The Griffon News

Fans at last Saturday night’s football game took the unexpected fireworks display as a celebration of Western’s 48-35 victory over the No. 7 ranked Pittsburg State.

Although the Western men ranked in the No. 23 seat, they are now at 3-0 for the season, and 1-0 within the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The defeat left the Pitt State Gorillas at 2-1 and 0-1 in the MIAA.

The Griffon men took the field at 6 p.m. and dominated the turf from the start. The Gorillas began the first series of the game that ended in a fumble and a recovery by Griffon junior defensive back J.R. Graham on the 29-yard line. The Griffs got the ball to the one-yard line and senior running back Jeremiah White finished the series by running the ball in for the touchdown.

The completion of the point after kick set Western to a 7-0 lead at just 9:54 into the first quarter. The Griffons have been unable to get the first points on the scoreboard for the past seven games.

The Gorillas may have let the first score slide by, but they retaliated by driving the ball 81 yards, resulting in a touchdown and a tied score. Western answered PSU by firing off three touchdown plays in a row.

Replacement quarterback junior Matt Landess not only connected on passes for the touchdowns, but also ran in the ball from the one-yard line to set the score at 14-7. Landess filled in for the injured senior Michael Burton as the starting quarterback. He went 12-of-20 for 204 yards through the air. It is still undecided whether or not Burton will return next week as the starter or whether Landess will remain in the position.

After another fumble by the Gorillas, Landess connected a handoff to senior running back Jamison Burns for a two-yard into the end zone.

Although Landess may or may not be the official starting quarterback, the dynamics of the team are falling it place.

“We knew we could do it,” Landess said. “It was just a matter of going out there and getting a few breaks. We recovered that onside kick and just kept rolling.”

The onside kick happened during Western’s punt return when freshman wide receiver Andrew Mead recovered the ball on a high bounce. After a short series White pushed through the defense again for a one-yard carry to set the score at a 28-7 lead. White picked up a total of 112 rushing yards on 23 carries.

“This is something we’ve been wanting to do for a long time, getting both the running backs going and also the quarterback,” White said. “We’re going to be good this year.”

The Gorillas came back into the game with 7:54 remaining in the half with a touchdown by Germaine Race. Western fired right back with an 80-yard drive resulting in a Burns touchdown. On top of the two scores for Burns, he picked up 75 rushing yards.

PSU was able to score one last time before the half, but the Griffs scrambled down the field and sophomore Dustin Strickler kicked a 29-yard field goal to set the final halftime score at 38-21.

Senior Jarrett Brooks started the second half when Landess connected a 34-yard to the receiver for a touchdown.

In the final stages of the game senior Brad Kester intercepted a pass from the Gorillas, in addition to his three tackles. Kester was injured on the play and taken off the field on a stretcher. He only received minor injuries, which include five stitches above his left eye. Kester will return to his starting position upon clearance of his physician.

In Kester’s presence and absence the defense held the Gorillas back. Senior Michael Cobbins lead the defense with eight tackles, six of which were unassisted. Junior Chauncey Mayfield and Graham each did their part by chalking down six tackles apiece.

The Griffons pulled together and we’re able to get in one more field goal by Strickler.

With what energy was left, PSU mustered up enough to complete two series that both resulted in touchdown setting the final score at 48-35.

The Western men rushed for a total of 261 yards on 47 attempts compaired to PSU’s 175 rushing yards.

Coach Jerry Partridge feels that the team knew they were capable of coming out and playing the way that they did. His expectations were definitely met, but there are still areas that need work in order to come up with a victory against Northwest.

Defensively, Partridge feels that the team could be a little bit more on their game. Partridge will have to determine soon who will take the starting position as quarterback, but until then the team and him will bask in the glory of victory.

“Our kids just made plays,” Partridge said. “Even though we didn’t stop them well, we had some turnovers that helped us. We beat an awfully good football team.”

The Western men will take to the turf for some serious practice and training in order to go on the road and head to head with big-time No. 2 ranked rival Northwest Missouri State in Maryville. The battle is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 23.

View video of the win against the Gorillas: Multimedia