NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State football scored the game’s final 16 points to break open a three-point margin on the way to a 26-7 victory over Pittsburg State on Saturday at Homer Bryce Stadium.
The NCAA FCS-member Lumberjacks improved to 6-3 with the victory, while the Gorillas slipped to 1-2 on their abbreviated 2020 season.
SFA built a 10-0 first quarter lead after driving the ball 60 yards in 15 plays to open the game before settling for a 32-yard field goal from kicker Chris Campos. Quarterback Trae Self added a 2-yard touchdown run with six seconds remaining in the initial period, after the Lumberjacks twice converted on fourth down plays to extend the drive.
Pittsburg State struck back with an eight-play, 91-yard drive of its own. Quarterback Mak Sexton connected with wide receiver Christian Carter for a 43-yard touchdown to trim the margin to 10-7 with 11:31 remaining in the second quarter.
The Lumberjacks closed out the first half scoring with a 41-yard field goal from Campos. The Gorillas had a chance to trim the margin with 1:15 to play in the half, but Jaden Snyder’s 45-yard field goal attempt hit the crossbar.
SFA gained separation early in the third period after a Pittsburg State fumble on the first play of the third quarter gave the Lumberjacks the ball at the Gorillas’ 35-yard line. Three plays later, Self tossed a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Xavier Gipson to extend their margin to 20-7.
The Lumberjacks closed out the scoring with 10-play, 76-yard drive that was culminated by Self firing a 17-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Remi Simmons with 13:50 remaining in the game.
Sexton finished the game completing 21-of-34 passes for 199 yards. Wide receiver Jalen Martin caught seven passes for a game-high 118 yards. Running back Tyler Adkins carried the ball 11 times for 74 yards. The Gorillas finished the game with 346 yards of total offense.
SFA forced three turnovers in the contest and held Pittsburg State on downs four times in the contest, including three times inside the Lumberjacks’ 30-yard line.
Linebacker Morgan Selemaea made a team leading eight tackles to lead the Pittsburg State defense.
The Gorillas will close out their 2020 season next Saturday (Nov. 21) when they travel to Canyon, Texas, to face NCAA Division II member West Texas A&M University.
PITTSBURG, Kan. — It took less than 10 minutes of action for Pittsburg State men’s basketball to take control in a season-opening 109-49 win over Tabor in an exhibition contest on Saturday at John Lance Arena.
The Gorillas, who held the lead for all but 15 seconds, shot 60 percent from the field (46-77) in the win, limiting the Blue Jays to 33 percent shooting (20-59) in the loss. Pittsburg State also shot well from beyond the arc in the win, connecting on 14-of-25 attempts to finish at 56 percent.
“Defensive execution, which I thought we did a good job of,” Pittsburg State coach Kim Anderson said when asked what he was looking for out of his team in their exhibition with Tabor. “We did a pretty good job guarding the ball. Offensively, it’s efficiency. We are trying to be efficient and not turn the ball over a lot. We didn’t. … We shot the ball well, got to the basket and rebounded.
“I think they were thrilled to play today. … We are only going to play 22 games, at the most, in the regular season. Every game, I think, has maybe got a little more importance to it than it would in the past, when maybe you would play 30 games.”
Pittsburg State finished with five players in double figures, with forward Gwarren Douglas leading the way off the bench with a team-high 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, to go along with four rebounds. Forward Bobby Arthur-Williams Jr. finished with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 2-for-3 from the perimeter, and a team-high eight rebounds. Martin Vogts and Antonio Givens II each added 15 points, with Vogts adding four rebounds, three assists and two steals and Givens five rebounds and two steals. Ike Moore scored 10 points and was second on the team in assists with six.
The Gorillas didn’t take long to assert themselves as the better team, building up a 12-point advantage thanks to a 9-for-14 start from the field through the first six minutes for a 20-8 lead. Arthur-Williams and Givens each had six points during the early run. Pittsburg State’s margin hit the 20-point threshold, 36-16, with six minutes left in the first half, and the Gorillas closed out the first 20 minutes of action on a 20-3 run to head into the locker room with a 56-19 cushion.
“I thought we did a good job, especially in the first half defensively,” Anderson said. “We had worked a lot on some different things and did it. I thought our guys did a good job of controlling the game.”
