Box Score
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – In a span of a minute, the sellout crowd at Stokes Stadium went from euphoria to heartbreaking disappointment as the visiting Pittsburg State Gorillas remained undefeated with a 27-26 victory over the Truman Bulldogs on Saturday night.
Pitt quarterback Zac Dickey scored from four yards out to cap off a nine-play, 65-yard drive with 16 seconds remaining and Chase McCoy punched in the extra point to finish off a wild ride in the final quarter of play.
Dickey capped off a 12-play 66-yard drive early in the quarter with a one-yard plunge to put the Gorillas in front for the first time at 17-13 and then Nate Dreiling picked off his second pass of the night to give Pitt the ball back with 7:54 left.
On the ensuing PSU drive, Dickey was sacked on third down by Patrick Blackwell and Richie Schumacher blocked the following punt. The ball rolled about 20 yards into the endzone where Schumacher fell on it to give Truman a 19-17 lead. However, Derek Koon missed the extra point.
John Brown gave the Gorillas great field position after returning the kick 50 yards to the Bulldog 40. Briceton Wilson was then given the ball on six straight plays and moved it down to the four. On third and goal, Solomon Watkins was stopped for a three yard loss to bring in McCoy for a field goal attempt.
The placekicker connected from 24-yards out to put the Gorillas back on top 20-19 with 1:20 showing.
J.B. Clark found Donald Harvey over the middle on second and nine with a minute left and the senior receiver broke free. Harvey was about to be tackled when he lateraled the ball to Andy Mundwiller at the Gorilla 15-yard line, who then finished off the razzle-dazzle play put the Bulldogs back up 26-20.
Dickey got the ball back at his own 35 yard line with 53 seconds left. He completed a 15-yard pass to Andrew Castaneda then a 24-yard strike to Jon Thomas to move the sticks again. Dickey kept it for 12 and a first down before hitting Thomas for another 10 to the Bulldog four with 20 seconds left. On second and goal, Dickey called his own number and got in for the winning touchdown.
A 61-yard interception return by Truman's Dennis Walls and a 91-yard kick return by Pitt's Jon Thomas highlighted a first quarter that saw five combine turnovers by each team. Walls picked off Dickey to put Truman ahead 10-0 in the first but following a Derek Koon 39-yard field goal, Thomas raced 91-yards to make it 13-7.
McCoy would get the only points for the Gorillas in the second as he nailed a 43-yard attempt with 52 seconds showing in the half to make it 13-10 in favor of the Bulldogs.
Both defenses went into shutdown mode in the third quarter. McCoy missed from 37 and then Pitt failed on a fourth and one at the Bulldog 34 while Truman's JB Clark went 0-7 in passing and the Bulldogs picked up just one yard of total offense in the quarter. Robert Gayden almost gave the 'Dogs some insurance as he picked off Dickey and ran 69-yards to pay dirt only to have it come back on an offside foul called on the defensive line.
Dickey was 14-of-19 for 140 yards while the Gorillas offense ran for 267. Wilson had 29 carries for 140 yards with Dickey running another 13 times for 65 and two touchdowns.
Anthony Brown was Clark's top target with 119 receiving yards on eight catches. Clark was 16-of-40 for 269 yards. Wade Pelc had a career night on defense for Truman as he had 18 tackles and one fumble recovery.
The Bulldogs will play the first of two straight road games starting next Saturday in Warrensburg against the University of Central Missouri. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
