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Viking football goes to playoffs for fourth time The Vikings didn't exactly storm out of the starting blocks, but they picked up steam and blew like a hurricane through the Western Foot­ ball Conference and into the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1991. After a 1-2 start, in which PSU's typically high- powered offense struggled to move the ball, the Vikings rolled off 10 straight wins before falling 53-21 to eventual national champion Pittsburg State (Kansas) in the semifinals. PSU OPP. 7 Mankato State 10 56 Missouri Southern 38 14 ©Texas A&l 35 30 Sonoma State 6 33 $Southern Utah* 30 35 ©Eastern Washington 23 62 St. Francis 28 20 ©Santa Clara* 18 35 Sacramento State* 19 38 Cal St.-Northridge* 13 55 ©Cal Poly-SLO* 35 28 Northern Colorado# 24 37 Mankato State# 27 21 Pittsburg State# 53 *Western Football Conference #NCAA Division II Playoffs It was head coach Ernest "Pokey" Allen's fourth trip to the playoffs in five years, and repre­ sented a quantum leap from his team's 6-5 cam­ paign a year earlier. Junior quarterback John Charles took over as starting quarterback after redshirt freshman Matt James suffered a broken collarbone in the team's fourth game. Directing offensive coordinator Alan Borges' intricate offensive schemes, Charles gained in confidence and effectiveness all season. Charles threw 41 touchdown passes to break Neil Lomax's single-season record and set several oth­ er school and even national records when he threw for 8 TDs and 502 yards in a 55-35 Viking win over Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Junior Rodney Clemente became only the sec­ ond runner in PSU history to surpass 1,000 yards, gaining 1,027 yards in 11 games despite a series of injuries and illness. But it was senior Rais Aho, who toiled as backup fullback early in the sea­ son, who came on to lead Viking rushers through the playoffs. After Clemente suffered a knee liga­ ment sprain, Aho came on to rush for 535 yards in his last for games. Seniors Alan Boschma and Ed Yoder led PSU in receiving with 49 and 48 catches, respectively. Boschma also ranked among the nation's leaders in punt returns, with an 11.7 average on 27 at­ tempts, in receiving average, with 22.9 yards per catch, and in scoring, with 98 points on 15 re­ ceiving touchdowns, one punt return for a touch­ down and one PAT reception. Junior tight end Mike Palomino also shoul­ dered his way into the record books by catching five touchdown passes from Charles in the Cal Poly win, finishing with 10 TDs for the season. The Viking defense struggled through a season of injuries and youth to become adept at making adjustments against opponents running veer-op­ tion running games and pro-set passing styles. Se­ nior free safety James Fuller was named first team All-American, and proved a stabilizing force in a backfield otherwise manned by underclassmen, including a pair of freshmen. Injuries decimated the front line, forcing defensive coordinator Tom Mason to switch to a 3-4 front alignment. That move played into the strength of the team on defense, where linebackers Greg Lupfer, Rick Cruz, Brooks Findlay, Greg Kantola and Rich Lane gave PSU speed and versatility. 126