Pittsburg State caught fire from the perimeter in the second half, knocking down 8-of-10 shots from 3-point range. The Gorillas limited the Blue Jays to 39 percent shooting in the second half, cruising to the win.
“We set a goal at halftime and every point that Tabor scored over that goal, (the team) was going to run,” Anderson said. “That motivated them pretty well. They actually made the goal, so they don’t have to run. I thought after the first five minutes we were a little sloppy in the second half. I thought we settled down and did a pretty good job.”
SEASON OUTLOOK
Pittsburg State, selected to finish seventh in the MIAA preseason coaches poll, open the season on Nov. 21 with a road matchup at Central Oklahoma. The Gorillas are projected to have the same starting five in the opener as their exhibition with Tabor—Arthur-Williams, Givens, Quentin Hardrict, Vogts and guard Ryan Pippins.
“I think we are going to shoot the ball pretty well,” Anderson said. “Defensively, we’ve had a scrimmage with (Southwest Baptist) and we’ve had this game, and maybe we are better than I thought. At least right now. We still have a lot to work on, but we will see what happens in the next week.
“I think there is a tremendous amount of competition on this team. I love that. I think we’ve got three or four guys who can play at point guard. We have some height on the inside, and hopefully we’ve got good shooters.”
Of course, the Gorillas will have plenty of depth this season. Figuring to see time in the rotation includes forward Xavier Womack, Douglas and guard Ike Moore, forward Zach Burch as well as guard Ray Elliott (DNP), forward Dejon Waters Jr. (DNP) and guard RJ Lawrence (DNP), with others in line for minutes as well.
“I think we are fairly deep,” Anderson said. “When we go play (Central Oklahoma) next week, we will find out if we are ‘good’ deep, if our depth is going to be a strength for us. We had four guys sitting out that would have played today, someway. I don’t know how I would have played them, but they all would have played significant minutes.”
“If you look at it now, I think this is probably the deepest team I’ve had (since coming over to Pittsburg State),” Anderson continued. “Obviously, when you have a team this deep, you have to do a good job of managing minutes and getting guys engaged. So, I’d rather have that problem than the other problem, which is not having enough (depth).”
As far as what Anderson would like to see his team improve on as the season gets underway?
“Just better execution and more consistency,” Anderson said. “I think sometimes we get a little sloppy, our mind wanders a little bit. I think that is probably the main thing.”
Just like every other collegiate, prep or professional program currently in session or on the verge of starting up, managing the COVID pandemic and safety protocols has been a top priority for the Gorillas, and Anderson has been pleased with how serious his players are taking their responsibilities to be as safe as possible.
“It’s just a part of their life now,” Anderson said. “They know that if they want to play basketball and continue to be here and get their education, they have to do this stuff. Everybody has to realize that, too. I think they’ve done a great job. I hope that we can continue and stay relatively healthy.”
And while the Gorillas have done all they can to ensure their health for the start of the season, they know, along with every other team in action, that playing out the season may be out of their hands. You can be sure, no matter how many games get played this season, each one of them will have a significant meaning.
“I think we just have to feel fortunate that we are getting the opportunity to play,” Anderson said. “The people who are in charge are working as hard as they can to give us that opportunity, and that includes our institution. But that also includes our city people and our county people. It’s for real. Day by day, we just have to approach it.”
Pittsburg State’s Quentin Hardrict dribbles up the floor in the Gorillas’ exhibition win over Tabor on Friday. Photo by Reid Williams.
PITTSBURG, Kan. — The Pittsburg State football team’s home game against Western Colorado University scheduled for Nov. 21 has been canceled due to a recent spike in Covid-19 cases in western Colorado, according to a press release from Pittsburg State.
The game will not be rescheduled, but Pittsburg State will continue to explore options for an additional home game prior to the conclusion of the 2020 season. Ticket sales for the WCU game have been canceled.
The Gorillas (1-1), who claimed a 20-7 road win over MIAA rival Missouri Western State on Saturday at St. Joseph, Missouri, have a pair of road games remaining on their 2020 schedule: at Stephen F. Austin State University on Nov. 14 and at West Texas A&M University on Nov. 28.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Pittsburg State scored early and never trailed while earning its first win of the season with a 20-7 victory over Missouri Western on Saturday.
