The Sacramento State football team moves into a tie for fourth place in the Big Sky Conference with Weber State University as the team defeated Portland State University 28-15 at Hornet Stadium this afternoon.

The win for the Hornets improves their record to 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big Sky. As for the Vikings, they drop to 2-7 overall and 1-5 in conference play.

The game began in a slow fashion as both teams had a feeling out period in the first five minutes of the game.

On the team’s second possession of the game, the Hornets moved the ball from their own 36-yard line and put Sac State ahead early 7-0.

Quarterback Jeff Fleming led the assault on the Viking defense as the offensive unit went eight plays for 64-yards in six minutes.

Sac State standout Bryan Hilliard ran the ball in from the Viking six-yard line to earn his 31st touchdown of his career and 12th this season.

The Hornets received the ball late in the first quarter and marched the length of the field again to bring the score to 14-0 just before the quarter ended.

Fleming found freshmen sensation Morris Norrise for a 43-yard strike as the wide receiver went uncovered in the middle of the field.

On being asked about the holes in the Viking coverage, Fleming said the team decided to work within the looks that Portland State would give to the Hornet offense.

“All week during practice we were planning on taking what they gave us because they play really well against the run. So we just waited for our opportunities,” Fleming said. “They eventually gave us a couple of opportunities on some deep throws and we took them and ran with them.”

Sac State would score one more time before half as it countered the first of three field goals by Portland State kicker Zach Brown.

Hornet tight end Matt Carter ran in a two-yard pass from Fleming to bring the score to 21-3.

Portland state did find the end zone late in the second quarter as that would be the only significant scoring it would have for the entire game. A two point conversion after the touchdown would fail as the score would stand 21-9 at half time.

In the third quarter the Hornets were held without a score as the Viking defense held Sac State to a stingy minus four-yards of offense.

The fourth quarter would see two more scoring plays from either side as Portland State kicker Brown launched the last of his three field goals early in the quarter. That brought the score to 21-15 in favor of Sac State with 13 minutes left to play.

The Hornets, four minutes later, would find the score board one more time as Fleming found a wide open Chase Deader in the middle of the field for a 57-yard touchdown reception. The junior receiver amassed 116 receiving yards on just four receptions and also gained 22-yards on two rushes.

Deader said the team designed the play that allowed him to get the touchdown off of the Vikings coverage.

“Jeff and McLeod came to me on the sideline gave me a set of steps I should take. They told me to run a corner route and then cut-back to the middle because the corner was playing too far out,” Deader said. “They gave me a great play and I executed it as best I could.”

Portland State outgained the Hornets 233-68 on the ground behind its pistol offense. Head coach Marshall Sperbeck said he understood that the Vikings are a good rushing offense but that the defense had the potential to keep them honest.

“We knew that they could run the ball well but I feel that we did a good job of keeping them out of the end zone. They had some success at times but I feel that our defense played a very good game,” Sperbeck said. “They did a nice job of keeping Portland State in check.”

Sac State heads to Pocatello, Idaho, for a 2:35 p.m. contest with the Idaho State University Bengals on Saturday.

Injury note: Running back Hilliard is suffering from a bone spur in his foot and will be listed as day-to-day until further notice.

Matt Harrington can be reached at [email protected]