Pitt State Gorillas stay unbeaten; Central Missouri Mules roll to a blowout victory

The Pittsburg State Gorillas pushed their season winning streak to seven games and remain unbeaten.

Pitt State, ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II, relied on a stout rushing defense and a solid running offense in besting Missouri Southern 31-21 on Saturday afternoon in Joplin.

The Gorillas (7-0 overall, 7-0 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Conference) got 127 rushing yards from Antwan Squire. He scored touchdowns on runs of 1 and 15 yards. Squire had a long run of 22 yards among his 17 carries.

Overall, Pitt State rushed for 272 yards.

The Gorillas’ defense, meanwhile held the Lions to 57 yards rushing.

Missouri Southern (3-4, 3-4 MIAA) was able to move the ball in the passing game but could not catch up to the Gorillas after falling behind 28-7 late.

Luke Sampson connected on 16 of 32 passes for 244 yards for Missouri Southern. Sampson threw for two TDs but also two interceptions.

Pittsburg State will play at traditional MIAA power Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Missouri, on Oct. 21.

Other KC area college football scores

No. 17 Central Missouri 63, Northeastern State 24: Twenty-eight points in the first, 28 again in the second. And that’s quarters, not halves. The Mules scored four TDs in the first quarter and four in the second in taking a 56-14 lead in the game in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Central Missouri passed for 394 yards and rushed for 244 along the way. Mules QB Zach Zebrowski completed 26 of 33 passes. Five of those were for touchdowns. Marcellous Hawkins scored three times for the Mules, twice on runs and one on a catch. Central Missouri, which lost to Pittsburg State 38-37 in Warrenburg last month, improved to 6-1. The Mules are set to play host to Emporia State for Homecoming on Oct. 21.

Northwest Missouri State, 27, Missouri Western 23: The Bearcats did get 100-plus yards out of running back Jay Harris (105 yards) for the seventh straight game this season, but Northwest Missouri won this one (in St. Joseph) more with its passing game: Mike Hohensee hooked up on 20 of his 30 passes for 310 yards with three touchdown against one interception. With the win, the Bearcats pushed their record to 4-3 overall and 3-3 in MIAA play. Missouri Western, on the other hand, dropped to 5-2 and 4-2 in conference. Missouri Western quarterback Armani Edden passed for 300 yards with one TD and one interception.

Emporia State 38-Washburn 23: Quarterback Braden Gleason had a huge day for Emporia State. Gleason completed 42 of 49 passes for 421 yards with four TDs as the Hornets rolled to the rival-game victory over the Ichabods in Emporia, Kansas. The Hornets improved to 5-2. The Ichabods, meanwhile, are having a down year at 1-6. Emporia State’s Gleason is now sixth on the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association career passing list with 9,663 yards. Ichabods quarterback Sam Van Dyne connected on 18 of 41 passes for 256 yards with a TD. Van Dyne faced tons of pressure from the Emporia State defense and was sacked five times.

Missouri State 48, Western Illinois 7: Jacardia Wright rushed for 163 yards with two touchdowns as part of the Bears’ potent rushing attack against Western Illinois in Macomb, Illinois. It was Missouri State’s second win on the season (2-4). The Leathernecks are winless at 0-6. Steven Ward returned a fumble 69 yards for a TD in the fourth quarter for Missouri State. The Bears’ Devin Gorree worked his way through the Leathernecks’ offensive line for three sacks.

Fort Hays State 31, Nebraska-Kearney 17: The Tigers’ (5-2) third straight victory, this one in Hays, Kansas, was spearheaded by Shane Watts’ 162-yards rushing. Watts, who played in high school at De Soto, scored a touchdown on a 28-yard run that put Fort Hays up 24-10 in the third quarter. The Tigers finished with 235 yards rushing. Fort Hays quarterback Jack Dawson threw for three TDs and two interceptions.

Baker 40, MidAmerica Nazarene 7: Baker improved to 5-1 with the dominating performance at home in Baldwin City, Kansas. The Wildcats’ defense held the Pioneers to a single score and created four turnovers. One of those was for a score of its own, when the Baker defense got a sack-fumble out of MidAmerica Nazarene quarterback Adrian Parsons and recovered the ball in the end zone. It was Shane Skwarlo (Lawrence Free State) on the sack and Canon Karn on the recovery. Baker quarterback Truman Juelsgaard, who went to Lawrence High, rushed for 167 yards and passed for 161 yards.

Benedictine 59, at Central Methodist 21: The Ravens took to the road and took to the scoreboard quickly. Benedictine opened up a 21-0 lead in the first quarter en route to the blowout victory in Fayette, Missouri. Ravens QB Jackson Dooley, a Lawrence High graduate, passed for 200 yards with four TDs and one interception. Dooley completed 12 of 17 passes. Shawn Wara carried the ball 12 times for 142 yards with three touchdowns for Benedictine (5-2). The Ravens’ defense came up with 12 tackles for a loss.

Quincy 41, William Jewell 28: The Cardinals trailed 41-7 at the start of the fourth quarter. William Jewell, though, made it a game with three fourth-quarter touchdowns. Still, William Jewell dropped to 2-4 on the season. Taylor Eggers passed for 292 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions for the Cardinals.

Ottawa 28, at Saint Mary 17: The Braves spoiled Saint Mary’s Homecoming in Leavenworth, Kansas, with 500 yards of offense: Wynton Rush has the name and the game for a running back. Rush ran for 162 yards with a TD, while teammate Malaki Peko rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown of his own. De’Anthony Curtis caught six passes for 101 yards with two TDs for the Braves, who improved to 3-4. Saint Mary (2-5) got 116 yards rushing form Jartavious Mart, who also scored a touchdown.

Kansas Wesleyan 34, Avila 16: Avila got on the board first with a 22-yard field goal from Dylan Globe that capped a drive that began from Avila’s 22-yard line. Kansas Wesleyan, however, reeled off 17 straight points and grabbed control of the game at Avila. Avila (1-6) has dropped six straight.

Central Oklahoma 59, Lincoln 17: Nathan Valencia caught five passes for 86 yards, including a 49-yarder, for Lincoln in the loss at Edmond, Oklahoma. Lincoln quarterback Xzavier Vaughn completed 19 of 34 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. Lincoln is 0-7.