By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
PITTSBURG, Kan. – In a back-and-forth battle on Saturday (Oct. 19) at Carnie Smith Stadium, Fort Hays State spoiled another Pittsburg State Homecoming by hanging on for a 42-41 win. FHSU ran its win streak to five games, now 5-2, and pulled even with No. 19/21 ranked PSU (5-2) in the MIAA standings. The Tigers ran their win streak over the Gorillas in the overall series to four games and claimed their third straight win in Pittsburg.
Fort Hays State held a 28-24 lead at halftime, but the second half saw two big momentum shifts that ultimately broke the way of the Tigers. FHSU had the ball to start the second half and marched the ball down the field to the redzone. However, the Tigers fumbled the ball away inside the 5-yardline and instead of potentially taking a double-figure lead, it sparked a third-quarter rally by the Gorillas.
Four plays following the Tiger turnover, the Gorillas struck for an 86-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Mlekus to Lorenzo West. All of the sudden, the Gorillas had their second lead of the game at 31-28 after leading 21-14 in the second quarter. The Tiger offense could not get anything going on its next drive and the Gorillas marched deep in Tiger territory once again. But the Tiger defense stood tall inside their own 10-yardline and forced a field goal that pushed the Gorilla lead to 34-28.
The Tigers needed a spark with the momentum fully on the side of the Gorillas. They found it on 3rd-and-20 from their own 33-yardline. Chance Fuller stepped up in the pocket and hit a sprinting Layne Bieberle, who got behind the Gorilla defense up the left sideline for a 67-yard touchdown reception. It was Bieberle’s second long touchdown reception of the game after outrunning the Gorilla defense on a 66-yard catch and run on a slant route in the second quarter that knotted the score 21-21 at the time. With the big play on 3rd-and-long, the Tigers found themselves back on top, 35-34.
On the ensuing Pittsburg State drive, Drew Harvey put momentum fully on the side of Fort Hays State. He picked off a Mlekus pass near midfield and returned it to the PSU 17-yardline. Two plays later, Fuller found Manny Ramsey for a 12-yard touchdown connection. The Tigers led 42-34 with 12:09 to go in the game.
Fort Hays State looked to have a defensive stop near midfield on the next drive, but Pitt State elected to go for it on 4th-and-6. It turned up fruitful for the Gorillas as Mak Sexton hit Bryce Murphy with a 15-yard pass. Two plays later, the Gorillas found the endzone on a 35-yard run by Kiah Kintchen. The Gorillas were going to go for two, but a false start pushed the ball back five yards. That proved to be a big penalty as the Gorillas settled for just a PAT kick, making the score 42-41.
The Tigers moved the ball into Gorilla territory on the following drive, but had to punt it away. The Gorillas took the ball with 7:07 remaining at the FHSU 11-yardline and began to put together a long, time-consuming drive. FHSU looked as though it had another stop when Pitt State had 4th-and-13 at midfield, but the connection of Sexton and Murphy happened again, this time for a 20-yard completion.
Time continued to tick away, all the way to nearly a minute left in the game when FHSU held PSU one yard shy of a first down at the FHSU 21-yardline. Pittsburg State elected to give Jared Vincent a 38-yard attempt at a field goal looking to take the lead. Vincent, who had been nearly automatic all year going into the attempt 16-of-17 on field goal tries, pulled the kick wide to the left. It was his first miss inside 40 yards for the season. With only a minute left, the Tigers went into victory formation and ran out the clock, holding on to its 42-41 advantage.
Fuller finished the game with 306 passing yards with four touchdowns. His other touchdown pass aside from the aforementioned connections with Bieberle and Ramsey went for one yard to Matt Wendelberger, which opened the scoring in the game in the first quarter. Bieberle finished with 152 receiving yards on just four catches, averaging 38 yards per reception. Charles Tigner averaged 6.7 yards per rush to finish with a season-high 127. Harley Hazlett was big for the Tigers all around once again, hauling in eight catches for 51 yards, while rushing the ball for 45. Hazlett jumped on a fumble in the endzone early in the game that gave FHSU a 14-7 lead at the time. Te’Corey Tutson was big on kick returns with 130 yards on six attempts, matching Tigner in all-purpose yards with 135 for the game.
Defensively, Jordan Starks led the Tigers with 14 tackles. Harvey had 12 tackles to go with his big fourth-quarter interception.
Mlekus finished with 214 passing yards and 110 rushing yards for the Gorillas. He threw for one touchdown and rushed for two. West led the Gorillas in receiving yards with 152 on six catches.
Fort Hays State has another stiff test on its hands next week when its rival from the north, Nebraska-Kearney, comes to Hays. The Lopers knocked off No. 7 ranked Northwest Missouri State in Kearney on Saturday by a score of 24-17. The Tigers and Lopers will both enter the game at 5-2. Kickoff on Saturday, October 26 at Lewis Field is set for 2 pm.