The Gorillas (1-1) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in their first road contest of the 2020 season, driving 75 yards on 13 plays with quarterback Mak Sexton and Drew Winn hooking up for a 20-yard scoring completion to put PSU on top 7-0 with 8:19 to play in the opening quarter.
Pittsburg State pushed its lead to two possessions early in the second quarter when Jayden Snyder capped off a nine-play, 56-yard drive with a 41-yard field goal to make the score 10-0 with 13:12 remaining in the first half.
Missouri Western’s lone touchdown of the game came on the opening kickoff of the second half when Sam Webb returned the ball 90 yards to the house to trim the lead to 10-7.
The Gorillas answered back on their ensuing possession with an 89-yard drive that culminated in Sexton throwing his second touchdown pass of the game, this time a 17-yard connection to Jalen Martin, to make the score 17-7 with 10:26 to play in the third.
Pittsburg State’s final points, and the final points in the game, came on a 23-yard field goal from Snyder with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
STATS
Sexton completed 18-of-32 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Winn led PSU in rushing with 79 yards on 13 carries, adding three receptions for 28 yards and two total touchdowns. Tyler Adkins added 62 yards on 23 carries. Martin led the Gorillas with seven receptions for 66 yards.
Anthony Vespo completed 17-of-33 passes for 137 yards and two interceptions, while Brandon Hall rushed six times for 26 yards. Cooper Burton caught eight passes for 55 yards.
UP NEXT
Pittsburg State is back on the road for a 4 p.m. matchup with Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 14
PITTSBURG, Kan. — Pittsburg State scored late in the fourth to cut the Nebraska-Kearney lead to one score and had a chance in the waning stages of the game to take the lead before the Lopers ultimately held off the Gorillas 31-26 in the season opener on Saturday at Carnie Smith Stadium.
The Gorillas scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mak Sexton to Jalen Martin at the 11:50 mark of the final quarter to trim the Lopers’ lead to 24-20.
PSU forced a three-and-out on the ensuing defensive possession before a three-and-out possession on offense led to a loss of 13 yards on Dominik Stadlman’s punt attempt, giving the Lopers solid field position deep in PSU territory.
Nebraska-Kearney took advantage less than two minutes later when TJ Davis crossed the goal lime from a yard out to push UNK’s margin to 30-20.
The Gorillas drove down into UNK territory before a 20-yard field goal attempt by Jaden Snyder was blocked to give the Lopers possession.
Pittsburg State forced Kearney into a punt before the offense orchestrated a seven-play 61-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 31-yard touchdown pass from Sexton to Christian Carter to bring PSU within five of the lead, 31-26, with 1:47 remaining.
On the Lopers’ first play of the ensuing drive, PSU’s Luke Jennings fried Dayton Sealey into a fumble, with Jennings recovering the loose ball to give Pittsburg State possession with 1:42 left in the game.
A 9-yard completion to Dylan White and a 17-yard run from Tyler Adkins sent the Gorillas to the UNK 21, where the drive stalled with four straight incompletions for a turnover-on-downs, sealing the win for Kearney.
STATS
Pittsburg State picked up 132 rushing yards on 29 attempts, while passing 46 times for 398 yards. Sexton completed 25-of-46 passes for 398 yards and three touchdowns. Adkins rushed 15 times for 73 yards and a score. Carter had eight receptions for 153 yards and a score, while White, a Pittsburg High product, caught five passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Martin added seven receptions for 58 yards and a score.
Brandon Mlekus, a Frontenac native, led PSU with 10 tackles, while Jennings had eight solo tackles, 10 total, and a forced fumble and recovery. Kaden Roy, a Webb City graduate, had eight tackles.
UNK rushed 66 times for 287 yards and passed 10 times for 154 yards. Sealey led Kearney with 118 yards on 21 carries, while Davis had 21 carries for 93 yards and four touchdowns. Montrez Jackson added 51 rushing yards on 11 carries. Blake Bubak led UNK with nine total tackles.
UP NEXT
Pittsburg State travels to Missouri Western for a 3 p.m. matchup on Nov. 7.
Even though his first season as the Gorillas’ head coach was thrown into flux with the COVID pandemic, Pittsburg State’s Brian Wright couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to be coaching his players this Saturday when PSU hosts Nebraska-Kearney at 12:05 p.m. at Carnie Smith Stadium.
