From the Portland Tribune:
Even the smallest of wins requires lots of little victories.
Portland State has won eight football games out of 10 this season — one shy of the most in a season in school history as the Vikings prepare to wrap up their regular season Saturday at Eastern Washington (2 p.m. PT).
The latest PSU triumph was by only one point, 24-23 last week at home against Southern Utah. But it, too, came about only because of numerous individual victories and, in some cases, unsung performances.
To name just a few:
• Linebacker AJ Schlatter, from Canby, returned from a one-game absence to start and make seven tackles. “I don’t know if anyone in the stands knows the significance of that,” PSU coach Bruce Barnum says. And he’s just a redshirt freshman. Schlatter was a walk-on who was put on scholarship at the start of this season. “He earned it — he did everything right off the field and made plays on the field,” Barnum says. “Everybody on defense voted to give him the money. The kid is having a great year. Without him, we struggled a little the week before at Northern Colorado (a 35-32 loss). His one piece to our puzzle of 11 on defense is pretty strong.”
• Cornerbacks Aaron Sibley and Xavier Coleman came through with plays the Vikings needed against a Southern Utah team that was throwing the ball — effectively at times — to the outside. Sibley had injured an ankle the week before and didn’t start, but he came on quickly after the Thunderbirds began to pick on his replacement. Sibley wasn’t 100 percent, but he gutted it out on Senior Day. Coleman, a sophomore from Jesuit, bounced back from a subpar showing at Northern Colorado and picked off two against Southern Utah, both at the PSU 2-yard line. “One of those was highlight reel stuff,” Barnum says. “To come back and play like he did, I was proud of that kid.”
• Kieran McDonagh, a senior, had gone from starting quarterback to bench warmer. But the Vikings gave him a new role against SUU, making him a 230-pound running back who wound up throwing the winning touchdown pass on a trick play. But first, the Viks tried to establish him as a legitimate running threat — and got him in the open field against the T-Birds’ star safety, Miles Killebrew, also 230. When McDonagh took on Killebrew and got the best of their collision, it pumped up the Viking sideline. “They (the Thunderbirds) saw their Superman get run over by my bull,” Barnum says. “Our guys thought that was the coolest thing ever.”
• Tight end Cameron Thompson hauled in two TD passes — his first scores of the season. The senior from Lebanon had made only two previous catches this year. He left the program before last season, but was asked back when Barnum took over for Nigel Burton going into 2015.
• Offensive tackles Mike Davis and Kyle Smith quietly continued their solid play and helped the Vikings move the ball without a turnover against the Big Sky’s leading defense and turnover-forcing machine. The two had a key role in neutralizing Southern Utah senior defensive end James Cowser, who is expected to be a high NFL draft choice. Cowser made only one tackle. “I don’t give enough credit to Davis and Smith,” Barnum says. “To handle that (Southern Utah) crew, I was proud of my two edge guys.”
