PITTSBURG, Ks — The #8 Pitt State Gorillas hosted the Central Oklahoma Bronchos with a MIAA Championship on the line.
Pitt State jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after QB Ty Pennington found TE Steele Roring for the 5-yard touchdown.
UCO responded on the ensuing drive and tied the game up on a 28-yard touchdown from QB Dawson Herl to WR Jacob Delso.
In the second quarter, the Gorillas re-took the lead after Austin Schmitt hit a 37-yard field goal and it was now 10-7.
Pitt State’s defense was locked in all day long. Rico Payton intercepted a pass from Herl for which the Gorillas capitalized with a Cleo Chandler Jr touchdown to make it a 10-point game at 17-7.
The Bronchos knocked through a field halfway through the second quarter to make it 17-10.
But as time was expiring, UCO was looking for more, on the attempted field goal, it was blocked by Alex Gaskill to keep the score the same going into halftime.
In the second half, Pitt State’s defense was unconscious as they forced a total of 7 turnovers.
It was a sluggish game for the Gorillas, but a Schmitt 42-yard field goal late in the fourth put it out of the reach and the Gorillas claim their second straight MIAA Title.
We spoke to the team after the game.
Senior Tight End Devon Garrison said, “I mean, everyone’s obviously excited. Defense played an outstanding game today. They balled their tails off. Seven turnovers, I believe, is what I heard. Offense didn’t quite play up to par today, but we’ll get back on the film and we’ll figure that out”.
Redshirt Senior Cornerback Rico Payton said, “Yes, sir. It just feels good to go back to back like Coach Wright says, we play for two trophies here, the conference championship and the national championship. So it was good to handle business. But onto the next onto to the next one”.
Pitt State Head Coach Brian Wright said, “Well, it feels good. You know, I feel good just for our our team, our players, our coaching staff. You know, everybody’s worked so hard towards this. And, you know, it’s fun to see hard work pay off”.