“I can’t explain how truly grateful we are because on Saturday, we are going to be one of only five Division II games that will be played,” Wright said. “We’re pretty fortunate to have the administration, to have Jim Johnson, our athletic director, really work hard for us to get us some football games this year.
“We’ve learned from all of this that you have to be thankful and grateful for the opportunities that you get because it might be stripped away from you. We’ve learned to really focus on the process and daily routine of trying to get better, making constant improvement on getting better as a human being, as a student and as a football player.”
Pittsburg State’s Brian Wright makes his head coaching debut against Nebraska-Kearney on Oct. 31. Photo by Reid Williams/PSU.
Wright’s first offseason as the PSU head coach was halted just two practices in when the MIAA canceled the remaining schedule for spring sports in the middle of March because of the COVID outbreak, which included spring practice for football. In early August, news broke that the NCAA Division II Presidents Council decided to call off the fall sports championships because of the pandemic. About a week and a half later, the MIAA followed suit, suspending conference athletics until Jan. 1.
Suddenly, the Gorillas’ 2020 season was in serious jeopardy of not happening. That was until it was announced by Pittsburg State in September that the Gorilla football team would return to the gridiron for a shortened season. Pittsburg State will play a five-game schedule, with two home games (UNK on Oct. 31 and Western Colorado on Nov. 21) and three road games (at Missouri Western on Nov. 7, Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 14 and West Texas A&M on Nov. 28).
“You have all the practice and you do all the homework, but you don’t really know where you are at until you take the test,” Wright said. “We need to go out there and take the test to see what we know and how we execute when the lights are on, there is another team across the ball and it’s live. Sometimes, guys really thrive when it’s game day, and I am really looking forward to seeing who that is.”
“We are building our program, so any games we get at this time are going to help us build and get better for the future,” Wright continued. “We want to teach our guys how to prepare to win. We need games in order to do that. We need to teach them what a Tuesday practice or a Thursday walkthrough looks like during a game week. They need to learn how to take a game plan and go execute it, and we just need to get guys reps and game experience.”
It was crucial for Pittsburg State to fill out some sort of a schedule for the fall season if possible. Though the option of playing in the spring was there, that never really sat well with Coach Wright for a couple of simple reasons: You are risking players’ health in terms of injuries when playing a spring schedule and then turning around with little recovery time to play again in the fall. It also allows the team to hopefully revert back to a standard routine and schedule.
“I really wanted no part of spring,” Wright said. “I wanted to get anything we possibly could this fall. We want to get back to a normal recruiting calendar and a normal spring ball calendar. And hopefully, get back to normalcy in the fall of 2021. We were trying to build more for that than just playing games in the spring.”
The Gorillas have a new offensive and defensive scheme under Wright and his staff, and not having any significant spring practice time put them behind the eight ball in terms of evaluation.
“We watched them in the weight room, but we didn’t get the actual football side of things,” Wright said. “That was very difficult because typically you would take your spring practice and really dissect it at the end, evaluate it and get a really good grip and handle on where you are at as a football team and as a program. You would get a sense of where we need to recruit, what schemes we may need to change to adapt to what we have. We lost that time, and usually you have that time throughout summer as well.
“We had to get going right in September, start practicing and really kind of go on the fly with what we have. We tried to install at a pretty fast pace and get as much in early on as we could. We have kind of trimmed it from there after six weeks or practice to what our guys are good at.”
As far as the new offensive scheme goes, the Gorillas will be working uptempo out of a spread-based offense predominantly with a single-back look in 3-by-1 or 2-by-2 sets. The goal is to spread opposing defenses out to open up running lanes, then using play action to stretch the field.
Of course, when it comes to the spread offense, the quarterback is always the topic of conversation heading into the season. Sophomore Mak Sexton, who saw action in 11 games last season, freshman Chad Dodson Jr. and junior Matt Harman, who played in 10 games a year ago, are all in the mix.
“All three of them have done a good job for us,” Wright said. “Really Mak and Chad have kind of led that group. We will probably see both of those guys playing for us.”
Pittsburg State senior linebacker Morgan Selemaea practicing ahead of the start to his final season with the Gorillas. Photo by Reid Williams/PSU.
On defense, Pittsburg State is based in a three-man front, playing multiple formations from there. The goal is to pressure offenses off the edge while remaining stout in stopping the run.
