PORTLAND, Ore. -- On a cold and rainy day at PGE Park, not much went right for Portland State in its final home game of the season. The Vikings fell 28-10 to Montana State in Big Sky Conference action.

The Vikings (2-8, 1-6 Big Sky) found themselves down by four touchdowns before they finally got going offensively. PSU totaled just 12 yards of offense on nine plays in the first quarter, and at the break they had only 106 yards.

Montana State, meanwhile, racked up 117 yards in the first quarter and had 239 at halftime, including 143 on the ground. The Bobcats (6-3, 4-2 Big Sky) won their fourth straight over Portland State to stay in contention for the NCAA FCS Playoffs.

After a combined 35 points in the first half, the only score in the final 30 minutes was a 22-yard field goal for PSU's Zach Brown in the third quarter.

The Bobcats led 14-0 after the first quarter, scoring on their second possession of the game and later blocking a Portland State punt that they recovered in the end zone.

Cody Kempt connected with Julius Lloyd for a 15-yard score at the 6:18 mark to put the Bobcats on the scoreboard first.

After both teams traded punts, Montana State's special teams unit came through for the Bobcats? second touchdown. Vikings punter Thomas Duyndam had his punt blocked from the six-yard line by Caleb Schreibeis, and the ball rolled in the end zone, where Tanner Ripley fell on it  to make it 14-0.

Montana State then proceeded to score on two of its first three possessions of the second quarter and led 28-0 before the Vikings were able to get in the end zone.

With 3:30 left before the half, Evans Okotcha broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run for the Vikings. Quarterback Connor Kavanaugh made several big plays on PSU's five-play drive. The shifty sophomore from Lincoln High hit Aaron Woods for a 13-yard gain, and had runs of 14 and six yards, before Okotcha's score.

Kavanaugh came into the game late in the first quarter after starter Drew Hubel was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury to his throwing arm. Kavanaugh finished with 67 yards through the air (9 of 17) and another 67 on the ground (20 carries) to lead the Vikings.

Portland State finished with 240 yards of total offense, including 158 rushing yards. Bobby McClintock had six carries for 46 yards, while Okotcha finished with 39 yards on eight carries.

Montana State tallied 185 of its 301 yards on the ground. But, Montana State was held to just 62 yards in the second half by a Viking defense that buckled down.

Jaycob Shoemaker led the Vikings with nine tackles. Ryan Rau added eight more, including seven solo tackles, and DJ Macarthy finished with seven stops.

The Bobcats defense registered five sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Clay Bignell led the team with eight stops, including 2.5 for loss.


GAME NOTES:

• Brown's field goal in the third quarter was his 16th of the season, which set a new Portland State single-season record. The old mark of 15 was set by Danny Urrego last year.
• It was the Vikings fifth straight home loss of the year, the first time that has happened since 1959.
• Portland State concludes the season with a game at Idaho State next Saturday. Kickoff is 2:35 p.m.