This week among the area and regional college football action, the Pittsburg State Gorillas picked up their first victory of the season, beating No. 3 (NCAA Division II) Grand Valley State, and Missouri State lost to SMU after beating Marshall last week.
Here is the rundown:
Pittsburg State 17, Grand Valley State (Mich.) 14: The Gorillas won the battle of perennial NCAA Division-II powers, this one at home in Pittsburg, Kansas. Grand Valley State came in ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II. It was the Gorillas’ first victory of the season. Kuron Parchmon hauled in six passes for 81 yards, including a 17-yarder in the first quarter that put Pitt State up 10-0. Austin Schmitt’s 53-yard field goal in the first quarter turned out to be huge for the Gorillas.
SMU 28, Missouri State 10: The Bears took a 10-0 lead in Springfield, Missouri, but the Mustangs clamped down and did the rest of the scoring. Dash Luke caught five passes totaling 80 yards and had the Bears’ TD in the first quarter.
Colorado School of Mines 41, Washburn 27: This game kicked off at noon but took nearly eight hours, due to three separate lightning delays. Washburn quarterback Justin Lewis threw for two touchdowns and an interception. Logan Madden also tossed two touchdowns for the Ichabods. Henry Mohrmann had two receiving scores.
Northwest Missouri State 49, Texas A&M-Kingsville 20: The Bearcats racked up 646 yards of offense as part of the rout of the Javelinas in Maryville, Missouri. Dominic Myers, who played in high school at Fort Osage, rushed for 152 yards on 10 carries, one of them a 40-yard touchdown. He also had a 60-yard run.
Missouri Western 27, Missouri S&T 10: The Griffons rolled to a 24-0 lead by halftime at home in St. Joseph and wound up with their first win on the season. Missouri Western QB Kane Donovan completed 20 of 33 passes for 239 yards with three touchdowns.
William Jewell 48, Kentucky Wesleyan 21: The Cardinals won their home opener in Liberty and improved to 2-0 on the season. MicahJo Barnett rushed for 150 yards on 10 carries with two TDs for William Jewell, and Keagan Hart returned an interception for a 65-yard touchdown.
Fort Hays State 26, Nebraska-Kearney 7: Fort Hays State almost pitched a shutout at home but surrendered a TD with under 2 minutes to play. The Tigers’ Travis Dixon gained 110 yards on 21 carries and scored a touchdown. Fort Hays State’s Michael Polley took a pick 78 yards to the house for a 17-0 lead.
Colorado State-Pueblo 29, Central Missouri 24: In a Thursday night home opener at Warrensburg, the host Mules let a 17-10 halftime advantage slip away against the No. 13-ranked Thunderwolves. A highlight for UCM (0-2): Jack Pospisil had 12 catches for a program-record 252 yards, including a touchdown. The Mules head to St. Joseph for next week’s MIAA opener against Missouri Western.
Ottawa 51, Sterling 20: The Braves improved to 2-1 with the win in Sterling, Kansas. Ottawa’s De’Anthony Curtis hauled in seven passes for 139 yards with two TDs. Curtis’ 70-yard touchdown pass from Luke Edwards put the Braves up 17-0 in the first quarter, and Curtis’ 33-yarder gave Ottawa a 41-7 lead in the third quarter.
William Penn (Iowa) 24, Baker 13: The Wildcats dropped to 0-2 with the home loss in Baldwin City, Kansas. Baker’s Adrion Seals, a sophomore from Eudora, caught seven passes for 46 yards.
Benedictine 52, Graceland (Iowa) 29: Ravens running back Xavier Ugorji rushed for two TDs, including a 30-yarder in the third quarter that helped put the game away in Atchison, Kansas. Jackson Dooley passed for 269 yards and three touchdowns for Benedictine.
MidAmerica Nazarene 51, Clarke University (Iowa) 26: The Pioneers improved to 3-0 with the blowout victory in Dubuque, Iowa. The Pioneers’ Devin Andrews (Lee’s Summit) scored on runs of 38 and 17 yards and finished with 133 yards rushing on 14 carries. MidAmerica Nazarene’s Isaiah Woodyard (North Kansas City) had two sacks in the win.
Kansas Wesleyan 30, Avila 6: Avila dropped to 0-3 with this loss in Salina, Kansas. Kasaun Graham rushed for 66 yards on 10 attempts, including a 4-yard TD in the fourth quarter.
Bethany 48, Saint Mary 34: Spires quarterback Erick Covington passed for 178 yards with three touchdowns in the home loss in Leavenworth. He also rushed for 64 yards. Saint Mary committed 13 penalties that totaled 92 yards.