Saturday, September 16, 2006

Portland State: Cal Bears Put The Hurt On Vikings, 42-16

Berkeley, CA - A 35-point flurry by the California Golden Bears from the middle of the first period through the middle of the second period put the Portland State Vikings back on their heels and culminated in a 42-16 Cal win at Memorial Stadium.  The Bears, ranked 21st in 1-A football, raised their record to 2-1 with their second straight home win. The Vikings, ranked 13th in 1-AA football, dropped to 2-1.  Safety Micheal Dorsey set the Vikings up early with an interception and return of 29 yards to the Cal 20. PSU moved it down to the seven-yard line before settling for a 24-yard Eric Azorr field goal.  Two minutes later the Bears began their run. It started with a 55-yard drive and three-yard touchdown reception by Cameron Morrah.

Five minutes later, Juston Forsett ended a 65-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run. With a 14-3 lead, the Bears were off the races.  The big play of the game for the Vikings came in the second offensive series, when quarterback Sawyer Smith was knocked out of the game. After scrambling out of the pocket, Smith was taken down on a pass attempt, injuring his right hip. Smith didn't play the rest of the game.  Two series later, backup quarterback Tygue Howland was also knocked out of the game after scrambling from the pocket. That brought in senior Rob Freeman who played the rest of the way and made a good accounting of himself.  By then though, the Cal lead had grown to 21-3 on a 30- yard interception return by Daymeion Hughes. Heisman trophy candidate Marshawn Lynch rambled 71 yards for a touchdown, and when backup tailback Marcus O'Keith scored on a five-yard touchdown, the Bears were ahead 35-3 and there was still 6:58 to play in the first half.

Freeman rallied the Vikings on a pair of scoring drives late in the period. The first concluded on a reverse option pass by Tremayne Kirkland to Brendan Ferrigno for 42 yards. Three minutes later Kirkland caught a touchdown pass of three yards from Freeman.  The Vikings went into halftime trailing 42-16 and had given up 375 yards of offense.  The second half was different as the Vikings played Cal to a 0-0 draw. The Golden Bears managed just 127 yards after intermission, but still outgained PSU 502-273 in the game.  "They were as good as advertised on offense," said Viking Head Coach Tim Walsh. "We're good on defense and they dismantled us early on. Our egos got rocked early by what they did."  "My hat is off to Rob Freeman. He's our third quarterback and he played against Cal's defense. He played very well in a tough spot," said Walsh.

Freeman finished the game completing 12 of 17 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. Kirkland had four receptions for 24 yards. Tailback Kelena Ho'okano rushed 10 times for 54 yards and caught three passes for 25 yards.  Linebacker Adam Hayward had seven tackles to lead the Vikings, including two for losses. Dorsey had a big game with five tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.  

Game Notes: Portland State is now 2-21 all-time against 1-A teams, 2-11 since joining the Big Sky Conference, and 0-5 against Pac-10 teams... PSU allowed its first sacks of the season as Cal came up with three

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