Box Score: vs Portland State

It took Portland State’s Ryan Fuqua 12 minutes to get started on Saturday, but when the sophomore running back finally did, he carried the No. 12 ranked Vikings to a 34-20 come-from-behind victory over Sacramento State.

Fuqua finished the game with two touchdowns, as the Vikings (5-2 overall, 2-1 in Big Sky Conference) overcame a 10-3 second quarter deficit to defeat the Hornets.

“The game plans were very well drawn up,” Hornet coach John Volek said. ” They just needed to be executed.”

Sac State (2-5, 1-2 in B.S.C.) held Fuqua to five yards rushing in the first quarter, as the Hornets jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Brett LeVier’s 38-yard field goal. Viking kicker Mike Cajal-Willis tied the game early in the second quarter with a 25-yard field goal.

The game remained at a stalemate until Hornet sack leader Brad Osterhout hit Viking quarterback Justin Wood from behind, jarring loose the football. Safety Camron Mbewa picked up the pigskin at the Sac State 39-yard line, and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown, giving the Hornets a 10-3 lead.

Fuqua tied the game with just over three minutes remaining in the half on a 15-yard reception from Wood.

A Brett LeVier field goal with two seconds remaining in the half gave the Hornets a 13-10 lead.

The Hornets finished the first half with 153 rushing yards, but failed to score an offensive touchdown.

Whatever momentum LeVier’s leg gave Sac State going into the half was lost on the opening play of the third quarter. Junior cornerback Nick Swanegan ran back the second half kickoff 84 yards to the Hornet 10-yard line. Three plays later, Wood completed a five-yard pass to Jesse Levin, giving the Vikings their first lead of the game, 17-13.

Five minutes later, Wood ran in a nine-yard touchdown, and early in the fourth quarter, Cajal-Willis connected on a 21-yard field goal to give the Vikings a 27-13 lead. The field goal capped a 19-play, 76-yard Portland State scoring drive which consumed eight minutes, 26 seconds of the clock.

“It’s demoralizing (to the opposition),” Viking coach Tim Walsh said of the drive. “One thing I was disappointed in is that we didn’t finish the drive (with a touchdown).”

The Hornets had a chance to close the Viking lead to seven points in the fourth quarter, but Ryan Leadingham’s pass from the Viking 11-yard line was intercepted in the end zone by Swanegan.

“I got greedy,” Leadingham said of the interception. “One of (the receivers) had a guy on him; I thought he could wall him off.”

Leadingham rolled to his left on the play and looked to have a path toward the end zone, but the sophomore quarterback elected to pass.

“I should have ran it for a touchdown, but I didn’t,” he said.

Fuqua’s 53-yard run sealed the win for Portland State midway through the fourth quarter.

Hornet quarterback Ryan Leadingham connected with Fred Amey with just over four minutes remaining in the game to close Portland State’s lead to 34-20, but Sac State was unable to recover the ensuing onside kick.

The Hornets finished the game with 403 offensive yards — 68 more than Portland State, but lost the turnover battle 4-1.

Leadingham led the Hornets with 80 rushing yards, while completing 23-of-32 passes for 185 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Freshman running back Tyronne Gross finished with 68 rushing yards on 16 carries.

Fuqua led the Viking ground with 141 yards. Wood completed 18-of-27 passes for 143 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

Hornet cornerback Brandon Coleman, playing in only his second game due to suspension and injury, led the team with 11 tackles. Stefon Kleinert led the Vikings with 10 tackles, including one sack.

With the loss, the Hornets fell in a tie with the Eastern Washington Eagles for sixth place in the Big Sky Conference with a 1-2 conference record. The Eagles are the Hornets’ next opponent, as the two teams will square off on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Washington.

In their first three conference games, the Hornets have played the second-through-fourth place teams in the conference standings — Idaho State (4-2, 3-1 in B.S.C.), Northern Arizona (4-3, 2-2 in B.S.C.) and Portland State. After traveling to Eastern Washington, the Hornets will play three of their final four games at home.

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