Viking_Yearbook_93

i Cbfiill Ceam's PSU Experiences Roller Coaster Season It was a strange season for the Portland State football team. The Vikings went from pre-season national championship contenders to playoff dreamers, and then back to title favorites, all in a matter of weeks. The road was a long and uncertain one with various hazards and pitfalls awaiting former PSU head coach Pokey Allen and his team. Those pitfalls included too many injuries to too many key players, and numer­ ous hazards that included bail calls, horrible coaching moves and unlirnely plays. Despite the 41-38 loss to the hands of Pillsbiirg Slate [Kansas] on Dec. 5 at Civic Stadium in the Division 11 playoffs, the second straight year they ha\e lost to the Gorillas in the semi'.s. the Vikings had many good times as well as bad. ULo-w itt lm:aip»f3enecl s * PSU whips the University of Calgary 55-0 in a good­ will game, and slip by Division I-AA Eastern Washington,! who would eventually go on to be co-champions of the Big Sky Conference, 24-21 to cruise to an impressive 2-0 start. * But the Vikings lose linebackers Rich Cruz, torn ante­ rior cruciate, and Greg Lupfer, broken jaw, for the entire campaign. Both were crucial for the defensive unit to be imccessful and dominating, and it showed in a 37-27 loss to Sonoma State and a 44-43 loss to Texas A&I where the Javelinas came from behind with deficits of 21 and 13 points to win. * They came back to beat Western Football Conference rival Southern Utah 35-18 and was deemed the turning point of the season by coach Allen. And they punctuated their next high point with an improbable 51-26 beating of Division I-AA’s 16th-ranked Boise State where the Vikings outgained the Broncos 605-299 in total offensive yards. * Then came a 35-28 loss to Sacramento State, and a 35- 10 win over Cal State-Northridge where PSU lost quarter­ back John Charles for the season with a broken wrist. * By will of the gods and a 23-17 Northridge win over Sacramento State, the Vikings somehow are voted into 1992 Division II playoffs. This is where they beat UC Davis 42-28 in the first round and exacted revenge on Texas A&I with a 35-30 victory to advance for the second straight year to the semifinals. * The Vikings are beaten once again by Pitt State thanks to a too many men on the field penalty that negated a final drive by the potent PSU attack led by signal-caller Bill > Matos. Plus, a week later the athletic department learns that have lost their winningest coach in school history to a team they had severely beaten earlier in the season, Boise * John Charles is selected as the WFC’s Player of the Year, is named to the Associated Press’s Little All- American team and finishes third in the prestigious Harlon Hill Trophy balloting. Pokey Allen gets the WFC Coach of the Year award and five players, receiver Derek Baldwin, offensive linemen Matt Kulu and Paul Still, cornerback Desmond Isom, and runningback Rais Aho, are named to the WFC First Team. .f i Storij £fy C^. lr\ill