Idaho State wins 4th Straight Game
Video Courtesy: Big Sky TV
By Idaho State Athletics,
The Idaho State football team guaranteed itself a winning season for the first time since the 2003 season by beating Portland State 31-13 on Saturday evening at Providence Park. The Bengal defense forced six turnovers, five interceptions and one fumble and the offense tallied 430 yards.
Idaho State improved to 6-3 and 4-1 in Big Sky Conference play. Portland State quarterback Kieran McDonagh threw four interceptions and Josh Kraght tallied another pick by the PSU Offense.
Idaho State cornerback had two interceptions. , and had the other three picks. Beckstead also had a fumble recovery.
had 14 and Sorensen had 10 tackles, an interception and one pass breakup. had seven tackles, one forced fumble and 1.5 sacks and tackles for loss.
threw for 319 yards (28-for-48), two touchdowns and no interceptions. caught eight passes for 130 yards and caught seven passes for 83 yards and one touchdown. caught a touchdown for the second straight game.
became the ISU single-season all-time leading rusher as he carried the ball 23 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
Idaho State tallied 430 yards of total offense and Portland State finished with 424.
The Bengals led 14-0 after the first quarter. Williams caught his ninth touchdown of the season on a six-yard reception from Arias with 4:36 left in the first quarter and the lead was upped to 14-0 with Finney scored on a five-yard run with 58 seconds left in the quarter.
The Vikings answered with a touchdown at the 9:40 mark of the second quarter. Both teams exchanged field goals in the final five minutes of the first half. connected on a 21-yarder with 4:03 left in the quarter and Jonathan Gonzales hit a 48-yarder with eight seconds left to give the Bengals the 17-10 halftime lead.
The Bengal defense forced a turnover on the Viking opening possession thanks to an interception by in the end zone. ISU then drove 11 plays on 80-yards and caught a three-yard touchdown reception from Arias with 9:42 left in the third quarter to up the ISU lead to 24-10. The Vikings tallied a field goal to cut the ISU lead to 24-13 but the Bengal defense continued to force turnovers and the PSU offense was plagued by penalties in the second half.
Midway through the fourth quarter Finney scored his second touchdown of the game on an 18-yard run to put ISU on top 31-13 with 8:10 remaining.
Beckstead sealed the win with an interception return in the final minutes of the game.
Idaho State returns home to host Cal Poly on Saturday, November 8 in Holt Arena. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets by logging onto isubengals.com or by calling the ISU Ticket Office at Holt Arena at 208-282-FANS.
