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OGDEN — After a blowout loss to Washington last week, Weber State welcomed conference foe Portland State to Stewart Stadium and dismantled the Vikings 43-16, improving to 1-1 on the young season.
The Wildcats (1-1, 1-0) showcased a stalwart defensive effort that forced eight punts — five of them coming consecutively — in a rout against the Vikings (0-2, 0-1) who scored 30 points against Washington State last week.
The two teams traded points in the first half in a close affair — the Wildcats held a 6-point lead at halftime — before Weber State pulled away in the second half.
Weber State managed two field goals to open up the second half to take a 22-10 lead, before forcing another Portland State punt. Quarterback Richie Munoz then drove the Wildcats down the field and capped off the drive with a 9-yard rushing touchdown with just over 10 minutes left to play.
On the ensuing possession, Portland State managed to put together a scoring drive, due largely in part because of dual-threat quarterback Dante Chachere, who managed 49 rushing yards of the team's 75-yard drive.
Chachere, however, left the field due to an injury after he was tackled awkwardly on one of his scrambling plays. But backup quarterback William Haskell delivered a 9-yard touchdown strike to Branden Alvarez to give the Vikings some life.
That's until Damon Bankston escaped for a 75-yard touchdown run for his second score of the game. He finished with 134 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries to lead the Wildcats' offense.
"Damon has done a fantastic job in the offseason, putting his body in a great position to be successful," Weber State head coach Mickey Mental said. "That running back room is loaded."
Just one play later, Haskell fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the safety Angel King on the Vikings' 20-yard line, giving Weber State had another opportunity to run up the score, though the team failed to convert on the eventual field goal attempt.
TOUCHDOWN WILDCATS!
— Weber State Football 🏈 (@weberstatefb) September 8, 2024
Muñoz ➡️ Sharp 28 yards!
Wildcats lead 7-0 pic.twitter.com/17fTgWhSXV
Ahead of Weber State's possession, Munoz was replaced by Dijon Jennings to finish the game. Munoz finished the night going 19-of-30 for 219 yards and a touchdown.
On the Vikings' next possession, Haskell turned the ball over again when he threw a pick to King.
"We had a sour taste in our mouth last week, and today we wanted to make someone else feel what we had to feel last week," King said. "Our staff did a good job of showing their personnel package to us."
The Wildcats made sure to make something out of the turnover, and finished with a 14-yard rushing touchdown by Davion Godley.
In the end, Portland State had five three-and-outs series that resulted in punts, which in turn tired out the defense and allowed Weber State to pad its lead late in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats ran for 316 yards in the win while totaling 515 yards as a team. Meanwhile, the defense held the Vikings to 240 total yards and only 125 through three quarters.
"There has been a culture for defense since before I have been here," Mental said. "They play fast, physical, violent, and you saw all of that today."
Weber State will turn their attention to Lamar when they head to Beaumont next Saturday, while the Vikings will play their first home game of the season against South Dakota.
