Gorillas defeated by Washburn, gearing up for the Lions

The Washburn Ichabods scored 21 points in the fourth-quarter rally for a 49-38 victory over Pittsburg State University on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Yager Stadium. After winning the first five games, the Gorillas have lost the last five.  

Junior Tyler Adkins and senior Lorenzo West highlighted the offensive play for the Gorillas in the matchup with Washburn. Adkins finished the game with 16 carries for 147 yards and two touchdowns. West tallied up six receptions for 163 yards and a touchdown. PSU’s offense finished the game with 539 total yards of offense in the loss.  

“(It’s) extremely frustrating, sometimes as a coach, you can handle when you get beat by a team that’s better than you,” said head coach Tim Beck in a post-game interview with ESPN 100.7 Eddie Lomshek. “We just moved the ball up and down the field but didn’t get enough points on the board.” 

On the defensive side, junior linebacker Kaden Roy led the pack with 11 total tackles against the Ichabods including seven solos and four assisted. The defense of the Gorillas allowed Washburn to 511 yards of total offense including 306 of those yards coming in the passing game.   

“It makes me sick,” Beck said. “We are talking about how to win a game to have a winning season. It’s one of those things where we have to move past this one. We have some guys hurting in the locker room and we had a great week of practice, just didn’t get it done today (Saturday, Nov. 9).” 

On Saturday, Nov. 16, the Gorillas (5-5) wrap up their regular season in a home game against MIAA rival Missouri Southern State University (2-8). The Lions in their previous matchup, Nov. 9, fell to Emporia State by a score of 29-6.  

The Lions are ranked ninth in the MIAA when it comes to scoring offense averaging 31.6 points per game. Despite the Gorillas five-game losing streak, the offense averages 38.0 points per game ranking the team fourth best in the conference. Rushing the ball, MSSU averages 112.4 yards per game ranking the team eleventh in the conference. Passing the ball, the Lions rank first among all MIAA teams with 351.9 yards per game, an upgrade from last season where the Lions ranked last in the conference for passing.  

Leading the attack on offense for MSSU is senior quarterback Jacob Park. Park, a transfer from Iowa State, currently sits second in the conference in yards per game averaging 322.5 yards while throwing for 21 touchdowns and 21 interceptions which ranks first in the conference by a wide margin.  

Aside from Park, the MSSU Lions have thrived off of the play of senior wide receiver Benjamin Phillips and junior Brian Boyd Jr. Together, the two receivers provided 135.7 of the 351.9 receiving yards per game.  

On the defensive side, the Lions have allowed opponents to 41.4 points per game and 475.5 yards per game. MSSU’s defense also gives up 233.3 passing and 242.2 rushing yards per game. Through eleven games this season, the Lions have been outscored by opponents 414-316.  

All-time against MSSU, the Gorillas hold a 40-9-1 advantage including a record of 31-2 against the Lions since 1985. Pitt State has also defeated the Lions in their last five matchups with the previous victory Monday, Nov. 11, 2018, at MSSU where PSU claimed a 41-0 shutout victory.  

Kickoff is at 1 p.m., the Gorillas (5-5) look to close the season with a winning record as they face the Lions at Carnie Smith Stadium/Brandenburg Field for the annual 2019 Miners Bowl.