They evaded it for so long.
In the depths of the pandemic last winter, amid a slew of restrictions, both men’s and women’s basketball teams avoided any COVID shutdowns within the Park Blocks. The spring season went off without a hitch. The football team made it the entire season without a positive case as this fall seemed to carry on the good fortune.
And this winter was going strong … until it wasn’t.
The pandemic has found Portland State, shutting down all four weekend games for the Vikings men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Women’s hoops coach Chelsey Gregg said most of her team’s cases were mild or moderate. Men’s coach Jase Coburn said his team was able to do individual workouts with guys who tested negative, reverting back to the original pandemic protocols of practicing with one player per basket.
The Vikings aren’t alone. Both teams already had postponements on the books thanks to outbreaks at Idaho and Eastern Washington. Similar shutdowns have happened this week at Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.
So far, 15 games have been postponed since the new year with more likely on the way.
In light of the nationwide case surge, the Big Sky Conference made changes to its COVID protocols set before the year began. Originally put in place to pressure teams to comply with safety measures and keep some continuity with the scheduling process, the Big Sky — and many other leagues around the country — instituted a policy to issue forfeits to teams that had to miss games because of high cases within their program.
The omicron variant has blown the lid off that plan, however, forcing the Big Sky and every other Western U.S. conference to reconsider the process.
Now, the Big Sky will attempt to reschedule all postponed games, with the stipulation that no teams play on back-to-back nights and both teams are able to field seven players and one full-time coach.
The first round of rescheduled games were announced on Friday night and the Portland State men and women will be playing Monday games for at least three weeks, putting an emphasis on conditioning over the next month.
Both Vikings basketball coaches seemed positive about getting back on the floor soon, though the modified practice formats and recovery schedules may make the next few weeks a slog.
BIG GAME OUTSIDE THE BIG D
It’s been three weeks since their last game, but after 37 years of waiting for another chance at a national title, Montana State football fans have swarmed Frisco, Texas for this weekend’s championship game against North Dakota State.
The Bobcats are 7.5-point underdogs in Saturday’s game, facing a team that has equal talent and a boatload of experience, especially in this stadium. NDSU has played in — and won — eight of the 11 games since the FCS title game moved to what is now called Toyota Stadium in 2011, including a 38-24 victory over Eastern Washington in 2018.
MSU has made its run on the shoulders of its backup quarterback, freshman Tommy Mellott, after starting quarterback Matthew McKay announced he was entering the transfer portal just days before the start of the playoffs. The run has made Mellott, a Butte, Montana native, a folk hero among the fanbase after posting back-to-back four-touchdown games in the run up to the title game.
The team is still led by All-Big Sky running back Isaiah Ifanse, who exploded for 217 yards to lead the Bobcats in a comeback win over PSU in Hillsboro this season, and a stout defense.
If MSU is able to pull out the victory, it would be the Big Sky’s first national title since EWU won the first Frisco title in 2011.
AWARDS NIGHT
Speaking of EWU and Montana State’s stout defense, the Big Sky shined at the national awards banquets this week.
Eastern quarterback Eric Barriere was named the Walter Payton Award winner, finally grabbing the national offensive player of the year trophy after narrowly missing out on the honor last season. Barriere threw for 5,070 yards and 46 touchdowns this season.
Montana State’s Troy Andersen, who was named national defensive player of the year by the national athletic director’s association, finished second for the Buck Buchanan Award for the national defensive player of the year. Florida A&M’s Isaiah Land won the honor after leading the nation in sacks (19.0) and tackles for loss (25.5). Montana linebacker Pat O’Connell was third in the voting.
In other postseason football, former PSU assistant Brad Davis served as head coach for LSU in its bowl game loss to Kansas State after a coaching transition this offseason. Davis was the offensive line coach for the Viks from 2009-2013, serving as the run game coordinator his last two seasons. In his last season, PSU’s offense set a school record for total offense, including 277.5 rushing yards per game with DJ Adams finishing fifth in the nation in rushing yards.
He has since bounced around each year, spending the last five seasons in the SEC, joining the Tigers as an offensive line coach in 2021.
On that same staff under Nigel Burton, former Viks special teams coordinator Stacy Collins also got a big job at a big school. Collins, who was the STC for the Viks in 2011 before taking a head coaching gig at South Dakota Mines, was recently hired at Penn State.
Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Cal Poly honored legendary alum John Madden this week after the famed football coach and television commentator passed away at the age of 85.
On the recruiting trail, Portland State continues to send out offers, though they didn’t add any commitments this week.
In a miss for the recruitment staff, a Portland-area kid has committed to Montana. University of Washington transfer Sawyer Racanelli, who won a pair of Washington state titles at Hockinson HS in Portland’s northern suburbs decided to forgo a push from the hometown team and join former teammate Peyton Brammer in Missoula.
Northern Colorado and Cal Poly officially released their football schedules this week, locking in their nonconference opponents. Big Sky schedules for the next few seasons were released last summer.
Portland State’s schedule is mostly finalized, the Viks still looking to add a home opponent for the open week in Week 0 (August 27) or Week 3 (September 17). The Viks are already scheduled for pay games at San Jose State and Washington. Considering the timing, the game is likely to be against a lower division opponent, similar to this season’s game against Western Oregon, which was booked in June 2021.
PSU will host Big Sky games against NAU, Weber State, Northern Colorado and Sacramento State with away games at Montana, Idaho, EWU and Cal Poly.
AROUND THE BLOCKS
While we’re on the subject of schedule releases, Vikings softball announced it will open its Big Sky title defense on February 11 in Southern California.
The Viks will have a toned-down start to the season after opening last year’s slate with a murderer’s row of ranked squads and elite tournaments. PSU starts at the Lynn Russell Miller Classic in Riverside, Calif., against Utah Valley, Pacific and UC Riverside before stepping up the next week at the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz., against Pac-12 sides Arizona State and Cal, with additional games against UTEP and Illinois State. The final far-flung tournament takes place in Louisiana, where the Viks are set to play five different Bayou State sides at the fittingly-named Mardi Gras Mambo.
PSU will host three games against Robert Morris in its home opening weekend on March 4 and play in the state of Oregon until Big Sky play opens at Montana on March 26.
One field over in Hillsboro, the PSU soccer team will open its Big Sky season on Sept. 23 at Northern Colorado before returning home to host Montana on Sept. 25. The Viks will host four straight games before returning to the road the last two weeks of the regular season.
The Vikings women’s tennis team was picked to finish fourth in the Big Sky and the men tabbed for eighth. Both teams begin play next weekend in Eugene.
The volleyball team added a setter from the transfer portal. Madison Friebel joins the Viks from Butler University, where she started for two seasons.
Her addition should help cover for the loss of All-Big Sky setter Aly Wada, who is one of five departing seniors from last season’s squad that went 20-11 and made the Big Sky semifinals.
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