By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State fell to Pittsburg State in the final game of the 2021 season on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 13) in Hays. The Gorillas held a 10-point advantage at halftime and won by that margin, 34-24, to improve their record to 8-3. The Tigers wrapped their season at 5-6 overall.
The Tigers were fighting an uphill battle from the opening kickoff when Dallis Flowers took the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. The Tigers answered on their second drive, needing to go just 23 yards to tie the game after a poor Pittsburg State punt from deep in their own territory. Keylan Chapman capped the short drive with a four-yard touchdown run. The Gorillas countered with their first touchdown drive of the game. A 25-yard Chad Dodson, Jr. pass to Christian Carter scored the go-ahead touchdown, capping a 71-yard drive. But the Tigers had another answer right afterwards when Chance Fuller found Adrian Soto for a 55-yard touchdown strike down the right sideline. The teams sat in a 14-14 tie after one quarter.
The Gorillas did all of the scoring in the second quarter, posting an 82-yard touchdown pass and a 22-yard field goal to lead 24-14 at the break. From that point, the Tigers matched the Gorillas in scoring in both the third and fourth quarters. Both teams notched field goals in the third quarter, FHSU’s Parker Janky from 29 yards and PSU’s Cross Holmes from 33 yards. The Gorillas extended their lead in the fourth with a 43-yard touchdown pass. The Tigers’ final counter came too late, with Chance Fuller plunging into the endzone from two yards out with just 37 seconds remaining in the game, making the final margin 10 points.
Fuller threw for 278 yards and one touchdown, while Manny Ramsey finished with 112 receiving yards. Soto had 67 rushing yards to lead the Tigers, while John Johnson had a team-high 10 tackles.
Dodson, Jr. threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns for the Gorillas. Elijah Harris led PSU in receiving yards with 102 and Tyler Adkins led in rushing with 65 yards. Markel Roby led PSU in tackles with 11, while also nabbing one of the team’s three interceptions in the game.
With the result, Pittsburg State snapped a four-game losing streak to the Tigers, which dated back to the 2016 season.
Twelve Tiger seniors were honored prior to the game, which included Jhimon Preston, Jordan Starks, Monterio Burchfield, Trey McJunkin, Voshon Waiters, Layke Heimerman, Sterling Swopes, Toby Godwin, Amari Angram-Boldin, Kyon Clark, Irick McDonald, and Javaris Sanders.