Dante’s Inferno: Portland State QB runs wild, handing Sac State worst loss in lost season
Reduced to the role of spoiler after a season of promise had been shredded amid a rash of injuries and turnovers in a string of maddening losses, the Sacramento State Hornets on Saturday night had a chance to save face.
Their visitors from the Pacific Northwest would not allow it. Certainly not senior dual-threat quarterback Dante Chachere, who dazzled with his arm and legs as a bright light for a program that last won a conference crown in 1992 and has produced just one winner in the last 13 seasons.
Playing inspired and carefree, Portland State outpaced Sacramento State 58-38 at Hornet Stadium in front of 11,055 chilled spectators, recording their most significant effort in a season that appeared to be headed to the ditch. It was PSU’s first triumph over Sacramento State since 2018.
It’s also the most demoralizing loss for Sacramento State since the program rose to power in 2019 after years of mediocrity or misery, peeling off three Big Sky crowns and four FCS playoff berths.
None of those goals are left on the table as the Hornets scramble to patch a leaky defense and to shore up an offense battered by injuries. Sacramento State will play out the season with three games to go, capped by the Nov. 23 home finale against No. 4 UC Davis in the 70th Causeway Classic.
The Vikings, who came in tied for last place in the 12-team Big Sky, boarded their cruiser team buses in jolly good spirits and headed north at 2-6 overall and 2-3 in conference. They celebrated on the Hornets’ turf after outscoring them 41-17 in the second half, and they were whooping it up in the visiting dressing room moments later.
Ranked during preseason in the Top 10 in the FCS and ranked 10th in late September, the Hornets fell to 3-6 and 1-4. The team has lost four of its last five with the strongest FCS opponent on their scheduling looming next week in FCS No. 2 Montana State (9-0).
Chachere trotted off the field late in the game and pointed to family and friends in the visiting stands, counting with his fingers the number of scores he was responsible for. It was five.
He rushed 14 times for 165 yards and four touchdowns, and he passed for 245 and two score. The Fresno native now has 76 touchdowns in his Vikings career, ranking him third on the program’s all-time list behind program all-timer Neil Lomax (1977-80) and Davis Alexander (2017-21).
Frustration mounts for Hornets
Portland State rolled up 544 yards of offense, converting 11 of 15 third-down plays and piling up 27 first downs. Sacramento State had 484 yards of offense. The Hornets allowed no sacks and had just two penalties, but they could not stop the Vikings from marching up and down the field.
“Great job by them, great plan,” dejected Hornets coach Andy Thompson said. “Our defense has to do a better job. Our offense gave us a huge boost. It’s not a lack of effort. It’s a lack of execution. We’ve got to get that fixed, quickly.”
Carson Conklin had another terrific passing game for Sacramento State, the redshirt freshman from Orange County completing 31 of 38 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns, two to Jared Gipson.
The Hornets played without leading rusher Elijah Tau-Tolliver, who was injured last week during a 30-27 overtime loss at Idaho State. Curron Borders led the Hornets with 38 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Speaking as a leader throughout the season, Conklin has taken his share of blame for every setback, though he only threw one interception in this one. But it was costly, a drive stalled. The Hornets all took their share of the heat for this one, refusing to stick any of these losses on injuries in a sport full of them.
Defensive lineman Mason Brousseau said his unit took this outing “personal” when PSU’s quick-footed Chachere was “leaking out in a gap or on the outside edge.”
He added: “Going in, we knew that he was slippery. We knew what he wanted to do with the football. We have to get back to work. We’re aware of what we have to improve on.”
Conklin said of the recent run of rotten lock: “A loss is a loss. They all hurt the same. We have to wake up tomorrow and prepare for the week.”
Frustrated?
“Absolutely,” Conklin said when asked about the mood of the team. “We’ve been here every day since May. Injuries happen. Got to look in the mirror and see what we can improve on.”
No one absorbs losses more than the head coach. Thompson feels it. He’s the captain. He feels for his injured players and he continues to challenge players to compete, to get better, to keep up the good fight.
He hasn’t given up. Conklin and Brosseau said the team hasn’t, either.
“On a week-to-week basis, it seems like one part of the team has struggled at different times,” Thompson said. “We have not been able to get a team win in a long time, so that’s what we’re aiming for. That’s what we’ve got to do. No one feels sorry for you. You gotta get up and get going.”
The coach added: “We’re lucky to be playing football and coaching football, and so we’ve got to take the next opportunity and do everything we can to be our very best.”