Gorillas beat Lions

JOPLIN. -- No. 8-ranked Pittsburg State rolled up 567 yards of total offense and stopped the Missouri Southern Lions, 49-20, Saturday (Sept. 17) before an MSSU record 10,000-plus fans. Missouri Southern (2-2, 1-1 MIAA) intercepted PSU`s Andy Majors three times in the first half but was only able to garner three points off the turnovers. Still, Southern trailed just 21-6 at halftime. PSU`s Majors and tailback Germaine Race combined for 148 rushing yards in the second half as the Gorillas scored on four of their five post-halftime possessions. The Lion offense collected 133 total yards in the first half, including just 89 through the air, on 7-of-17 passing. But redshirt freshman quarterback Adam Hinspeter completed 14-of-15 second-half throws for 154 yards and a touchdown. After Pittsburg State extended its lead to 28-6 early in the third quarter, Southern struck for its first touchdown of the night, a 20-yard scoring toss from Hinspeter to sophomore Colin Bado. Majors answered with a 43-yard touchdown run, followed by a 58-yard run from Race early in the fourth. Bado finished the night with 11 receptions for 121 yards. Dartangan Johnson capped off an 80-yard, 15-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:48 left in the fourth quarter to cut the PSU lead to 42-20. But a 41-yard pass from Nick Smith to Derek Ryan with under four minutes to play set the Gorillas up for a 1-yard Tyler Collums touchdown run that capped the game`s scoring. Majors threw for 168 yards in the first half. He rushed for 67 yards while Race gained 69 first-half yards on nine carries. Race`s 1-yard scoring run with 4:35 gone in the game staked the Gorillas to a 7-0 lead. PSU closed the first quarter with a 14-0 lead after Majors` 38-yard TD pass to Pierce Curran. A Hinspeter 39-yard completion to Travis Brown set up Southern`s first points of the night, a 35-yard field goal from freshman Shane McBride. Majors rushed for 31 yards on the Gorillas` next scoring drive before hitting Eric Clawson on a 54-yard touchdown strike. MSSU junior Jordan Chapman returned a Majors interception to the PSU 14, but the Lions were forced to settle for a 31-yard McBride field goal. Two more interceptions by the Lions in the final minute of the second quarter netted zero points as Pittsburg State took a 21-6 lead into the half. Race finished the game with 169 yards on 17 carries, while Majors added 115 more on nine totes. Majors also completed 14-of-20 passes for 227 yards. Hinspeter connected on 20-of-31 for 244 yards. Johnson carried 20 times for 73 yards. Jason Phelps led the Southern defense with eight tackles. PSU got 13 tackles from Josh Lattimer and 10 more, including three for losses and 2.5 sacks, from Ryan Meredith.