"If there are football gods, I don't think they are with Portland State right now," Walsh told the Arizona Daily Sun after Northern Arizona, erasing a 10-point deficit in the final seven minutes, edged his Vikings 21-20 last Saturday. "I don't want to take anything away from the team that we played, because they had more points than we did. But for large percentages of the game, they were outplayed."
It was the same song, second verse for the Vikings, who for the second straight game were beaten on the road in the final seconds after failing to hold a commanding second-half lead. The week before, Montana State scored the tying touchdown as time expired, then won in overtime.
A 55-yard touchdown run by Ryan Fuqua boosted PSU ahead 20-10 late in the third quarter, but the Vikings failed to extend their lead when kicker Eric Azorr's field-goal attempt bounced off the left upright. The Vikings' next possession ended on a safety, sparking NAU's run of 11 unanswered points that continued with a short TD run by Roger Robinson and, following a successful onside kick, Paul Ernster's winning 48-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining.
"To be honest, I never thought we'd lose," Walsh said. "I told (the Vikings) that nobody says life is fair, in football or other things that you do."
Walsh's lament to the gods will sound familiar to longtime Grizzly fans. Then Montana basketball coach Mike Montgomery, who went on to Stanford and the Golden State Warriors, made a similar comment in 1986 after losing the Big Sky championship to Montana State.
NAU's safety will loom large should Coach Jerome Souers' Lumberjacks advance to the playoffs for a second straight year.
PSU led 20-10 when quarterback Joe Wiser dropped back on third-and-11 from his own 6-yard line. The play collapsed and Wiser, circling back to try and find space to get rid of the football, stepped on the end line for a safety with 7:02 remaining. Just like that, it was 20-12.
Blitzing linebacker Vince Henman, who helped trap Wiser, credited a new defensive scheme for the game-turning play.
"We ran a pressure that we hadn't run all year," said Henman, a senior from Laurel who led NAU with 12 tackles, including three sacks. "It's real tough to pick up from the outside edge because we've got three guys coming into one gap. So the (offensive) tackle's got to make up his mind about who he's going to block. Then the running back has to pick up someone else, so someone's always free."
In this case, it was Henman.
"The play got eaten up. I tried to get outside and throw it away," Wiser said. "I didn't feel like I was that deep in the end zone. I felt I still had room. ... That was obviously the play of the night."
Portland State dominated the game for most of the first three quarters.
PSU running backs Joe Rubin (133 yards) and Ryan Fuqua (90) found plenty of room behind an offensive line that started 17-year-old freshman Brennan Carvalho at guard in place of injured Steve Blatchley.
"They were going to shove it down our throats with the run, we just had to shove back," said NAU linebacker Sean Sovacool.
The Lumberjacks did that to some extent. They managed 130 yards rushing themselves, although 50 of them came on one snap, a TD burst by Philo Sanchez.
Eastern Washington has no shortage of quality running backs. With seniors Darius Washington and Reggie Witherspoon nursing injuries, sophomore Dezmon Cole rushed for 199 yards in the Eagles' 51-7 victory at winless Weber State.
Cole, making his first career start, busted loose on a 67-yard TD run to open the second half. True freshman Toke Kefu added 89 yards rushing and EWU, rebounding from a 31-28 loss to Montana, totaled 295 on the ground.
"It doesn't surprise me," said EWU coach Paul Wulff. "He (Cole) had a great fall camp, and just didn't get the opportunity yet this year. We know he has some ability. If he realizes he's the guy that day, he's going to play well."
Montana State's 1984 national champions held a 20th anniversary reunion last weekend in Bozeman.
Among the former players in attendance at Saturday's 27-24 win over South Dakota State were Mark Fellows, Joe Roberts, the Timmer brothers and the Kimball boys. Their coach, Dave Arnold, now an assistant under Sonny Lubick at Colorado State, was also on hand since CSU played on Friday night (defeating Wyoming).
Joe Bignell, the star tight end on that '84 Bobcat team, couldn't make the game, but had an age-old Montana excuse. Bignell, a prep standout at Deer Lodge, was on horseback on the family ranch near Avon.
"Joe, who was here (Friday) night, couldn't be in attendance today because he was moving cattle," MSU coach Mike Kramer told the Great Falls Tribune.
Quick kicks: EWU's 44-point margin of victory was its widest against a I-AA team since 1994. ... EWU's Eric Kimble caught only one pass, but scored on a 73-yard punt return. He has 31 TDs in 29 career games. ... Sacramento State forced six turnovers, but netted just seven points from them in a 29-24 loss at Idaho State. Sac State, limited to a net 37 yards rushing, is 0-5 in Big Sky road games under Coach Steve Mooshagian. ... Sophomore QB Ian Pizzaro, making his first career start for Weber State, was sacked nine times by EWU. Welcome to the Big Sky, kid. ... Weber (0-8) has matched the 1975 Wildcats for the worst start in school history. ... MSU senior tight end Blake Wolf, primarily known as a blocker, had 11 catches for 137 yards and a TD against South Dakota State. That was just one fewer catch than Wolf had all of last season.
Reporter Rial Cummings can be reached at 523-5255 or rcummings@missoulian.com.
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