PITTSBURG — Quarterback Garrett Fugate tossed a 79-yard touchdown strike to Tyler Jones to break a 27-27 tie with 4:28 to play and lift No. 20 ranked University of Central Missouri to a 34-27 victory over Pittsburg State University Thursday (Sept. 1) in the season opener at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium.
The Gorillas (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) scored the game's first 13 points behind a John Roderique to Levi Copelin 66-yard touchdown pass and a pair of field goals – from 38 and 28 yards – by Chad Levin, but the Mules (1-0, 1-0 MIAA) countered with 27 consecutive points between the second and third quarters to build a 27-13 lead.
Roderique completed seven of 10 passes for 113 yards and the touchdown before exiting the game with a hand injury on the final play of the first quarter and the Gorillas leading 10-0.
Fugate tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Zachery to trim Pitt State's lead to 13-7 at halftime and UCM erupted for 20 third-quarter points to push in front. Gabe Vandiver scored on a 12-yard run for a 14-13 UCM lead with 9:29 to play in the third quarter. Fugate capped a 91-yard scoring drive with a five-yard run that pushed the Mules' margin to 20-13 and Zachery added a 79-yard punt return to gave UCM a 27-13 lead.
Backup quarterback Thomas LePage engineered a pair of fourth quarter scoring drives to help Pitt State battle back to tie the game at 27-all. LePage scored on a 4th-and-3 play from the UCM 8 to make it a 27-20 game with 10:28 to play and he engineered an eight-play, 74-yard drive that Michael Rose capped with a one-yard run with 5:53 to go.
The Gorilla defense forced the Mules into a 3rd-and-4 from the UCM 21 but Jones slipped behind coverage for the go-ahead score.
LePage drove the Gorillas 44 yards into UCM territory, advancing to the Mules 22 yard line, but Tevin Teamer intercepted a pass at the UCM 1 after a Pitt State receiver slipped and fell on a pass route to seal the victory for the visiting team.
LePage completed 14 of 31 passes for 191 yards with two interceptions in the contest. Rose added 27 carries for 104 yards on the ground. Copelin had nine grabs for a career-high 191 yards receiving – the eighth-highest receiving day in school history.
Deron Washington made six tackles with a pass break-up and a forced fumble, while Demetrius Bernard added six stops including a quarterback sack and a fumble recovery.
Pitt State will return to action next Thursday (Sept. 8) when the Gorillas travel to Edmond, Okla., to face the University of Central Oklahoma. The Bronchos dropped a 49-26 road decision to Lindenwood University in their season opener.
