VIKING NOTES: Hubel starts vs. Northern Colorado; 12 seniors finish their careers; slotbacks continue to shine
PSU recruits 2A star coached by Mouse Davis' nephew
http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=122729627240810900
THE GAME: Northern Colorado (1-9, 1-6 Big Sky) at Portland State (3-7, 2-5)
WHEN, WHERE: 1 p.m. Saturday, PGE Park
RADIO: KTRO (910 AM)
• Sophomore Drew Hubel from Corvallis will make his eighth start of the season and 12th of his Viking career on Saturday.
Offensive coordinator Mouse Davis says the Vikings have no specific plans to use or rotate other quarterbacks in the season finale.
“Put the ball in the end zone, that’s the plan,” Davis says.
• Hubel has played in nine games this year, completing 55.5 percent for 2,569 yards (285.4 per game) and 15 touchdowns, with 15 interceptions.
Last year, he played in six games, completing 56.7 percent for 1,470 yards (245.0) and 15 TDs, with 11 interceptions.
• Slotbacks Mario D’Ambrosio and Aaron Woods will cap excellent junior seasons by making their 11th straight starts of the year.
The 5-11 D’Ambrosio leads the Vikings with 68 catches for 839 yards and seven touchdowns.
The 5-6 Woods has 59 catches for 915 yards and six touchdowns.
Woods, from Sunset High, could post the 14th 1,000-yard receiving season in PSU history.
He ranks sixth in the nation in all-purpose yards, leading the Big Sky with 178 per game. Last week, he returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown at Montana State.
“Both have had really good years,” Davis says. “Both have been nicked up, too, Mario probably more than Aaron, but Mario’s been fighting through it real well.
“Mario was on his way to a huge year and then got hurt. His production has been greatly reduced.
“Aaron keeps coming on. He’s been pretty steady.
“Both are bright kids. They’ll be very, very good in another year. They’ll be leaders at the inside (receiver) spots.”
• Davis says he thinks the receivers around and behind D’Ambrosio and Woods will be better next year, too.
“It’ll be the first time we’ll have had returners at those positions, although Mario played a little last year,” Davis says.
• One of the players PSU is recruiting heavily is Culver High star Nevin Lewis, 6-2, who led the Bulldogs to the Class 2A championship last year and has them in Saturday’s semifinals.
Lewis, who has high jumped 6-8, plays quarterback and returns kicks for Culver and is getting major-college attention. He can do it all, though, and the Vikings like him most as a receiver.
He plays for Davis’ nephew, Culver coach Kurt Davis.
“I met the kid earlier this year,” Mouse Davis says. “He’s a good-looking athete.”
• Saturday’s game will be the swan song for a dozen PSU seniors.
On the offensive two-deep, only three players are graduating — guard Clayton Rios, receiver Ty Coleman and tackle Landan Laurusaitis (out with a knee injury). Rios has started every game, defying concerns that offseason back surgery might affect or even end his career.
On defense, the Vikings will lose stellar linebackers Andy Schantz and KJ McCrae, along with starting defensive backs Reggie Jones and Aaron Dickson and two backup defensive linemen, Lloyd Talakai and Jonathan Benjamin-Nichols. Also graduating is top reserve DB Stanley Jackson, who went down in the seventh game this season with a knee injury.
Special teams will lose a key player in senior kicker/punter Danny Urrego.
Backup receiver Steve Cooper, another senior, has been a fixture on special teams.
• When Portland State has won this season, the Vikings have converted 51 percent of their third-down plays, while in their losses, the Vikings have made 22 percent. End result: a 32-percent season conversion rate that ranks last in the conference.
• The Viks have forced a Big Sky-high 28 turnovers, but they have given up 30, also the most in the conference.
Off turnovers, opponents lead in points 99-79.