Story and photo courtesy of Missouri Western Athletics
PITTSBURG, Kan. - To say the Griffons upset the Gorillas Saturday afternoon would be an understatement.
No. 16 Missouri Western used 56 unanswered points to defeat No. 7 Pittsburg State 63-14. Michael Hill ran for 116 yards and Travis Partridge countered with 213 yards through the air. Hill had three scores on the ground and Partridge had four touchdowns.
Pittsburg came out ready on its first drive. After forcing Missouri Western to a 3-and-out, the Gorillas drove 87 yards on 11 plays, and quarterback Anthony Abenoja connected with wide-out John Brown on a 13-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive.
Behind 7-0, MWSU faked a reverse to Tarrell Downing and led Hill down the flat for an open 48-yard touchdown reception.
The Griffons defense then stopped the Gorillas for the majority of the game after the 7-7 tie. David Bass recorded three sacks, and also scored a touchdown on a tipped pass that ended up in the defensive end's hands. He took it 55 yards for the score to put the Griffons ahead 21-7.
Pittsburg couldn't do much offensively, and the Griffons continued to score points to take a 42-7 halftime lead.
Missouri Western eventually stretched its lead to 56-7, marking eight unanswered scores before Pittsburg put another touchdown in to make it 56-16. Raphael Spencer scored on a 12-yard run to end the game with MWSU on top 63-14.
Brandon Wright and Derek Libby both score on long receptions, as the Griffons found their downfield game Saturday.
The Gorillas ended with game with five turnovers, including three on downs. Brown finished with a game-high 13 grabs and 153 yards with the one score. It was the worst home loss for Pittsburg since a 63-0 loss to Tulsa on Oct. 31, 1914.