By Ryan Atkinson
ratkinson@joplinglobe.com
PITTSBURG, Kan. — For the first time this season, the Pittsburg State Gorillas could breathe easy in the second half.
The Gorilla offense had another big showing and the defense made enough stops as No. 7 Pittsburg State rolled past the No. 19 Central Missouri Mules 49-28 on Saturday at Carnie Smith Stadium.
That made for a somewhat relaxing afternoon for the Gorillas, who had won their previous four games by an average of six points.
“It’s a lot better, not going down to the last second on the clock,” Pittsburg State linebacker Chris Swartz said.
The win moved Pitt State to 5-0 overall, 3-0 MIAA. Central Missouri dropped to 4-1, 2-1.
The Gorillas racked up 560 yards of offense, including 392 passing — 300 and three scores from starting quarterback Mark Smith and 92 and another touchdown from backup John McCoy. Marques Nelson had three catches for 170 yards and two scores and Pitt State added 168 rushing yards.
“We knew we were going to have to be pretty creative,” McCoy said. “We went to the wrist bands ... and coach (offensive coordinator Tim Beck) threw out some great plays right from the get-go ... coach did a great job of calling plays and keeping them off balance and I think that was the key.”
It looked like the game might turn into another wild affair when the Mules scored on back-to-back possessions to knot the game at 14 with 7:44 left in the second quarter.
But the Gorillas ended the first half with two touchdown passes — a 63-yarder from McCoy to Nelson and a 43-yarder from Smith to Nathan Thomas — and then opened the second half with a 10-play, 72-yard drive, capped by Caleb Farabi’s 2-yard plunge for a 35-14 lead.
“The thing I was really proud of our offense was, it’s our turn in the third quarter to come out and take that drive and go 10, 12, 14 plays, whatever it was,” Pitt State head coach Chuck Broyles said. “Caleb had a couple good runs, and Mark did and we went down and scored. Now, it’s 35-14 and you can kind of take a little breath.”
The Gorillas were explosive in taking their 28-14 halftime lead.
After Central Missouri punted on the game’s first series, Smith hit Thomas for six yards and then unleashed a 90-yard scoring strike to Nelson — a perfectly thrown pass that traveled at least 50 yards through the air.
“I was just hoping he could throw it to me, because I knew I was going to score on that play,” Nelson said.
Smith found Kendall Fisher for a 29-yard touchdown pass on Pitt State’s next possession before the Mules — powered by Glenn Milner’s rushing — scored two straight touchdowns to tie the game.
But McCoy then came in at quarterback and put on an impressive scrambling display before finding Nelson for a 63-yard score.
After a Central three-and-out, Smith returned and hit Thomas for a 43-yard score on what looked to be a stop and go route.
“Nate Thomas did kind of an ad-lib route ...I remember going ‘Oh no, oh no, great catch.’ He made a nice play and it was a nice throw by Mark,” Broyles said. “I felt, offensively, we were very fortunate to be up and have 28 points. We hadn’t quite got the running game established.”
The Gorilla defense wasn’t dominant — the Mules finished with 291 yards through the air and 116 on the ground — but it was good enough to turn the game into a one-sided affair.
After Central Missouri knotted the game, the Pitt State defense came up with three straight stops, allowing the Gorillas to score three unanswered points.
Rusty Morgan had nine tackles for the Gorillas while Swartz added eight, including a sack on the final play of the first quarter.
“I thought our defense played extremely well,.” Broyles said. “We made them punt four times and got turnovers and a couple stops. ... Their last two scores ... we didn’t line up very good and cover some people.”
Central Missouri quarterback Eric Czerniewsi was 24-of-35 for 291 yards and three scores. Milner rushed for 83 yards.
