Mustangs Defeats Portland State 42-14 in Home Opener

Junior quarterback Chris Brown rushed for two touchdowns, passed for another and senior fullback Brandon Howe added two more scores as Cal Poly opened its five-game 2014 home football schedule with a 42-14 victory over Portland State in a non-conference matchup of Big Sky Conference rivals Saturday night before 8,834 in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

In improving to 1-2 on the season, the Mustangs are 6-0 in home openers under head coach Tim Walsh. Walsh also is 4-0 against Portland State, where he coached for 14 seasons (1993-2006).

Portland State fell to 1-3.

Brown rushed for 159 yards, scoring on runs of 3 and 32 yards. He also broke off a 57-yard run to set up another Mustang touchdown.

Howe (pictured at right) and sophomore slotback Kori Garcia both established career highs in rushing yards as the Mustangs amassed 470 total rushing yards, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Howe added 81 yards on 14 trips and scored on a four-yard run as well as a four-yard pass from Brown. Garcia contributed 103 yards on 18 carries, including a touchdown run of five yards.

Brown completed four of seven passes for 61 yards and the one score to Howe.

Portland State, which averaged 361 yards of total offense in its first three games this season, was held to just 286 total yards, including 180 on the ground and 106 through the air. Quarterback Kieran McDonagh, completing 55 percent of his passes through the first three contests, was just nine of 26 for 89 yards Saturday.

Cal Poly scored the first 35 points of the game and never looked back, scoring on drives of 67, 88, 87, 85, 72 and 80 yards.

Portland State scored twice in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard run by Steven Long and a 17-yard pass from McDonagh to Roston Tatum.

Junior quarterback Dano Graves tallied Cal Poly’s final touchdown on a one-yard run late in the fourth quarter.

Cal Poly’s defensive leaders were senior linebackers Cameron Ontko and Nick Dzubnar with 12 and 10 tackles, respectively. Fernando Cabico and Jake Irwin each recorded two pass breakups.

There were no turnovers in the game. Portland State was forced to punt nine times and Cal Poly compiled a 36- to 24-minute advantage in time of possession.

Mustang fans were introduced to their first live mascot, a mustang born out of a gift from alumnus Robin Baggett (B.S., Business Administration, 1973) and his wife, Michelle. The couple donated the first mustang for the purpose of boosting school spirit on campus.

Cal Poly opens Big Sky Conference play next Saturday at Northern Arizona.