Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Portland State
Sumlin, Fairman Lift Football to 42-16 Victory
9/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept 28, 2003
Final Stats?|? Quotes?|? Notes
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Backup running back Bryson Sumlin scored three touchdowns and wide receiver Jaron Fairman, whose father died earlier in the day, added another as Fresno State routed Portland State 42-16 Saturday night.
The Bulldogs (3-2) beat the Division I-AA Vikings (2-2) for the fifth consecutive time, despite giving up 486 total yards, including 194 rushing yards by Ryan Fuqua.
Fairman scored on a 5-yard end around with 1:42 to play. Teammates mobbed the redshirt freshman, whose father, James, died while visiting from Covina, Calif.
"Obviously, it was a very tough game," head coach Pat Hill said. "We dedicated this game to Jaron Fairman's father. He was up here to see his son play. It was really tough and it was great to see Jaron get that score. He was down at the hospital with his Mom and little brother and he came back to play in the game. It was very, very hard on our football team today. We dedicated this game to the Fairmon family and our prayers are with them."
Sumlin, a sophomore, ran for 60 yards on 12 carries. He made the most of his opportunities, scoring on runs of 26, 1 and 3 yards. Sumlin became the first Fresno State RB to rush for three touchdowns since Jaime Kimbrough did it in 1998.
A fluke play on the opening kickoff spotted the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead. Bernard Berrian fumbled the at the 30-yard line, but teammate Nathan Ray scooped the ball up, with teammates standing around and the Portland State defense jogging onto the field thinking the play was ruled dead, and ran 70 yards for a touchdown.
With just over six minutes left in the first half, Marque Davis blocked a punt, setting up Sumlin, who gave Fresno State a 14-0 lead when he broke three tackles and sprinted 26 yards for a touchdown. It was Fresno State's sixth block of the year in five games and the 46th since Pat Hill took over in 1997.
Portland State racked up 264 yards of offense in the first half, but did not score until an 18-yard touchdown pass from Joe Wiser to Ryan Brown with 2 seconds left.
In the second half, Fresno State pounded the ball with running back Dwayne Wright and Sumlin. Wright finished the game with 113 yards and a score, the second week in a row he eclipsed the 100-yard barrier.
Nonetheless, the Bulldogs' lead was just 21-9 entering the fourth quarter. But Fresno State tallied three touchdowns, the last of which came from Fairman, to blow the contest open.
"Every win's a big win for this team," Hill said. "I give them a lot of credit for battling back in the second half and finishing it off right. We have to get ready for Colorado State now. They lost today and I know they will be ready for next week and will draw a line in the sand. That will be a tough game."
The Bulldogs travel to play Colorado State on Saturday at noon PT. The game will be televised by KFRE WB 59 (cable 5).
