PITTSBURG — No. 22 Pittsburg State University rushed out to a 48-0 halftime lead en route to a 58-3 victory over Northeastern State University Saturday (Sept. 21) at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium. A sellout crowd of 9,080 Family Day fans witnessed the Gorillas lopsided victory over the RiverHawks.
Pitt State (3-0, 3-0 MIAA) struck for 24 points in the first quarter thanks to a pair of short touchdown runs by Tucker Horak, a blocked punt return for a touchdown by Morgan Selemaea and a 40-yard field goal from Jared Vincent. In the second quarter, backup quarterback Mak Sexton tossed pair of TD passes to Bryce Murphy and Brenner Clemons while Pitt State starter Brandon Mlekus sandwiched in a 24-yard scoring toss to Lorenzo West. Vincent, who booted three field goals in the contest, added a 29-yard field goal to round out the first-half scoring.
Mlekus, who completed three of four passes for 63 yards, added a 41-yard scoring connection to tight end Jon Meyer in the third quarter. Vincent completed the Gorillas' scoring with a 26-yard field goal with 10:53 to play in the contest.
Sexton completed six of eight passes for 135 yards and the two touchdowns. Matt Harman also completed five of 11 passes for 62 yards with an interception.
Horak led the Gorillas' ground game with 10 carries for 57 yards. Tyler Adkins rushed nine times for 47 yards, while Kiah Kintchen finished the game with six rushes for 45 yards. The Gorillas compiled 221 rushing yards on 44 carries and 481 yards of total offense overall.
NSU (0-3, 0-3 MIAA) broke up Pitt State's shutout bid with Brady Ellsworth's 33-yard field goal with 8:52 remaining in the game.
The Gorillas limited the RiverHawks to 189 yards of total offense in the contest, including just 61 passing yards. Pitt State registered five quarterback sacks and 12 tackles-for-loss. Gage Kaiser recorded 1.5 sacks among his four tackles. Alex Derryberry registered a pair of interceptions, while Adam Smith forced a fumble and blocked the punt that led to Selemaea's score. Jermaine Brealy Jr. made three pass breakups.
The Gorillas will travel to Kearney, Neb., to face the University of Nebraska-Kearney next Saturday (Sept. 28). The Lopers (2-1, 2-1 MIAA) posted a 31-21 road win over Emporia State University Saturday.
