The Viking football team navigates their way back to Portland this week, after journeying astray the path to victory against Eastern Washington. The Vikings face their next opponent, the Sacramento State Hornets on Saturday October 18th, at their home field, PGE Park.
This week’s game against the Hornets will be the Vikings’ first game played at home since the middle of September. Upon their return, the Vikings will be faced with some stiff competition from the Hornets. Sacramento State is 1-1 in the Big Sky while PSU has yet to win a game in conference play. Sacramento State lost 24-21 in their last game against Northern Arizona. The lost put their season record down to 2-4. The Vikings have one-upped them insofar as PSU has a season record of 3-3.
However, Sacramento State has a tough defense led by senior Kevin Tennerson, he had 12 tackles for the Hornets in the teams last game. If the Vikings can manage to make their way through the Sacramento State defense, they might find themselves on the fast track to victory.
Nevertheless, the Viking men could have used a map of Woodward Stadium, last Saturday, when they lost 42-16 to the Eagles. The Vikings appeared to be directionally challenged when they were forced to backtrack 125-yards in penalty calls. There were 11 total penalties against the Vikings and four of them were personal fouls.
Linebacker Joey King led Portland State’s defense to at least one touchdown in the first half. King returned a fumble and turned it into a 68-yard touchdown for the Vikings. Another defensive savior was free safety Jamal Abdullah, who helped the Vikings with 11 tackles.
Running back Ryan Fuqua was on the right track, receiving for 85-yards and rushing for 111-yards including a touchdown. The Eagles gave Fuqua his third 100-yard game for the season. The major roadblock, in the Vikings trail to success, was the Eagles offense, which routed 517 offensive yards against the Viks. Of those yards, 272 belonged to the passing guidance of quarterback Erik Meyer. He completed 17 of 22 attempted passes for the Eagles. The game gave the Eagles a 1-2 record in the Big Sky and left the Vikings with 0-2.
The Vikings have yet another chance to put a win in their Big Sky record when they play the Hornets this coming Saturday. The game is free for Portland State students and spectators are more than encouraged to come support the team. The game begins at 6:05 p.m. at PGE Park. Win or lose, the Viks always put up a good fight.