No. 14 Pitt State claims thrilling 38-31 win over No. 8 Chadron State

Senior quarterback Mark Smith tossed three touchdown passes and broke loose for a 61-yard scoring run for the go-ahead points with 1:45 to play in the game as 14th-ranked Pittsburg State University claimed a 38-31 road win over eighth-ranked Chadron State College Saturday at Elliott Field/Don Beebe Stadium.

Redshirt freshman cornerback Caleb Sanders snared a game-sealing interception with 35 ticks remaining to help the Gorillas (2-0), who saw a 10-point lead dissipate in the second half, stave off the Eagles (1-1) down the stretch.

Smith completed 11-of-19 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns. He tossed a 2-yard scoring pass to fullback Todd Hertzog and added a 56-yard strike to wide receiver Harrison Kush as well as a 77-yard scoring play to wide receiver Kendall Fisher.

Pitt State trailed 7-0 against Chadron, before tallying 24 second-quarter points. Smith connected with Hertzog with 12:53 to play in the second for the Gorillas’ first points, but a bad snap led to a botched extra-point try and a 7-6 deficit. Following a 3-and-out though, Smith tossed the 56-yard TD strike to a streaking Kush at the 10:59 mark of the second period and he then tossed a successful 2-point pass to Marques Nelson to make it 14-7.

Sophomore kicker Jared Witter added a 39-yard field goal three minutes later to stretch the Pitt State margin to 17-7, but the Eagles countered with Joe McLain’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Joel Schommer at the 4:19 mark of the second period to narrow the margin to 17-14.

Backup quarterback John McCoy hooked up with Nelson for a 35-yard TD connection on Pitt State’s next offensive series, however, and the Gorillas took a 24-14 lead to the intermission.
   

McLain, who completed 38 of 54 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns in the contest, tossed a 15-yard TD pass to Isaac Stockton. He also fired a 6-yard strike to Brandon Harrington, who caught 13 passes for a game-high 182 yards, with 7:48 remaining in the game to knot the score at 31-31.

The Pitt State defense, which recorded three quarterback sacks and limited the Eagles to 48 net rushing yards, make a key defensive stop near midfield to keep the score tied with 2:53 to play in the game.

Three players later, Smith dropped back to pass before finding a huge seam in the Chadron defense and scampering 61 yards for the go-ahead score.

McLain countered by marching CSC from its own 15 yard line to the PSU 47, before Sanders sealed the Pitt State win with the big interception with 35 seconds remaining.

Senior tailback Caleb Farabi rushed 20 times for a game-high 111 yards in the contest. The Gorillas managed 154 rushing yards on 36 carries, but Pitt State added 265 passing yards in the contest. Nelsonhad a team-leading five catches for 93 yards.

Sophomore safety Alex Kuhlman had a team-leading 11 tackles for the Gorillas, while senior linebackers Rusty Morgan and Austin Cartright added 10 apiece. Sanders finished with nine solo stops and a pass breakup to go along with his interception, while junior defensive end Jordan Karr chipped in with 1.5 quarterback sacks.