Dominant 1st half lifts PSU past UCO
Oct. 31—Make it three straight.
Aided by a dominant start, the Pittsburg State football team picked up a third consecutive victory in MIAA play by claiming a 26-20 win over Central Oklahoma on Saturday at Carnie Smith Stadium in Pittsburg, Kansas.
The Gorillas (7-2, 7-2 MIAA) stormed out to a 23-7 halftime lead before staving off a Bronchos (4-5, 4-5) comeback attempt in the second half.
A key 10-point surge was put together by PSU in the final 2:42 of the second quarter.
Tyler Atkins capped a six-play, 63-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Gorillas up 20-7. Then two plays later, P.J. Sarwinski intercepted a UCO pass to set up the PSU offense at the Bronshos' 25-yard line. The Gorillas wound up capitalizing on the takeaway with a 35-yard field goal by Cross Holmes that widened the lead to 16 points with 28 ticks remaining till halftime.
Holmes converted four field goals on the day and matched his season-long boot with a 54-yard make with 2:24 to play in the first quarter. He also split the uprights on attempts from 49 yards and 25 yards.
Mak Sexton completed 17 of 31 passes for 248 yards and had a 16-yard TD pass to Devon Garisson in the opening quarter. He was intercepted twice in the game and added 107 rushing yards on 18 carries. His top passing target, Jalen Martin, hauled in six catches for 102 yards.
UCO used the big-play formula on a couple of occasions to stay in the contest. Kyle Calhoon tossed a 75-yard TD pass to Josh Moore in the first quarter, and then he connected with Markiese King for a 78-yard TD strike to trim the PSU lead to 26-13 early in the fourth.
A 5-yard TD pass from Calhoon to Moore made it a 26-20 ballgame with 3:28 remaining.
UCO had a chance to gain possession later in the quarter but was flagged for an illegal formation penalty as the Gorillas punted the football away on a fourth-and-2 play from the Bronchos' 47-yard line. The penalty yardage gave the Gorillas a fresh set of downs before they ran out the remaining of the clock to preserve the win.
The PSU defense limited UCO to eight first downs, 23 net rushing yards and just two third-down conversions. Sarwinski finished with a team-high eight tackles (six solo), including 2.5 tackles for loss, as well as one interception and a pass break-up. Dubem Okonkwo added four solo tackles, two QB sacks, one forced fumble and three pass break-ups.
The Gorillas, now in a three-way tie for second place in the MIAA standings with Washburn and Nebraska-Kearney, play their final home hame next Saturday when they play host to the Ichabods at 1 p.m.
