Gorillas hand Bearcats first loss since 2014

By Phil Cobb | October 29, 2017 |

CODY THORN/DAILY FORUM
A Pittsburg State ball carrier fights his way for extra yardage while the Northwest defense wraps him up.

PITTSBURG, Kan. — Pittsburg State added yet another chapter Saturday to the rivalry against Northwest Missouri State.

The Gorillas were the last team to beat the two-time defending Division II football champions in the regular season and on Saturday, Pittsburg State renewed that distinction.

Pitt State upset the No. 1-ranked Bearcats 20-10 and in the process snapped Northwest’s 38-game winning streak which started in 2015. Also gone is Northwest’s 34-game winning streak in MIAA play.

The Bearcats hadn’t lost a league game since 2014 and that came at the hands of Pittsburg State, which won 35-14 on Oct. 18 in Maryville. That win allowed the Gorillas to share a MIAA title that year with the Bearcats.

While Pitt State has no chance of a conference title this year, the win prevents their rival from having a shot at matching or breaking the Division II record of 40 wins in a row.

Northwest threw four interceptions and fumbled two other times and the uncharacteristic turnovers became the end of the winning streak. The Bearcats had only four total turnovers heading into the contest, only one through the air.

“You can’t turn the ball over six times and win a college football game,” Northwest coach Rich Wright said. “After halftime we played very well defensively. The way we had to play all year on that side of the ball, we can’t give up points. When you are playing with a small margin you don’t have a lot of room for errors.

“Dead honest with you there were several times I thought we would get the thing turned. Man, it was like every time we had it turned on defense something else happened to create something. To their credit, they played well. They had nothing to lose. They pulled out every stop you can think of. They faked a punt, faked a field goal and executed. This was their Super Bowl and I told our kids it would happen and sure enough, it happened.”

By the end of Saturday’s contest, played in front of 6,541 fans, the environment on both sides was vastly different than last year’s 69-10 Northwest blowout victory.

“We have had really tough games and we have a ton of respect for Northwest Missouri and everything they have done,” Pittsburg State coach Tim Beck said. “They still have a chance to win a conference championship and a national championship. We aren’t in that boat. We felt like our team has improved the last few weeks and we are just trying to get better even though we know we won’t probably be in the postseason.

“Us and Northwest have had a lot of battles and a lot of tough battles.”

The first half of the upset started and ended the same way — with Northwest missing a field goal.

Northwest got the ball first and Zach Martin hit Shawn Bane Jr. for gains of 34 and 10 yards, which set up a field goal attempt for Brett Garner.

The transfer from Sioux Falls missed his 33-yard attempt wide right.

Northwest (8-1, 8-1) got the ball back quickly as Pitt State went four-and-out, which featured a fake punt on fourth down. Punter Tucker Horak threw the ball to Creighton Sanders, who gained two yards but came up short of a first down by a yard.

That turnover set up Northwest’s first points of the game when the drive started at the Pitt State 35-yard line. Martin connected with Shane Williams for a 24-yard touchdown with 5:48 left to give Northwest a 6-0 advantage. Garner booted the extra point for the 7-0 lead.

Pitt State then scored the next 17 points to take command of the contest.

The Gorillas (5-4, 5-4) got first-down runs from Michael Rose (13 yards) and Keynan Scheurich (15) that set up Thomas LePage’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Austin Panko with just less than 13 minutes to play in the first half.

Northwest’s next drive ended when Josh Hornback intercepted Martin at midfield and returned it to the Northwest 38. Pitt struggled to do much on the first three plays of the drive, but on 4^th-and-4 from the 32, LePage hit Lorenzo West for a touchdown with 10:09 left.

Northwest was forced to punt on the next drive and after Pitt State fielded the punt, a personal foul gave the Gorillas an extra 15 yards.

That was the start of an up-and-down series with a few big plays. On third down, Pitt State converted a third down on a deflected pass. Then, Northwest’s Austen Eskew got a sack on LePage for a 12-yard loss. On third-and-14, Northwest drew a pass interference call to keep the drive alive for Pitt.

The Gorillas turned the drive into three when Jared Vincent hit a field goal from 33 yards out, making it 17-7.

The Bearcats had the ball twice over the final five minutes of the first half but came up empty both times.

After Vincent’s field goal, the Bearcats pieced together three big plays to get in scoring position.

Quincy Woods had a 12-yard gain and Chase White followed with a 23-yard run to the 50-yard line. Later in the drive, Bane Jr. had a 12-yard catch that moved the Bearcats inside the red zone.

But the drive ended without any points as Martin threw an interception at the 1-yard line and again, Hornback came down with the ball.

Pitt State failed to capitalize on the turnover and gave Northwest the ball with 57 seconds left.

The Bearcats had a chance thanks to a pass interference call on Pitt State and an 11-yard gain by Shane Williams. With time running out in the first half, Garner attempted a 44-yard field goal but again the kick sailed wide right.

The only points in the second half came from Garner and Vincent despite plenty of scoring chances from both teams.

Northwest pulled within 17-10 on its first possession of the second half. A bad punt by Pitt State gave Northwest a short field and two plays into the drive a pass from Martin to Williams moved the Bearcats to the Pitt 23-yard line.

Two incomplete passes followed and then a short gain on third down. Martin trotted out for his third field goal attempt. He converted on this one from 40 yards away to pull Northwest within a touchdown with 11 minutes to play in the third quarter.

The final points for Pitt State came on one of Northwest’s two fumbles.

Martin was hit as he was trying to throw a pass and Danny Williams picked it up and ran the ball to the 29-yard line. Again, Pitt State failed to do much with the turnover initially, but went deep into the playbook to keep the drive alive.

Facing a 4^th-and-2 at the 27, Pitt State trotted out the field goal unit. Panko, the holder, took the snap and pitched the ball behind him to Vincent, who was running on the right side and gained 16 yards for a first down on the final play of the third quarter.

The Pitt State drive fizzled out from there but Vincent booted a field goal to extend the lead to 20-10.

The sixth and final turnover provided another dagger into any hopes of a comeback for Northwest.

Northwest was forced to punt but Panko fumbled the return and Northwest’s Austen Eskew recovered at the 14-yard line.

The Bearcats struggled again to get anything going offensively despite having an opportunity with a short field. The first play was an incomplete pass followed by a run for a 5-yard loss. The third play was a pass to Bane Jr. at the 5-yard line. He turned to move up field and was hit. He fumbled the ball midair and Paul Davis picked it up – his second turnover of the game.

“We were shooting ourselves in the foot all game, whether it was penalties or missed assignments,” Northwest running back Jordan Grove said. “We got to focus on ourselves. If we play like we know we can our potential is unlimited. In the game of football the turnover battle is huge. We you are giving up six turnovers, the outcome won’t be very good.”

Pitt State took over at the 8-yard line with 3:18 left and ran the clock out from there.

Next up is a home game next week against Fort Hays State, the No. 7-ranked team in the country coming off a 34-7 win against Emporia State. The Tigers and are now in first place in the MIAA with a 9-0 record.

“We got to get back next week and focus on next week,” Northwest defensive lineman Bobby Gruenloh said. “Whatever happened, happened. We will work harder than we have worked this season.

“This is the same feeling I had in 2014, so I’ve felt it before … it isn’t a good feeling.”

By PHIL COBB Publisher
Northwest quarterback Zach Martin surveys the Pittsburg State defense before making a handoff in the team’s 20-10 loss Saturday on the road.