FHSU Sports Information Department
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State led No. 15 ranked Pittsburg State by 10 at halftime, but PSU scored 17 unanswered second-half points to get past FHSU, 31-24, on Saturday evening (Sept. 26) in Hays. A turnover by the Tigers on their first drive of the second half proved costly, shifting the momentum in Pittsburg State’s favor the rest of the game.
Up 24-14, the Tigers were marching deep into Pittsburg State territory on their first drive of the second half, but Treveon Albert threw an interception at the Pittsburg State 7-yardline. Following that turnover the FHSU offense sputtered throughout the third quarter and early in the fourth, going three-and-out on three consecutive drives. Meanwhile, Pittsburg State scored on the three drives following Fort Hays State’s three-and-outs to take the lead 31-24 at the 5:36 mark of the fourth quarter.
Fort Hays State had an unfortunate penalty called on Pittsburg State’s final scoring drive of the game. With 6:50 remaining, FHSU held PSU to a field goal attempt from 38 yards out. Doyin Jibowu came off the edge and blocked the kick, but then was called for roughing the kicker after he had blocked the ball. With the personal foul, PSU was able to continue its drive at the FHSU 11-yardline, eventually punching it in on quarterback John Roderique’s second consecutive six-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. If the blocked kick would have stood without the penalty, the game would have still been tied 24-24.
Penalty aside, Fort Hays State could not refind its offensive rhythm from early in the game when it had the chance to hold its lead. The Tigers had only 77 yards of total offense in the second half after 276 in the first half. Pittsburg State controlled the clock for 10:59 of the fourth quarter with their final two scoring drives taking 3:59 and 5:38 off the clock. The Gorillas finished with 527 yards of total offense, rushing for 302 and passing for 225. Fort Hays State had 212 yards rushing and 141 passing. The Tigers had won six consecutive games when rushing for over 200 yards as a team until Saturday night.
Fort Hays State did a great job in the first half of the game. After surviving PSU scoring a touchdown on its opening drive and then recovering an onside kick, FHSU punched right back with a 66-yard scoring drive to tie the game 7-7. Albert found Zack Gaughan, who had a nifty one-handed grab for a 16-yard receiving touchdown. At the 4:56 mark of the first half, Shaquille Cooper got loose for a 31-yard touchdown run, making it 14-7 in favor of FHSU. PSU countered with another touchdown drive, so it was 14-14 after the opening quarter.
The second quarter belonged to the Tigers. Drew O’Brien pushed FHSU into the lead, 17-14, with a 27-yard field goal at the 12:52 mark. Then Cooper turned on the afterburners again with a 55-yard touchdown run with 5:03 remaining to get a crowd of over 6,000 at Lewis Field Stadium jumping. FHSU led 24-14 at the break before going scoreless in the second half. Daniel Lindsey even had his third blocked kick of the season in the second quarter on a PSU field goal attempt, which led to Cooper’s 55-yard touchdown burst. Lindsey had a blocked kick against PSU for the second straight year after delivering the blocked field goal last year that kept Fort Hays State’s 7-6 upset win intact.
FHSU had two 100-yard rushers in the game, Albert for 107 and Cooper for 104. Albert also threw for 141 yards on 14-of-21 passing. He was 11-of-12 through the air at halftime. Tyler Bacon led FHSU receivers with four catches for 40 yards. Defensively, Alex Schmidtberger had a team-best 14 tackles, while Lindsey added 12 with his blocked kick. Brock Long also reached double figures with 10 tackles.
Roderique had 117 rushing yards for the Gorillas. He also threw for 225 yards, completing 21-of-32 attempts. He rushed for two touchdowns and threw for one. Levi Copelin had a team-best 94 receiving yards for PSU.
The Tigers look to bounce back next week in a battle of 3-1 teams at Homecoming. Washburn comes to Hays on Saturday (Oct. 3) for a 7 pm kickoff at Lewis Field Stadium. FHSU is now in a four-way tie for third in the MIAA standings with Pittsburg State, Washburn, and Missouri Western. Northwest Missouri State and Emporia State are tied for first place, each at 4-0.