September 6, 2018-The Hornets and Gorillas were tied a 13-13 heading into the fourth quarter before Pittsburg State scored 21 unanswered points to take a 34-13 victory at Jones Field at Welch Stadium on Thursday night.
Emporia State took a 7-0 lead on the opening drive of the game. Landon Nault had 82 of the 83 yards on the drive capped by a 16 yard touchdown run with 12:36 left in the period.
The Hornets forced a three and out on the Gorillas first possession but Jaylon Myers forced a Jordan Reed fumble on the ensuing punt to give Pitt State the ball at the Hornet 31 yard line. Emporia State's defense was able to hold and forced the Gorillas to take a Jared Vincent 23 yard field with 7:21 left to make it 7-3.
Pittsburg State took a 10-7 lead on a 15 yard pass from BJ Bradbury to KiAnte Hardin with 10:33 left in the half to cap a seven play, 74 yard drive. The drive was kept alive thanks to a holding penalty on an incomplete pass on third and eight from the PSU 42 yard line.Â
Emporia State answered with a 12 play, 75 yard drive on the next possession. Nault carried the ball eight times during the drive for 45 yards before Braxton Marstall found Justin Brown for a 19 yard touchdown with 6:33 left in the half. The extra point missed and the Hornets took a 13-10 lead into the half.
The Gorillas took the opening kick of the second half and marched down to the Hornet 11 yard line before settling for a 28 yard field goal by Vincent to tie the game at 13 with 8:23 left in the third quarter.
After a three and out by the Hornet offense, Jordan Wallace provided a big play for the ESU defense as he intercepted Brendon Franklin's receiver pass and returned it 35 yards to the Pitt State 29 yard line with 6:02 left in the quarter. The Hornets were able to get down to the Gorilla two yard line but Clark Schoonover's 19 yard field goal was short to keep the game tied at 13 with 4:13 left in the quarter.
After the Hornets first drive of the fourth quarter stalled at the Pitt State 47 yard line, Tyler Harris pinned the Gorillas at their own two with a 45 yard punt. Facing third and seven from the 18 yard line, John Roderique connected with Lorenzo West for a 77 yard pass down to the ESU five yard line. Two plays later Roderique hit Jackson Krull for a four yard touchdown pass to give the Gorillas a 20-13 lead.
On the next play from scrimmage for the Hornets Marstall was intercepted by Hardin at the Pitt State 44 yard line. Roderique then hit Brenner Clemons for 56 yards on first down and the Gorillas led 27-13 with 10:26 remaining.
Two Morgan Selemaea sacks around an incomplete pass forced the Hornets to punt and the Gorillas took over at the ESU 42 yard line with 8:31 left. They would burn 4:50 off the clock in an eight play, 42 yard drive capped by a seven yard touchdown run by Roderique as PSU took a 34-13 lead with 3:48 left in the game to seal the win.
For the game the Gorillas ran 85 plays compared to just 58 for the Hornets and had a 40:34 to 19:26 advantage in time of possession.
Nault ended the game with 177 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown, with 153 yards coming in the first half. Marstall was seven of 23 for 72 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Justin Brown had three catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.
The Hornets had three players reach double figures in tackles as Jace McDown had 11 while Gary Woods II and Roscoe Gatewood III each had ten. Logan Thompson added eight stops including 2.0 tackles for loss. Â
Emporia State will look to rebound next weekend when they travel to Neb.-Kearney on September 15. Kick-off from Cope Stadium in Kearney, Neb. is set for 2:00 p.m.
NOTES
Nault was two yards shy of his career high of 179 yards set against Henderson State in the 2015 playoffs.
Marstall moved into sole possession of second place on the Emporia State career touchdown pass chart with 61 total touchdowns.
