News Story - Idaho State Journal

dthompson@journalnet.com

PORTLAND, Ore. -- JD Ponciano put up his gloved hand to shade the sun, then took it down long enough to field the football. Or nearly field it.

The ball grazed off his chest at the Idaho State 20-yard line and tumbled eight yards into the arms of a Portland State kickoff cover man. That precipitated five dreadful, costly minutes for the Idaho State football team, which lost 36-13 on Saturday at PGE Park in Portland, Ore., extending what is now the second-longest losing streak in the Championship Subdivision to 12 games.

"I felt like the ball was right in the sun, but I just flat-out blew it," said Ponciano, the junior return man. "I killed our momentum."

By that kickoff, which came with 4:58 to go in the third quarter and the Vikings leading 19-13, 75 percent of the field was in shadow -- right up to the 20-yard line, where Portland State's Danny Urrego placed his kickoff.

Portland State went on to score a touchdown, stymie Idaho State's offense on 4th-and-goal from the 5-yard line and drive again into the Bengals' red zone. It did all of that before the start of the fourth quarter, and a minute into the final frame the Vikings added a 23-yard field goal to take a 29-13 lead.

"It just unraveled," said Idaho State coach John Zamberlin.

For the second time in as many road games, the Bengals (0-8 overall, 0-5 Big Sky) didn't score in the second half, and what started as a balanced offense gradually slipped into the usual pass-to-catch-up scheme.

Sophomore Russel Hill attempted 47 passes -- 27 in the second half -- and finished with 276 yards and two interceptions. Senior cornerback Reggie Jones brought back one of those picks for the Vikings' final touchdown.

Hill was also sacked twice.

"They had me guessing sometimes," Hill said. "They mixed up their blitzes a lot and got me a little confused."

Portland State (3-4, 2-2) wasn't particularly selfish with the football -- it committed four turnovers and held the ball 10 fewer minutes than Idaho State -- but it struck quickly.

The Vikings averaged 8.5 yards per play, compared to the Bengals' 4.8, and outgained Idaho State 547 to 383. Portland State converted on 8-of-14 third downs, and Urrego made all three of his field-goal attempts. Just twice were the Vikings forced to punt, and neither was returned.

That the Vikings gave away 95 yards on 10 penalties didn't seem to slow them -- certainly not in the way that 11 penalties stunted the Bengals.

"Coach Zamberlin always talks about effort penalties, holding, going to the whistle," said junior Clint Knickrehm, who gained 72 of Idaho State's 107 rushing yards. "Penalties like that aren't a big deal. But when you get a personal foul you've got to clean those up, and you've got to be smart about them."

Yet for a half, Idaho State remained close.

Knickrehm's one-yard touchdown capped an 11-play, 61-yard opening drive that gave Idaho State its second 7-0 lead of the season. Portland State answered with back-to-back touchdown passes from Drew Hubel to Mario D'Ambrosio and Aaron Woods -- the Vikings muffed the snap on their second extra point -- but Idaho State didn't let the game get out of hand.

After those two touchdowns, the Vikings committed three turnovers and only added a field goal before halftime. Bengals junior Mike Ramos kicked a pair of field goals himself: one from 47 yards that barely cleared the crossbar, then another from 34 yards as the second quarter expired.

But the Bengals never scored again, The Vikings' run-and-shoot offense took off from there, winning the second half 20-0.

The sophomore Hubel threw for 474 yards on 27-of-46 attempts. Sophomore Raymond Fry and Aaron Woods each caught six passes and a touchdown for 164 and 110 yards, respectively. The Vikings, who boast the best passing offense in the nation, attempted only six runs.

Junior Jaron Taylor led the Bengals with seven receptions for 81 yards.

Idaho State hasn't won since Oct. 20, 2007, when it beat Portland State

38-20 at Holt Arena.

Thanks to Columbia's 21-13 with over Darmouth that ended its 13-game

losing streak, Idaho State's skid is second only to Indiana State's

22-game stretch in the FCS. The Bengals will try to break that Saturday

against No. 6 Cal Poly (4-1), which won 48-28 last year at Holt Arena.

The Mustangs' option offense will present a vastly different challenge to the Vikings' run-and-shoot. But the opponent wasn't so much the Bengals' problem Saturday, players said.

"It didn't feel like they were dominating, it's just we weren't quite over the hump," Hill said. "We weren't turning the corner. We'll try to figure that out."

By Dan Thompson

This document was originally published online on Sunday, October 26, 2008

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