Pittsburg state tops Central Missouri in 49-28 win

Sunday

Maybe it was the Gorilla offense taking what Central Missouri gave them. Or maybe the No. 7-ranking Gorilla passing game is just that good.

Maybe it was the Gorilla offense taking what Central Missouri gave them. Or maybe the No. 7-ranking Gorilla passing game is just that good.

No matter what it was, PSU came out and flung the ball for 392 yards in the air — just nine yards short of the single-game passing record set in 2004 against Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T) — to beat No. 17 Central Missouri 49-28 Saturday afternoon at Carnie Smith Stadium.

“I don’t know if we were lucky or if it was just by design,” said PSU head coach Chuck Broyles.

PSU had 285 of those yards in the first half.

“We don’t throw it that often because we have been so efficient with the run,” said backup quarterback John McCoy. “No one was really surprised on the offense that we would be that efficient in the air.”

McCoy accounted for 92 of those yards on 3-of-3 in the air, including a 63-yard touchdown pass to Marques Nelson in the second quarter.

On the play, McCoy was forced to escape from five different tackle attempts from Central. As he broke the fifth tackle, he found Nelson down the middle f the field, open, for the score.

“Our offensive line is so dominant and powerful that we knew we could do good things,” McCoy said.

The Gorillas made an immediate statement on their second play from scrimmage when Mark Smith hooked up with Nelson for a 90-yard touchdown.

“That was a great pass and catch for us,” Broyles said.

But it came as a surprise to some of the Gorillas.

“I wasn’t expecting the quick-strike but, after that, all the passes really clicked,” said Nelson, who had three catches for 190 yards.

Nelson broke coverage on the snap and found himself five-yards from the closest Central defender.

Central had an early chance to counter, but Mark Starks missed on a 31-yard field goal attempt with 6 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first quarter. The Gorillas went back to the air on their next possession as Smith found Harrison Kush downfield for a 14-yard gain on second-and-10.

Inside Mule territory, Smith completed a 13-yard pass to Caleb Farabi and, on the very next play, hit Kendall Fisher for a 29-yard touchdown pass to extend the Gorillas’ lead to 14-0. Central countered in the opening of the second quarter after Zain Gower found the end zone on a 12-yard rush.

Smith threw his third touchdown, finding Nathan Thomas on a 43-yard strike with 1 minute left in the half.

In the second half, the Gorilla defense, holding to a 14-point cushion, took over and held the Mules to just 38 yards on the ground. Chris Swartz, normally a role player on kick-off returns, came up with eight tackles, including two for a loss.

“It was very exciting to get into the game,” Swartz said.

PSU found a way to nullify the threat of Central running back Glenn Milner. Milner came into the game averaging 96.5 yards per game.

On Saturday, the Pitt State defense contained Milner to just 83 yards and no touchdowns.

“They do a lot of things to put pressure on defenses and, I think, our defense did a good job with that,” Broyles said.

On offense, the Gorillas went to the running game and Brandon Clark found the end zone twice — once in the third and another in the fourth — and Caleb Farabi scored on a 2-yard run in the third.

Morning Sun writer Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140

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