PITTSBURG, Kan. (TheMIAA.com) – All signs pointed to a tough afternoon on the road for Northwest Missouri State football team.
The Bearcats walked into Carnie Smith Stadium on a muggy Saturday afternoon in a second-place tie with Fort Hays State. The two teams were a game behind the undefeated Gorillas.
The Bearcats left Pittsburg mostly pleased with their performance.
A 31-7 victory by Northwest Missouri over Pittsburg State created a two-way tie for first with both teams at 5-1. Fort Hays State lost to Emporia State and slipped to 4-2.
“We really didn’t look at it like that,” said Northwest coach Rich Wright about the Bearcats’ placement in the MIAA standings. “We looked at it as the next step in the process. We wanted to come down and play well. We wanted to play a lot better than the last time we were down here. I felt like we did that.”
Pittsburg State, ranked eighth in the American Football Coaches Association top 25, was riding high, winners of its last 11 games, including a 20-10 victory over Northwest Missouri last season at Carnie Smith Stadium. The Gorillas had the glory of snapping Northwest Missouri’s 38-game winning streak.
“Personally, I wasn’t worried about the streak,” said Northwest Missouri senior wide receiver Shawn Bane Jr., who finished four receptions for 95 yards, including a 43-yard catch.
“We had to go back to the drawing board for this year’s game. We have a lot of new pieces, a lot of new guys trying to put it together. It was a great a win. This is my last time playing in the jungle so I wanted to make it memorable.”
And it was for all the Bearcats.
All the magic belonged to the Bearcats, ranked 16th in the AFCA top 25. Northwest Missouri quickly took control. After stopping the Gorillas in the first series of the game, Northwest Missouri got the ball in great field position at its 41.
The Bearcats put together a methodical 9-play, 59-yard drive, using 4 minutes, 19 seconds. The scoring drive ended on a 1-yard run by junior running back Isaiah Strayhorn.
“We knew we had to set the tone,” said Northwest senior defensive end Austen Eskew. We had to come out and keep their defense on the field because that means their offense can’t score. We had to give our offense chances and opportunities to score so we could score first. We focused on that a lot this week.
“We focused on playing to win. I think that is what we did great in the first half. It was a great team win. We wanted to play hard. It was awesome to watch.”
For the rest of the first half, Northwest Missouri made one big play after another. Late in the first quarter when Pittsburg State pinned the Bearcats at the 3, Strayhorn broke off a 67-yard run on the first play.
“It was huge,” Bane said. “We had to set the tone early. We made some big plays. Everybody came through.”
The Gorillas, though, halted the drive on an interception by senior Jaylon Myers. No worries for Northwest Missouri. The defense forced a punt and then junior Zach Pierce blocked the punt, putting the ball at the Gorillas’ 14.
Pittsburg State defense responded, preventing the Bearcats from scoring. After that missed opportunity, Northwest Missouri took control of the game.
Starting at its 34, freshman quarterback Braden Wright completed a 21-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Alec Tatum. Two plays later, Wright tossed a 41-yard pass to junior wide receiver Cody Massey that put the ball at the 4. Northwest completed the drive on a 4-yard pass from Wright to senior tight end Chase White.
The backbreaker for the Gorillas came in the final minute of the first half with Northwest Missouri leading 21-0. The Bearcats faked a field goal attempt. Tatum took the ball and weaved through the middle and scored on a 23-yard run.
“It was cool,” Tatum said. “We have been working on it all week in practice. I was excited to get a chance to run it. It opened up for me, and it was fun. I saw the end zone and tried to get there. The O-line did a great job.”
Northwest Missouri went into halftime with a commanding 28-0 lead. The Bearcats dominated both sides of the ball in the first half, gaining 364 total yards and limited Pittsburg State to 102 yards and only five first downs.
After a scoreless third quarter, the only thing left for Northwest Missouri was the shutout. The Gorillas wanted to avoid it. The last time Pittsburg State was shutout in a football game was in 2001, a run of 199 games. In the program’s history, Pittsburg State has been shutout just twice in 426 games.
Gorilla pride roared in the final minute. With 48 seconds remaining, freshman quarterback Matt Harman threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Elijah Harris.
Pittsburg State actually outscored Northwest Missouri in the second half after the Bearcats built a 28-point halftime lead.
Wright was disappointed with the focus his team showed in the second half. Northwest committed six penalties in the second half that accounted for 85 yards.
“We played well in the first half,” Wright said. “What I was disappointed in was how we played in the second half. I felt we lost a little interest in the game. That is not indicative of a good football team. That is what I talked to the guys afterward.”
SATURDAY SCORES IN THE MIAA
Central Oklahoma 33, Central Missouri 26 – Edmond, Oklahoma
Emporia State 28, No. 18 Fort Hays State 24 – Emporia, Kansas
Missouri Western 33, Missouri Southern 10 – Joplin, Missouri
Nebraska Kearney 41, Lindenwood 14 – Kearney, Nebraska
No. 16 Northwest Missouri 31, No. 8 Pittsburg State 7 – Pittsburg, Kansas
Washburn 58, Northeastern State 14 – Topeka, Kansas
