PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University football team ushered in the 2018 football season with a 21-7 victory over the University of Central Oklahoma Thursday (Aug. 30) at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium.

The Gorillas (1-0) marched the ball 78 yards in 10 plays on the opening drive of the season to jump out to a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest. Pitt State added a pair of second quarter scores to build a 21-0 margin and the Gorilla defense bottled up the Bronchos (0-1) most of the night in the debut contest.

Tyler Adkins capped the initial drive with a six-yard scoring run that gave Pitt State a 7-0 lead at the 10:37 mark of the opening stanza. John Roderique extended the lead to 14-0 on a 20-yard pass to Lorenzo West with 4:33 remaining in the second period. Following a quick three-and-out by UCO, KiAnte Hardin broke loose for a 59-yard punt return touchdown to extend the lead to 21-0 with 3:56 remaining in the first half.

UCO's Keats Calhoun tossed a 51-yard touchdown pass to L'liott Curry with 9:43 to play in the game to provide the final margin and break up the Gorillas shutout bid.

The Pitt State defense limited UCO to 234 yards of total offense in the contest. The Bronchos completed just 13 of 31 passes for 139 yards and UCO added just 95 net rushing yards on 29 carries. The Gorillas registered 4.0 quarterback sacks and eight stops behind the line of scrimmage in the contest. Pitt State defenders also broke up eight pass attempts.

Simanu'a Thomas led the Pitt State defense with seven tackles (three solo) including 3.0 tackles-for-loss and 1.5 quarterback sacks. He also registered a PBU.

Roderique completed nine of 13 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 23 yards on 11 carries. West caught four passes for 78 yards and a TD. He also carried the ball seven times for 46 yards.