Big Sky Conference

Bears outlast Vikings in 56-49 OT battle in Portland

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Portland, OR – Drama was everywhere at Providence Park Saturday night, but Portland State fell to a red-hot quarterback and an overturned touchdown call in a 56-49 Big Sky Conference overtime loss to Northern Colorado.

The winning points came on a second-down,10-yard sweep to the right by UNC’s Brandon Cartagena on the first overtime possession.

The Vikings appeared to score the equalizer on third down on their possession when quarterback Alex Kuresa rifled a pass on a slant route to Josh Kraght, who fell into the end zone with the ball as PSU players and fans celebrated.

But officials reviewed the play and ruled that Kraght did not control the ball all the way and ruled it incomplete. Kuresa’s fourth-down pass to Paris Penn skipped off the receiver’s fingertips and the Bears escaped with the win.

The Bears elevated their season record to 5-3 (3-2 in the Big Sky), while the Vikings fell to 2-6 (1-4).

The loss spoiled the memory of a dramatic late-game drive by PSU that got the Vikings into a 49-49 tie with 1:12 left. Kuresa drove the Vikings 74 yards in just eight plays for the tie. One of them was a third-down bomb down the middle to Kraght that put the Vikings on Northern’s side of the field; the tying score was a Kuresa shot into the right side of the end zone to Austin Holman.

After a relatively tame first half that had the Vikings leading 21-13, the Bears turned quarterback Kyle Sloter loose with spectacular results. The 6-foot-4 senior threw for 164 of his 313 passing yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another as the Bears appeared to take command.

The Vikings fought back with Kuresa and newcomer Za’Quan Summers. Summers, a junior college transfer who redshirted last year, ran for 122 yards and his first touchdown as a Viking, a 69-yard sweep of the left side early in the fourth quarter.

Kuresa ran for 130 yards and two short touchdowns; he also passed for 178 yards and two more touchdowns. One to Holman and one to Maximo Espitia.

Paris Penn picked up 69 hard-nosed rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The game was nearly even on the stat sheet, with Northern Colorado gaining 558 total yards to 549 for the Vikings. Unfortunately two Viking turnovers were converted into 10 points for the Bears, making a big difference in the outcome.

GAME NOTES: This was only the sixth overtime game in Portland State history, and the first in 12 years. The Vikings are now 3-3 all-time in overtime… Kraght had a career-high 100 receiving yards… PSU travel to UC Davis next Saturday for another Big Sky Conference game.

Press release courtesy of Mike Lund – Portland State Athletics. All Rights Reserved. 

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