Griffons remain flat against Gori
The Missouri Western Football team looked to defend their home field on Saturday against Pitt State. The Griffons entered play with a sub-par 3–4 record, while the Gorillas took to action with a solid 5–2 frame.
The game began with an electric 98-yard kick return by Dallis Flowers for a Pitt State touchdown. Following the stunning start, both defenses held extremely tight throughout the entire first quarter and halfway through the second quarter. Pitt State finally got the first offensive score of the game via a five yard touchdown run by running back Tyler Adkins. The score capped off a lengthy 11-play, 91-yard drive.
Missouri Western’s offense continued to get stopped consecutively, while Pitt State’s offense began to get hot. With two minutes to go in the first half, Pittsburg State kicker Cross Holmes nailed a long 50 yard field goal to move the score to 17–0. A quick three and out, followed by a 14 yard touchdown pass by quarterback Mak Sexton to Jalen Martin, pumped the Pitt State lead to 24–0 at the break.
The Griffons defense began to step up, forcing consecutive punts. Although it was more of the same for the Missouri Western offense. Anthony Vespo and company just could not get anything going. Cross Holmes added a second field goal to his day for the Gorillas, making their lead 27–0 halfway through the third quarter. The Griffons made a switch to freshman quarterback Reagan Jones and he made an instant impact. He took his offense immediately down the field on a commanding nine-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a one yard touchdown run by Shen Butler-Lawson Jr. This drive opened the scoring for Missouri Western, creating a 27–7 score going into the final quarter.
Just nine seconds into the fourth, Mak Sexton fired his second touchdown pass of the day for Pitt State. This time, the ball ended up in the hands of Devon Garrison. The Gorilla score virtually put the game out of reach, making the score 34–7. With all of this being said, Missouri Western continued to fight. Just over a minute later, it was Reagan Jones again forcing the issue. A quick two-minute drive ended with Jones scrambling for an eight yard touchdown run. This was the game’s final score. Pitt State commanded the field and walked away with a 34–14 win.
It was a very disappointing game on Saturday, as the Griffons fell to 3–5. The Gorillas improved their already impressive record to 6–2.
“It’s a repetitive thing. We’re flatlining when we come out,” Griffons head coach Matt Williamson said. “We don’t play very well, give up big plays on defense, the offense is stagnant. It’s embarrassing. I’m really hot about it right now. It’s not good.”
Young Quarterback Reagan Jones was a bright spot for Missouri Western in an overall dull game, as he led the Griffons down the field twice for both scores, in his limited time.
“The main goal for me was just to get in the end zone however we could do it,” Jones said. “It felt good to come in and use my legs to extend play and give everybody a chance to make plays. The O-line definitely stepped up in the second half.”
Missouri Western is next in action on October 30th, 2021 in Joplin against Missouri Southern. They can next be seen at home on November 6th, 2021, which marks the teams final home game of the season.
