Portland State Steamrolls Southern Oregon, 52-0, in JELD-WEN
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Portland, OR - A 31-point first period left little doubt to the outcome as the Portland State Vikings won their season-opener over Southern Oregon, 52-0, in the first football game at newly-remodeled JELD-WEN Field.
PSU's offense racked up 597 yards, including 335 on the ground. The defense posted its first shutout in 48 games, dating to 2006, and held Southern Oregon to just 107 total yards.
The Vikings took advantage of good field position, an interception and a failed fake punt by the Raiders to post 31 points in the first 14 minutes. Senior running back Cory McCaffrey rushed for three first-period touchdowns, and senior quarterback Connor Kavanaugh added a fourth. Zach Brown tacked on a 25-yard field goal.
With 31-0 lead going into the second period, little was left to doubt. Head Coach Nigel Burton cleared his bench and gave valuable playing time to a number of players.
Kavanaugh rushed for 78 yards and passed for 48 more on 4-5 completions, but was out after the first period. Senior Drew Hubel came in and shook off the rust of a redshirt season. He completed 13-22 for 181 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Freshman Shaquille Richard led the Vikings in rushing with 16 carries for 89 yards in a backup role. Sophomore Justin Lilley had 88 rushing yards and a touchdown. McCaffrey went for 69 yards on 13 carries.
Justin Monahan, who caught five passes for 82 yards, had a 21-yard TD reception from Hubel late in the second quarter.
Lilley and quarterback Justin Engstrom each had third-quarter rushing touchdowns.
On defense, senior linebacker Ryan Rau led the way with nine tackles. Junior linebacker Joel Sisler had six, including 2.5 tackles for loss. In all, the Vikings made 14 tackles for loss, two sacks, and forced three turnovers. Senior safety DeShawn Shead broke up three passes and forced a fumble that was recovered by Rau, while David Ross and Denzel Davis each had interceptions.
The most important takeaway from this game for the Vikings was the realization that they were ready to play and took care of business with ease against a lower division opponent.
"That's what happens when you work hard through camp and you prepare well," said Viking Coach Nigel Burton. "You work hard up to the end and you execute."
"I knew this team was ready," said Kavanaugh. "Coach Burton had this thing going from day one. Start strong, finish strong. It was good to see offense, defense, special teams come out in the first five minutes and really put it on (Southern Oregon).
Burton and Kavanaugh were also happy to see the production from an old friend - Hubel - playing in his first game since Nov. 7, 2009.
"Drew did a great job… it took about two drives for him to go right back to that guy that he is," said Burton. "He distributes the ball. He runs the offense and is deadly with that arm."
"That's old Drew. It's good to see him be successful," said Kavanaugh.
The challenge is much greater next time out for the Vikings as they host Northern Arizona on Sept. 17 in the Big Sky Conference opener at JELD-WEN. The Vikings will attempt to build a winning streak and avenge a bad 62-14 loss to the Lumberjacks last year in Flagstaff.
GAME NOTES: The Vikings returned to their home venue of 45 seasons after a one-season departure for remodel. PSU played last year at Hillsboro Stadium. The 335 yards rushing tied for eighth-most in a game in PSU history… the 52 points scored were the most since a 73-68 loss to Weber State on Oct. 27, 2009 - a span of 37 games… the Vikings are now 9-0 against lower division schools since moving to the Division I FCS level… PSU is 12-4 in home openers since joining the Big Sky… the win ended a seven-game losing streak that finished off the 2010 season.
