1-8 , 1-5
Portland State
0-9 , 0-6
Cal Poly Celebrates Homecoming With 35-28 Win Over Portland State
11/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS | PRESS CONFERENCE
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Senior fullback Jared Mohamed rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns while Mark Reza intercepted a pass in the final minute as Cal Poly celebrated Homecoming with its first victory of the 2017 season, defeating Portland State 35-28 on Saturday night inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
Mohamed tied his career high for carries with 35, set last week at UC Davis, and surpassed his career high for rushing yards in a game, which was 143 yards at UC Davis. Held without a touchdown in the first seven games of the season, Mohamed scored twice for the second straight game.
Following the victory in the matchup of 0-8 teams, Cal Poly improved to 1-8 overall and 1-5 in Big Sky Conference games. Portland State fell to 0-9 and 0-6.
Portland State built 7-0, 14-7 and 21-14 leads in the first half. Cal Poly answered each time, and the two teams settled for a 21-21 draw at halftime.
Chuby Dunu scored on seven- and 10-yard runs and Mohamed added a one-yard run for Cal Poly. Jason Talley ran 26 yards and Josh Kraght rushed for six yards on a fake field goal for Portland State. Kraght also hit Trent Riley with a 24-yard touchdown pass after taking a lateral from Davis Alexander.
Mohamed's second touchdown of the game, also a one-yard run, gave Cal Poly the lead for the first time at 28-21 with 11:22 to go in the third quarter. Riley answered with an 11-yard scoring pass from Alexander for Portland State, tying the game at 28-28 with 6:25 to play in the third period.
Senior tight end/fullback Reagan Enger gave Cal Poly the lead back with a one-yard run with 12:35 to go in the game.
Portland State got the ball back three more times in the final 12 minutes. Two drives ended with punts and the final drive was halted by Reza's second interception of the year with 48 seconds remaining.
Cal Poly rushed for a season-high 400 yards on 74 carries, also a season high, while Portland State passed for 433 yards. The Vikings had the edge in total offense, 504 to 449, but the Mustangs compiled a 32:42 to 27:18 advantage in time of possession.
Freshman Broc Mortensen rushed for 83 yards on seven carries and redshirt freshman Chuby Dunu added 74 yards on 16 trips, scoring twice. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Jeffrey completed three of seven passes for 49 yards and added 31 yards on eight rushes. Mortensen caught two passes for 36 yards.
Alexander completed 30 of 51 passes for 409 yards and one touchdown for Portland State. His favorite target was Riley with 12 catches for 135 yards and two scores. Darnell Adams and Charlie Taumoepeau both caught six passes for the Vikings.
Cornerback Kam Dennis made seven tackles, including one sack, and broke up two passes for Cal Poly. Kevin Griffin, also a cornerback, added six tackles and three pass breakups.
Kasun Jackett notched 16 tackles and recovered a fumble for Portland State. Tyler Foreman added 11 tackles.
Cal Poly plays at home again next week, hosting Sacramento State on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. It will be Senior Night and Hats off to Heroes.
Mustang Notes
Portland State opened the second half with an onside kick, but Mustang nickel back Aaryn Bouzos made the recovery and Cal Poly drove 44 yards on 10 plays, all rushes, for a touchdown ... Reza's older brother, Matt, also intercepted a pass against Portland State in 2013, a game the Mustangs won 38-34 in Portland ... Cal Poly has won five of the last six meetings against Portland State and leads the series 13-11 ... Mortensen broke off 44- and 34-yard runs in the first 16 minutes of the game ... Portland State's opening drive of the game included eight passes and no rushes ... Cal Poly's 80-yard drive to tie the game at 14-14 featured 11 rushes and one pass ... Portland State drove 71 yards on 13 plays -- 11 passes and two rushes for two yards -- to tie the game at 28-28 ... Cal Poly took the lead for good with a nine-play (all rushes), 80-yard drive early in the fourth quarter that included a 34-yard run by Mohamed ... Cal Poly notched three sacks, lifting its season total to 20 (last year's playoff team had just 15 sacks) ... the first half ended with a 63-yard Portland State pass play but Kam Dennis tackled Darnell Adams at the two-yard line ... Chuby Dunu's two touchdowns were his first as a Mustang ... Casey Sublette averaged 43.5 yards on four punts and made all five of his PAT kicks ... he is now 24-for-24 on extra-point kicks and remains seven of eight on field goals.
Photos courtesy of Alexander Bohlen
Team Stats
PSU 7, CP 0
PSU - RILEY,Trent 24 yd pass from KRAGHT,Josh (KENNEDY,Graycen kick) 8 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:22
PSU 7, CP 7
CP - DUNU, Chuby 7 yd run (SUBLETTE, Casey kick), 6 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:51
PSU 14, CP 7
PSU - TALLEY,Jason 26 yd run (KENNEDY,Graycen kick), 4 plays, 35 yards, TOP 2:07
PSU 14, CP 14
CP - MOHAMED, Jared 1 yd run (SUBLETTE, Casey kick), 12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:32
PSU 21, CP 14
PSU - KRAGHT,Josh 6 yd run (KENNEDY,Graycen kick), 10 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:08
PSU 21, CP 21
CP - DUNU, Chuby 10 yd run (SUBLETTE, Casey kick), 11 plays, 78 yards, TOP 3:09
PSU 21, CP 28
CP - MOHAMED, Jared 1 yd run (SUBLETTE, Casey kick), 10 plays, 44 yards, TOP 3:37
PSU 28, CP 28
PSU - RILEY,Trent 11 yd pass from ALEXANDER,Davis (KENNEDY,Graycen kick) 13 plays, 77 yards, TOP 4:52
PSU 28, CP 35
CP - ENGER, Reagan 1 yd run (SUBLETTE, Casey kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:49
