Saturday was a business trip for the Pittsburg State Gorillas, who handled Lindenwood University 41-6 in St. Louis.
The Gorillas -- ranked sixth in the nation, but also sitting at sixth in the NCAA Division II regional rankings -- knew they had to get a win Saturday against Lindenwood and then beat Missouri Southern next week if they are to have a shot at the postseason.
The first part of that scenario has been checked off the to-do list.
Anthony Abenoja passed for two touchdowns, Jeff Seybold rushed for two more scores and Nate Dreiling became Pittsburg State University's all-time tackle leader in the win.
The Gorillas (9-1, 7-1 MIAA) built a 38-0 lead against the Lions (3-6, 2-6 MIAA) and cruised to the win.
Abenoja completed nine of 15 passes for 194 yards, including a 10-yard scoring pass to Marquise Cushon and a 24-yard scoring pass to John Brown, who finished the game with three catches for a game-high 91 yards.
Seybold carried the ball 17 times for 135 yards, scoring on runs of 35 yards and one yard.
Brown got the Pitt State scoring started with a five-yard run to cap the Gorillas opening drive.
Dreiling was credited with nine tackles in the contest to set the Pitt State tackles record. Dreiling now has 471 tackles in 46 career games, passing former All-American safety Chris Brown atop the list. Brown made 470 stops from 1992-95.
After the game, Dreiling tweeted the following message: “It's a lot easier to break records when you have the best D-Line in the country playing in front of you #family”
The Pitt State defense held Lindenwood on downs five times in the contest. The Gorillas limited the Lions to 106 rushing yards and forced three turnovers in the contest.
Pitt State will return home to host MIAA rival Missouri Southern in the regular season finale next Saturday at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium. The Lions played their first game since last Friday night’s shooting death of assistant coach Derek Moore with a 55-0 win over Lindenwood-Bellevue in Joplin.
It also was announced that Southern’s game against Lindenwood -- which was postponed following the shooting -- has been cancelled.
Special thanks to Dan Wilkes and PSU Athletics for use of this summary.
Use your Facebook account to add a comment or start a discussion. Posts are subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment.
