A 70-play scrimmage in warm conditions at Stott Community Field produced a more balanced outcome for the Portland State football team than the previous week.

And, what a difference Connor Kavanaugh's presence made. The senior quarterback sat out last week's scrimmage when the offense struggled to have an impact. This week, he played in three series, two of which led to Zach Brown field goals and a third that crossed midfield before getting stopped at the 30-yard line.

Kavanaugh completed 6-7 passes for 98 yards and ran once for six yards as he was on the field for 19 plays. His main target was Justin Monahan, who made a 35-yard reception on the first play of the scrimmage.

"He definitely keeps defenses off kilter with how he can run the ball and yet is still a threat with his passes… Connor definitely adds a spark in the run game," said Viking Coach Nigel Burton.

Monahan, a junior who is the team's top returning receiver, had a team-best four receptions for 65 yards in the scrimmage.

Kavanaugh had the opening series in each of two abbreviated halves. Then, given 1:30 on the clock and one timeout, he led a final drive resulting in a 37-yard Brown field goal. The interesting thing about the drive was it consisted of five runs up the middle - mainly draw plays.

"I think the offense was smart and just took what the defense gave them," said Burton. "Its not great in terms of run defense. Barney (Offensive Coordinator Bruce Barnum) took advantage of it and we should have gotten out of that (nickel) personnel group earlier."

Some backup running backs saw significant action. Transfer Julian Cruell rushed seven times for 56 yards, including a 30-yarder on the final series that led to the Brown field goal.

Jordan Lewis, a freshman from Jesuit, carried the ball nine times for 35 yards, and scored on a one-yard run when the offense worked on a first-and-goal series. He also had one reception for 15 yards. Justin Lilley, a sophomore, had eight carries for 28 yards.

"There were a couple big runs by Julian Cruell. We have got to continue improve our tackling. There is definitely a difference (from last year) but we have to continue to make progress," said Burton. "We moved the ball a lot better, did some nice things in the passing game and kept the defense on their toes."

The defense forced two turnovers and had four sacks, but was not as successful in stopping the run in this scrimmage as it was the previous week. The offense ran 32 times for 140 yards, including 50 yards in the final series (PSU was 30-70 running the ball last week). The passing game totaled 124 yards.

Lightning struck for a second time as redshirt freshman linebacker Corey Crowder intercepted a pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. Last week, Crowder, a redshirt freshman from Elk Grove, CA, returned a pick 70 yards for a touchdown.

Senior defensive end Jack Forbes was in on six tackles, including a sack. Junior transfer Jeremy Boone had four stops including two sacks. Senior linebacker Ryan Rau had four tackles and senior safeties DeShawn Shead and Manoa Latu had four tackles each. Shead also forced a fumble.

Said Burton: "We have to contain the big play. We counted two today (of 30+ yards), which compared to last year is better. Right now my biggest concern is special teams and making sure they continue to improve at the same pace as the offense and defense."

The Vikings continue practice next week beginning with two on Monday at 10:30 and 5:30. Saturday's scrimmage was the last formal scrimmage of preseason camp.

Portland State opens the season at JELD-WEN Field on Sept. 3 against Southern Oregon in a 1:05 p.m. game. The Vikings open Big Sky Conference play on Sept. 17 at JELD-WEN against Northern Arizona.