By Ryan Atkinson
ratkinson@joplinglobe.com
KANSAS CITY — The No. 6 Pittsburg State Gorillas were able to survive a few shaky performances in winning their first five games.
Shaky didn’t cut it this time.
The Northwest Missouri Bearcats — ranked one spot behind the Gorillas — were simply too quick, too strong and too good.
The Bearcats, led by a raucous defense, 263 passing yards from Joel Osborn and four rushing touchdowns from LaRon Council, rolled past the Gorillas 35-10 in the Fall Classic at Arrowhead VII on Saturday before 21,316 fans.
“Defensively we’re not strong enough depthwise to go toe-to-toe with someone, if we have to, for four quarters,” Pittsburg State head coach Chuck Broyles said. “All in all, it’s just the nature of the game. When you play someone good, you have to play good. If you don’t play good, then you get beat.”
The Gorillas (5-1, 3-1 MIAA) most definitely did not play well, and much of that had to do with the Bearcats (5-1, 4-0).
Northwest’s defense held Pittsburg State to just 228 yards of offense, including 98 yards on the ground. The Bearcats have kept the Gorillas to fewer than 100 yards rushing in three of their last four meetings.
Pitt State quarterback Mark Smith was 9-of-16 for 105 yards and was the leading Gorilla rusher with just 56 yards. Gorilla running back Caleb Farabi, the league’s top rusher at 130 yards per game, carried nine times for 28 yards.
“Our defense just played outstanding,” Northwest head coach Mel Tjeerdsma said. “You take about two or three plays out of there and our defense was unbelievable ... I was just really pleased with our effort.”
The Bearcat offense wasn’t shabby either.
Northwest racked up 456 yards, including 144 rushing yards from Council. Council scored a pair of fourth-quarter scores that pushed the final margin to 25.
Pittsburg State’s biggest downfall may have come on third-down plays, both offensively and defensively.
The Gorillas converted just two of their 10 third-down plays while allowing Northwest to go 9-of-12, including a pair of conversions during the Bearcats’ 11-play scoring drive that made it 28-10 with 10:29 left in the fourth.
“We really emphasize third downs in practice and I think that’s one of the things that has helped us come out on the field and convert,” Osborn said. “(Offensive coordinator Adam Dorrel) had done a great job. He puts a lot of pressure on us in practice, and I think it makes things a lot easier in games.”
Northwest receiver Kendall Wright caught a career-high 11 passes for 157 yards
“Wright caught five of (the third-down conversions), all for eight yards or more ... they just out-executed us.,” Broyles said. “I would think if there is (21,316) people, all but maybe four of our guys on the field knew who was going to get the ball thrown to them. Everybody else knew.”
Osborn was sparkling in dissecting the Gorilla defense with mid-range passes. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior completed 21 of his 28 passes, including a 21-yard scramble-and-heave scoring strike to Nick Rhodes. His only real mistakes — a pair of third-quarter interceptions on back-to-back possessions — resulted in just three Pittsburg State points.
“It was kind of disappointing that we didn’t get more points,” Broyles said. “All in all they were a lot better team today than we were. They out-executed us.”
The Bearcats were dominant early, especially on defense.
Northwest held the Gorillas to just 35 yards of offense before Pitt State put together a 70-yard scoring drive on its final first-half possession.
The Gorillas went three-and-out on their first two drives before the Bearcats matched 71 yards on 12 plays, taking a 7-0 lead on Council’s 6-yard run.
Marcus Martin and Evan Wilmes sacked Smith on fourth down to end Pitt State’s next drive and, seven plays later, the Bearcats had a 14-0 lead.
“We kind of knew what they were going to do,” Smith said. “We just didn’t come out in the first half and execute. We got behind and we were just playing catch up from then on.”
The Gorillas fell behind 21-0 before Smith led a six-play, 70-yard drive and found Harrison Kush for a seven-yard touchdown with 1:45 to play in the first half.
Pitt State cut it to 21-10 with Jared Witter’s 32-yard field goal late in the third quarter, but that was all the offense the Gorillas could muster.
“This isn’t what you dream of all week and coming into your senior year,” Smith said. “You want this to be a big game, but we just didn’t play like we should have or how we’re capable. We just have to win the next five and hopefully we’ll see them in the playoffs.”
