PITTSBURG -- The Pittsburg State University football team will travel to Hays, Kan., Thursday (Sept. 7) to battle MIAA rival Fort Hays State University in week two action. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (CDT) at Lewis Field Stadium.
Pitt State, the No. 3 team in this week's AFCA NCAA Division II Top 25 poll, opened the 2023 campaign with a 34-7 home victory against Washburn University last Thursday (Aug. 31) at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium.
The Gorillas captured the 2022 MIAA Championship while posting a 12-1 record a year ago. Pitt State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II national playoffs before falling to eventual national champion Ferris State, 17-14.
FHSU scored an emphatic 56-0 road win over Northeastern State University in its 2023 season debut last Thursday at Tahlequah, Okla. The Tigers are coming off a 3-8 campaign last year.
The Coaches
Brian Wright is in his fourth 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 he guided Pitt State to an 8-3 mark in 2021. In 2022, Wright led the Gorillas to a 12-1 record and an 11-0 unblemished MIAA Championship, garnering 2022 MIAA Coach of the Year honors. He led Pitt State to a 12-1 record as the Gorillas made their 19th all-time trip to the NCAA-II postseason.
Wright has a 23-6 (.793) record leading the Gorillas and a 27-6 (.818) mark as a collegiate head coach.
Wright came to Pitt State after serving the previous four seasons as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of Toledo.
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.
Thursday's action will mark Wright's third match-up against FHSU. He is 2-0 against the Tigers.
Chris Brown is in his 12th season as head coach at FHSU. Brown (Pitt State, 1996) has compiled a 75-50-0 (.600) record leading the Tigers. Brown, a three-time All-America free safety for the Gorillas from 1993-95, came to FHSU after serving as defensive coordinator at Washburn from 2002-10. This will be his 11th meeting vs. his alma mater.
Brown is 5-5 vs. Pitt State.
Gorillas On The Road
Historically, Pitt State has compiled an impressive record in road games.
The Gorillas have posted a 112-35-1 (.760) record in its last 148 road games (including post-season play) dating back to the start of the 1994 season. Pitt State is 48-12 (.800) in its last 60 road games dating back to Oct. 23, 2010, including a 12-3 (.800) record in three seasons under head coach Brian Wright.
FHSU has compiled a 37-25 (.597) home record in the past 11 seasons under Coach Brown, including a 7-9 mark the past three years (2019, '21-22).
The Pitt State - Fort Hays State Series
This will be the 81st all-time meeting between the Gorillas and the Tigers in a series that dates all the way back to the 1915 season.
Pitt State holds a commanding 48-23-9 advantage in the series. The Gorillas are 24-12-6 vs. the Tigers at Hays all-time. Pitt State is 22-5-1 in its last 28 overall meetings against Fort Hays State.
Quarterback Chad Dodson Jr. passed for 171 yards and two touchdowns to help lead Pitt State to a 35-14 victory over Fort Hays State in the regular season finale for both schools on Nov. 12.
The No. 5 ranked Gorillas punctuated an unbeaten regular season in front of 8,235 partisan fans at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium and formally received the 2022 MIAA Champion trophy following the game.
Pitt State led the Tigers, 14-7, at halftime but capitalized on a 14-point third quarter to pull away.
The Pitt State defense limited FHSU to 98 net rushing yards and 277 total yards in the contest. Linebacker P.J. Sarwinski led the MIAA leading defensive unit with nine tackles (three solo), 1.5 tackles-for-loss, 1.0 quarterback sack and a pass breakup.
Dodson tossed touchdown passes to wide receivers Kolbe Katsis and Jamahl Horne and running backs Caleb Lewis, Antwan Squire and Cleo Chandler Jr. all found the end zone as well.
Chandler carried the ball 11 times for 55 yards, while Squire had 10 rushes for 46 yards and Lewis added 13 carries for 43 yards in the game. Katsis caught five passes for a team-leading 52 yards.
All-Time Winningest Programs
Pittsburg State is the all-time winningest NCAA Division II football program. The Gorillas, who are embarking upon their 116th season of intercollegiate competition, have compiled a 742-360-48 overall record, winning 66.6 percent of their 1,150 all-time games.
Pittsburg State is one of just nine 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.
Tuskegee is second on the Division II all-time list with 708 victories, followed by Hillsdale (658), Carson-Newman (651) and Central Oklahoma (649).
FHSU has a 487-484-44 (.501) record in 111 seasons of intercollegiate play.
PSU's Regular Season Success
Pitt State has won 324 of its last 392 regular season games, posting a phenomenal 324-66-2 (.829) mark during the past 38 seasons (1985-2023). PSU is 171-28-1 at home, 149-29-1 on the road and 4-9-0 at neutral sites in the regular season during that span.
Scouting the Gorillas
Junior quarterback Chad Dodson Jr. improved to 14-1 (.933) as the Gorillas starter following Pitt State's season opening win vs. Washburn.
Dodson completed 13 of 25 passes for 138 yards in the contest; and he added 20 net rushing yards with a TD.
The Jacksonville, Fla., native has completed 261 of 450 career passes (.580) for 3,712 yards and 36 touchdowns. He ranks ninth in Pitt State history for career touchdown passes and 10th for career passing yards.
Dodson earned third-team All-MIAA honors in 2022, passing for 2,975 yards and 29 touchdowns.
Redshirt junior linebacker Jack Barkley was selected the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday (Sept. 5) for his play in the Gorillas' season-opening win over Washburn.
Barkley posted a career high 14 tackles (seven solo) against the Ichabods. The Tulsa, Okla., native made 3.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, including 1.0 quarterback sacks, and added a quarterback hurry to his stat line as well.
Barkley has compiled 79 career tackles (40 solo) with 5.5 tackles-for-loss.
Freshman placekicker Austin Schmitt booted a pair of field goals, including a 45 yarder as time expired in the first half, in his collegiate debut against Washburn.
The Grain Valley, Mo., native staked the Gorillas to a 6-0 halftime lead by converting a 23-yard field goal with 11:16 remaining in the second quarter and the long kick on the final play of the first half. He also booted a pair of PATs in the second half as Pitt State pulled away down the stretch against the Ichabods.
Redshirt junior cornerback Antione Nunn Jr. recorded his sixth career interception in Gorillas' season opener against the Ichabods.
Nunn, a Kansas City, Mo., native, posted five interceptions and 10 pass breakups during the 2022 season, leading the MIAA in INTs and ranking second in the conference in PBUs.
For his career, Nunn has six interceptions and 12 pass breakups to his credit. He has returned three INTs for touchdowns.
