ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- After giving up a 98-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff, Missouri Western struggled to find a rhythm against Pittsburg State, falling 34-14 on Saturday afternoon. Kameron Langford had a pair of sacks on the afternoon and seven total tackles (five solo), and Cooper Burton had six catches for 135 yards.
After winning the coin toss, Pittsburg State made the unconventional decision to receive the opening kickoff instead of deferring to the second half, but it paid off as Dallis Flowers was able to find a couple of seams on the return and open the scoring on his first touch.
Missouri Western appeared to have recovered from the early shock, forcing Pittsburg State to punt on its next two drives. Unfortunately, the Griffon offense wasn't able to respond with points on its first two drives, and the Gorillas were able to assemble a 91-yard, 11-play scoring drive, one of three scores in the second quarter.
On its first drive after halftime, Missouri Western backed itself into a hole with three penalties on the opening drive, and Jack Rasmussen was forced to punt from his own end zone.
After holding Pittsburg State to a field goal, the Griffons made a change at quarterback, as Reagan Jones took over for MWSU. The swap gave the Griffons an immediate boost, as Shen Butler-Lawson, Jr., finished off a 75-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run, but the spark came too late for the Griffons to finish off the comeback.
Missouri Western (3-5, 3-5 MIAA) heads to Joplin next Saturday to take on Missouri Southern. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.