3 (48, 25, 33) on the day.
 
The Vikings (2-9, 2-6) tried to bleed the clock to leave the Thunderbirds with as little time as possible on their final touchdown drive. More than six minutes came off the clock as the Vikings mixed seven rushes with five passes. They converted a fourth-and-8 from the SUU 42-yard line thanks to a pass interference penalty on a throw to wide receiver Terence Loville. Quarterback John-Keawe Sagapolutele found running back Delon Thompson in the flat for a 23-yard gain on the next play, setting the Vikings up at the SUU five-yard line. Two plays later, Thompson was in the end zone for his first touchdown of the game.
 
Thompson's touchdown gave the Vikings their first lead in the game. The Vikings hadn't re-taken the lead in a game in which they trailed at any point this season, so the comeback, while not completed, was another sign of progress.
 
The Vikings came back behind a rushing attack that out-gained the third-best rushing attack in the FCS this season. The Vikings out-rushed the Thunderbirds 208-to-164. It was only the second 200-yard rushing game for the Vikings this season. The Thunderbirds, meanwhile, came into the game averaging 247 yards per game on the ground, meaning the Vikings held them to 83 yards below their average.
 
Thompson finished with 169 yards on 26 carries. He had over 100 yards by halftime when he was averaging more than 10 yards per carry. From a career perspective, Thompson jumped four spots in the Portland State top 10, as he now ranks sixth all-time with 2,283 career yards.
 
The Vikings were unlucky to not have more points on the scoreboard at the end of the first half considering the way Thompson and the offensive line were running the ball. Two red zone interceptions stopped potential scoring drives, however. The first came on a tipped pass and was returned 58 yards to set the Thunderbirds up for one of their two first-half field goals. The second came with 24 seconds left in the half, as Tim Christian picked off Sagapolutele in the end zone.
 
The Vikings had been good at protecting the ball within the red zone this season before Friday. They only had one fumble out of 30 trips to the red zone this season coming into the game. So, the lost scoring opportunities against the Thunderbirds proved critical.
 
The Thunderbirds followed their interception at the end of the first half with an 11-play, 75-yard drive out of halftime to go up 20-7.
 
The Vikings answered with a 15-play, 75-yard drive of their own that lasted more than eight and a half minutes. They converted two third downs on the drive, including one on a highlight-reel catch from freshman Zui Shelton, who brought in a back-shoulder throw from Sagapolutele despite having a defender draped over him.
 
The Vikings thought the drive had stalled at the SUU 12-yard line when they opted to kick a field goal on fourth-and-9. A vaulting penalty gave the Vikings new life, though, and they used that to kickstart their comeback.
 
It didn't result in a win in the end. But if the final image of this Portland State football team for home fans is the belief the team showed throughout the fourth quarter, then that's a hopeful image of what's to come for the Portland State program under Fisk.
 
GAME NOTES:

• The Vikings and Thunderbirds were playing for the first time since 2021, when the Thunderbirds were first in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings still lead the all-time series, 11-5, but the Thunderbirds took a 4-3 lead in the Big Sky series between the two teams.
• The Vikings out-gained the Thunderbirds 340-to-330. The 330 yards of total offense for Southern Utah tied a seasonal best showing from the Portland State defense.
• The third quarter featured only two drives and one play, limiting the scoring opportunities for both teams Friday.
• The Vikings lost the turnover battle for only the third time this season, 2-to-1.

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