Steve Schaack
Idaho State Athletics Communications
The Idaho State football team started Big Sky Conference play strong by beating Portland State 51-24 on Saturday afternoon at Holt Arena.
The Idaho State offense tallied 509 yards of total offense and quarterback Matt Struck threw six touchdowns and had no interceptions. He was 14-23 and had 332 yards of passing.
Tanner Conner led the offensive attack with four receptions, three being touchdowns and 117 yards receiving. Michael Dean caught three passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns while Mitch Gueller had two receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Idaho State rushed for 177 yards, led by Ty Flanagans 119 on 21 carries.
Kody Graves led the defense with 10 tackles while Luke Holloway, Gilbert Varela and Connor Wills each had nine. Adkin Aguirre had eight and Christian McFarland had five and an interception return 64 yards for a touchdown.
It took the Bengals a few drives to get going but on the fourth play of the third drive Struck found Michael Dean open for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 7:08 left in the first quarter. From there in less than three minutes Idaho State quickly had a 20-0 lead with 4:21 to play in the first quarter.
On the ensuing Portland State possession, the Bengal defense forced a punt and the first play from scrimmage for the Bengals. Conner scored on a 66-yard strike from Struck to give Idaho State a 13-0 lead with 5:15 to play in the first.
On the second play of Portland State’s next possession, McFarland picked off Davis Alexander’s pass and sprinted 64-yards for a touchdown.
Portland State kicked a field goal with 14:55 left in the first half but Gueller quickly extended the lead when he scored on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Struck with 13:59 to play in the half.
Idaho State led 41-10 at halftime as Conner caught his second touchdown pass on a 35-yard reception with 32 seconds remaining in the first half.
In the second half, Conner scored on a four-yard reception in the third quarter and Kevin Ryan kicked a 35-yard field goal.
Idaho State returns to the field to play at Montana on Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. The game will be televised on Root Sports.
