ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Saturday was a Senior Day for the ages.

Ranked No. 23/24 in the nation, Griffon Football ripped away No. 2/3 Pittsburg State's chances of a perfect season, defeating the Gorillas 31-30 thanks to a game-sealing strip-sack by Dakari Street at Spratt Stadium. It's Missouri Western State's (8-2, 7-2 MIAA) biggest win over a top-25 ranked team in program history.

Pitt State (9-1, 8-1 MIAA) scored first to take a 3-0 lead, but Missouri Western responded with 3:49 remaining in the first quarter on a 2-yard plunge by Seth Cromwell to go ahead 7-3. Pitts scored to go ahead 10-7 before the Griffons got on the scoreboard again to tie things up at 10-10 thanks a Cody Watson field goal of 31 yards.

After the Gorillas scored to take a 17-10 lead into halftime, Missouri Western responded with a 1-yard touchdown by Reagan Jones on a QB sneak to even the game at 17-17. The Griffons then kept the momentum going with an eight-yard touchdown run from Cromwell to grab a 24-17 lead.

The Gorillas scored to tie the game at 24-24 six seconds in the fourth quarter before the Griffons kicked things into sixth gear. Before Streeter's last-minute heroics, Missouri Western put together an 11-play, 73-yard drive, culminating in a five-yard touchdown connection between Armani Edden and Jonas Bennett with 8:56 remaining in the ballgame to put MWSU up 31-24.

The Griffons gave up what looked like a game-tying touchdown with 7:09 left to play, but Pitt's PAT was blocked by Brandon Johnson thanks to a low, line-drive kick. Later on, as Pitt moved into MWSU territory with under 90 seconds to play, Streeter recorded two sacks on the final drive of the game. The senior's second-and-a-half sack of the day led to a fumble recovery by fellow senior CJ Ravenell, cementing MWSU's upset and its first win over the Gorillas since 2019. 

Cromwell paced the Griffons' rushing attack by accumulating 63 yards and two touchdowns over the course of the game, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Edden also added 41 yards on the ground.

Bennett hauled in four catches for 79 yards and one score.

Kienen Gaskin showed out for the Missouri Western defense, recording six tackles, two tackles for a loss, one sack and one recovered fumble. Sam Taylor added one interception, and Streeter had five tackles, 2.5 TFLs. 2.5 sacks and one forced fumble in the win.

The Griffons won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing three turnovers while avoiding any giveaways, with Missouri Western turning those takeaways into 14 points. The Missouri Western offense did a good job prolonging drives, converting on 44.4 percent of third-down attempts.

Missouri Western's defense was tough against the run, limiting Pitt to just 59 yards on the ground. Missouri Western out-rushed Pitt by 92 yards. The Griffon defense took up residence in Pitt's backfield all game, collecting four sacks and 10 total tackles for loss.

Missouri Western's offense made the most of its trips to the red zone, scoring on five of its five trips, with four of those scores being touchdowns.

• MWSU is 2-0 vs. top-25 teams this season, winning both games at Spratt Stadium.
• This is MWSU's first win over a top-5 team since defeating No. 5 Fort Hays State on Sept. 6, 2018. 
• This is the Griffons' first win over Pitt at Spratt Stadium since Sept. 25, 2010.
• Pitt outgained Missouri Western 383-355 in the contest.
• Missouri Western won the turnover battle 3-0 after intercepting one pass and recovering two fumbles.
• Missouri Western had its highest-scoring quarter in the third period when the Griffs put up 14 points.
• Missouri Western converted 4-of-9 third downs while Pittsburg State was successful on 9-of-13.
• The Griffons had two players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame, led by Trevon Holmes, who had 10.
• The Griffons totaled 10 tackles for loss and added four sacks.
• Missouri Western won the time of possession battle 29:17 to 27:23. Pitt came into the game No. 1 in the country with in TOP.
• The Griffon offense came out of halftime firing on all cylinders, scoring 14 unanswered until the Gorillas got on the board again.
• Edden completed 69.6% of his passes on the day, going 16-for-23 while averaging 8.5 yards per attempt.
• Chad Dodson Jr. led the Gorilla passing attack, completing 20 of his 24 attempts for 324 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
• Devon Garrison was Pittsburg State's leading receiver with 90 yards.
• Streeter's 12.5 sacks this season are the third-most ever by a Griffon, placing him in first place throughout all of Division II.

UP NEXT
The Griffons end the regular season next Saturday vs. Missouri Southern (4-6, 3-6 MIAA) at 2 p.m. in Joplin at Fred G. Hughes Stadium. The Lions have lost two straight, falling 63-28 against Emporia State this Saturday in Emporia, Kansas.

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