Without a conference crown or postseason championship to play for, it’s obvious what the motivation is for the Gorillas and every other Division II team in action—the opportunity to play the game they love. And for the Pittsburg State senior class of 10 — whose leadership during all of the uncertainty was invaluable — that especially rings true.
“They’ve been instrumental in us getting through this time,” Wright said. “We’ve needed them for sure, there is no doubt about that. I think they’ve gotten the team’s respect because the team understands what they’ve had to go through. Those (seniors) had to make some really tough decisions on whether they were coming back or not. I think the team respects that a lot of these guys have given everything they have even though it’s five games. They are playing because they have the opportunity to play the game they love with no championship or no playoffs. That can be difficult.”
Of course, the cherry on top of getting to finally make his debut with Pittsburg State, Wright opens his career against the Lopers just after noon in front of the home crowd on the sidelines of Brandenburg Field.
“It’s pretty cool to think that our first opportunity here as a new staff is right here at home,” Wright said. “The Gorilla Walk probably won’t be quite the same, but I just think the fact that we get to open up here is pretty special.”
PITTSBURG, Kan. — Missouri Western State University, the University of Nebraska-Kearney and Pittsburg State University announced a non-conference scheduling alliance on Monday that will allow the three Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association member institutions to play a partial 2020 football schedule beginning in late October.
The “scheduling alliance” was created following the cancellation of the 2020 football season by the MIAA and the 2020 NCAA Division II fall championships by the NCAA to create an avenue for the Griffons, Lopers and Gorillas student-athletes to play a limited number of games this fall.
In the scheduling alliance, MWSU, UNK and Pitt State will each play two games against one another while filling out the remainder of their schedules with other NCAA-II and FCS institutions.
“We are excited to make this announcement today and be able to bring football back for the 2020 season,” PSU athletic director Jim Johnson said in a press release. “I am thankful to Josh Looney at Missouri Western and Marc Bauer at Nebraska-Kearney for all their efforts in making this possible.
“At this time, we believe it is possible to play football in our community and we are planning this with the interest of the physical and mental wellness of our student-athletes at the forefront. We believe, for many reasons, it is in the best interest of our institution, our community and our fan base to have football this fall.
“There is still room to add a fifth game to our schedule on Nov. 21. We are working to secure a second home game to be played at Carnie Smith Stadium that day.”
Pittsburg State will host UNK at Carnie Smith Stadium on Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. The Gorillas and MWSU will face one another at St. Joseph on Nov. 7 at 3 p.m., while the Lopers and Griffons will meet at Kearney at 1 p.m. on Nov. 21.
Pittsburg State has additional non-conference match-ups scheduled Nov. 14 at Nacogdoches, Texas against FCS member Stephen F. Austin (4 p.m.) and Nov. 28 at Canyon, Texas against D2 member West Texas A&M (time TBA).
UNK has additional non-conference match-ups scheduled Nov. 7 in Kearney against Chadron State (time TBA) and Nov. 14 at Rapid City, S.D., against South Dakota Mines at 2 p.m.
MWSU will travel to Conway, Ark., on Oct. 31 to face FCS member Central Arkansas at 3 p.m. and will travel to Canyon, Texas to take on West Texas A&M on Nov. 14 (time TBA).
The Pittsburg State Gorillas football program will take on Stephen F. Austin State at Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches, Texas on November 14, 2020.
The MIAA announced the suspension of all fall athletics due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Aug. 14.
“Though the conference football season is canceled, we are committed to assembling an abbreviated non-conference schedule,” said Pittsburg State’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Jim Johnson in a press release. “This is important for next season, for our seniors who’ll soon leave us, and for our community. We look forward to it.”
For new head coach Brian Wright and his staff, any opportunity to compete is very welcome.
“This season is not what we planned, but our coaches and athletes have adapted and we’ve stayed prepared,” said Wright in the release. “Giving our athletes a chance to play the game they love, test themselves, and put in the work to stay game-ready for next season is our top priority. I’m happy for them, for our coaches, and for our fans.”
Pittsburg State will announce a total of no more than five non-conference games in the next few days. Plans are underway for two home games at Carnie Smith Stadium. Pittsburg State Athletics will work with the Crawford County Health Department and the Bryant Student Health Center to determine crowd capacity and spectator virus mitigation measures, with details being announced as they are determined.
