PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University football team will travel to Tahlequah, Okla., Saturday to battle MIAA rival Northeastern State University. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. (CDT) at Doc Wadley Stadium.
The Gorillas opened the 2021 campaign with a 35-16 road victory over preseason No. 13 ranked University of Central Missouri on Sept. 2 before Pitt State dropped a 28-17 home decision to the University of Nebraska-Kearney last Saturday (Sept. 11).
The Gorillas, one of only 10 NCAA Division II football schools to play a limited schedule last fall due to the Covid-19 pandemic, posted a 2-2 record in 2020.
Northeastern State is 1-1 on the young season after claiming a 21-17 road win over Missouri Southern State University last Saturday at Joplin, Mo. The RiverHawks dropped a 38-0 home decision to Emporia State in their season debut on Sept. 4.
The Coaches
Brian Wright is in his second season as head coach at Pittsburg State.
He was hired as the program's 15th all-time head coach on December 7, 2019. Wright led the Gorillas to a 2-2 record during the abbreviated 2020 season and a 3-3 overall mark. He has a 7-3 record as a collegiate head coach.
Wright came to Pitt State after serving the past four seasons as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of Toledo.
In his four seasons with the Rockets, Wright helped guide offenses that have been among the best in the Mid-American Conference while boasting four NFL draft picks.
Prior to coming to Toledo, Wright coached at Florida Atlantic for four seasons as the Owls' offensive coordinator. He stepped in as interim head coach for the final four games of the 2013 season, leading the Owls to four consecutive victories and bowl eligibility (6-6) for the first time since 2008.
Prior to his stint at Florida Atlantic, Wright spent two seasons at Montana State as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.
Before heading west to Montana State, Wright served nine years at perennial FCS power Youngstown State.
Wright joined the Penguins' staff in 2001 as quarterbacks coach, also working as offensive coordinator from 2005-09. He began his collegiate coaching career at Walsh (Ohio) University as a graduate assistant in 1995-96.
After a year as a graduate assistant at YSU in which the Penguins won the NCAA Division I-AA national title, Wright returned to Walsh in 1998 and served until 2000.
Saturday's action will mark Wright's second match-up against UNK. He is 0-1 vs. the Lopers.
NSU's J.J. Eckert is in his third year leading his alma mater. Eckert (NSU, '97) spent the previous 12 seasons as head coach at Kilgore College, compiling a 72-53 record in the NJCAA ranks for the Rangers. Prior to that, he served as head coach at Garden City Community College for two years (2005-06). This will be his second meeting vs. Pitt State.
The Pitt State-Northeastern State Series
This will be the 36th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and the RiverHawks in a series that dates back to the 1912 season.
Pitt State holds a 21-12-2 advantage in the series. The Gorillas have won all nine of the contests between the two schools since 1970.
In the last meeting on Sept. 21, 2019, Pitt State rushed out to a 48-0 halftime lead en route to a 58-3 victory over NSU.
Pitt State 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 while Tyler Adkins rushed nine times for 47 yards. The Gorillas compiled 221 rushing yards on 44 carries and 481 yards of total offense overall.
All-Time Winningest Programs
Pittsburg State is the all-time winningest NCAA Division II football program. The Gorillas, who are entering their 114th season of intercollegiate competition, have compiled a 722-356-48 overall record, winning 66.3 percent of their 1,126 all-time games.
Pittsburg State is one of just seven NCAA Division II institutions to have recorded 600 all-time victories and the Gorillas became just the 33rd program – the first Division II institution – across all levels of college football to reach the 700-win plateau. The Gorillas rank 30th among all college football programs in all-time victories.
Tuskegee is second on the Division II all-time list with 696 victories, followed by Hillsdale (647), Carson-Newman (643) and Central Oklahoma (639).
NSU has a 446-452-30 (.497) record in 103 seasons of intercollegiate play.
Gorillas on the Road
Historically, Pitt State has posted a solid record in road games. The Gorillas have posted a 104-33-1 (.757) record in its last 138 road games (including post-season play) dating back to the start of the 1994 season. The Gorillas are 40-10 (.800) in their last 50 road games dating back to Oct. 23, 2010.
PSU's Regular Season Success
Pitt State has won 305 of its last 371 regular season games, posting a phenomenal 305-64-2 (.825) mark during the past 36 seasons (1985-2021). PSU is 161-27-1 at home, 140-28-1 on the road and 4-9-0 at neutral sites in the regular season during that span.
Scouting the Gorillas
Senior wide receiver Jalen Martin has caught a team-leading 10 passes for 196 yards (19.6 ypc) and one touchdown through the Gorillas first two games.
The Detroit, Mich., native currently ranks second in the MIAA in receiving yards (98.0 ypg) and he shares the MIAA lead in receptions (5.0 pg).
Martin (6-3, 210) caught a team-high 29 passes for 312 (10.8 ypc) and two scores in Pitt State's four-game season in 2020 – his first year with the Gorillas.
In six games played, he has 39 grabs for 508 yards (13.0 ypc) and three touchdowns, averaging 84.7 yards per game.
Senior cornerback Dallis Flowers (6-2, 190) recorded a second interception in as many games for the Gorillas last week against Nebraska-Kearney. He has made five tackles (four solo), a pair of interceptions and one pass break-up on the young season.
Flowers, a graduate transfer, also currently ranks second in the MIAA in kickoff returns, averaging 25.8 yards per return. The Chicago native joined the Gorillas in August after earning NAIA All-America honors the past two seasons (2019-20) at Grand View University.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Luke Jennings made six tackles (four solo) and 2.0 tackles-for-loss in Pitt State's loss to UNK last week.
For the season, the Gardner, Kan., native has posted a team-leading 16 tackles (seven solo) with 2.5 tackles-for-loss.
Jennings (6-4, 217) made 16 tackles (12 solo) with 2.0 tackles-for-loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in four games for the Gorillas in 2020.
