Portland State University scored 20 points on San Diego State University’s defense in last Saturday’s non-conference football opener at Snapdragon Stadium but the Aztec offense scored 53 points on the Vikings defense to have the last word on the teams’ season opener in front of 26,913 fans.
It marked the first win for SDSU as a member of the restructured Pac-12 conference.
“The energy from the community was outstanding and the guys fed off that as we went,” Aztec head coach Sean Lewis said.
Portland State took an early 6-0 lead on field goals of 22 and 35 yards by Helix Charter High School alumnus Joshua Hossman Lees in the opening stages of the first quarter.
But the Aztecs quickly turned the tables with 29 unanswered points for a 29-6 halftime lead.
SDSU quarterback Jayden Denegal hit Nathan Acevedo (Lincoln) for a nine-yard touchdown strike to put the hosts ahead 7-6. Cathedral Catholic alum Lucky Sutton scored on a one-yard run to push the lead to 14-6 and Denegal then fired a 40-yard touchdown pass to J Cone. A successful two-point conversion by Bert Emanuel Jr. advanced the Aztec lead to 22-6.
Sutton scored the second of his three touchdowns on the night from 13 yards out for the 23-point halftime advantage.
The visitors answered back on a 10-yard passing score from signal-caller Gabe Downing to Terrence Louville to start the second half. Hossman Lees’ PAT made the score 29-13.
The play of the night then transpired as Jaylon Hawkins proceeded to return the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a SDSU touchdown.
