PITTSBURG, Kan. – Griffon Football (3-4, 2-3 MIAA) went back-and-forth all day, but ultimately fell 45-42 at Pittsburg State (2-5, 2-3 MIAA) on Saturday afternoon at Carnie Smith Stadium in Pittsburg.
MoWest got the ball to start the game and quickly put points on the board as
Rickie Dunn scored the first of his career-best three rushing touchdowns on a one-yard run with 12:13 left in the first quarter.
The Gorillas and Griffons traded blows the entire first half with the game tied 28-28 at intermission.
Trailing 31-28, MoWest retook the lead at 35-31 as time expired in the third quarter with a 17-yard touchdown throw from
Isaiah Tate to
Malik Moore.
Trailing again 38-35 in the fourth, Tate put the lead back in the hands of MoWest with 5:43 to go on a 24-yard touchdown run.
Now leading 42-38, MoWest later had to punt the ball back to Pitt State, and the Gorillas took back over on their own 33 with still 2:46 remaining.
Evan Williams sacked PSU quarterback Bobby Bacon on first down, but he and the Gorillas regrouped, marching 64 yards on eight plays before the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard run by Luke Niggemann with 29 seconds remaining.
MoWest had one last chance from their own 25 with 29 seconds to go, but the Griffs only moved five yards on four downs.
Tate finished with 352 all-purpose yards and three all-purpose touchdowns, completing 27-of-46 for 321 through the air with another 31 on the ground.
Crew Myers had another strong showing with a career-high tying nine catches for 85 yards and a score.
Peyton Hatfield had seven catches for 72 yards. Moore finished with four grabs for 59 yards and a TD.
Austin Adair caught three passes for 44 yards.
Dunn finished with 68 total yards on 17 carries to go with three scores. MoWest piled up 457 yards of offense on 72 snaps, but surrendered 519 yards to Pitt State.
Both teams were called on nine penalties. Bacon finished with a career best 384 yards passing and three all-purpose TD – one through the air and two on the ground.
Ken Pierre-Charles led the defense with 10 total tackles.
MoWest is back home this Saturday, October 24, for the annual Rogers Pharmacy Hall of Fame Game against Missouri Southern (1-6, 0-5 MIAA). Kickoff from Spratt Stadium is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and available to stream on the MIAA Network.
