Fort Hays State football ended a run of 35 consecutive years without a win against Pittsburg State, stunning the No. 8 ranked Gorillas 7-6 in Pittsburg, Kan., on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 27) in the MIAA TV Network Game of the Week. FHSU scored on a fumble recovery in the endzone early in the first quarter, held PSU to a pair of field goals in the first half, and played shut-down defense the rest of the way for a huge upset in front of Pittsburg State's third-largest crowd in school history (11,489).

The game saw two of the best defenses in the MIAA at their finest. Pittsburg State's offense entered the game as the top scoring team in the MIAA (39 points per game), but the Tigers were up to the challenge, limiting an offense averaging nearly 475 yards per contest to just 240 on the afternoon. Pittsburg State held FHSU to just 141 yards of total offense in the game.

The only points for FHSU came on the first drive of the game on a bizarre play. From the PSU 47-yardline, FHSU quarterback Treveon Albert through a deep ball to receiver Ed Williams that was intercepted at the FHSU 3-yardline, but Williams immediately stripped PSU defensive back De'Vante Bausby for a fumble that Williams ran and landed on near the back of the endzone for a touchdown. FHSU was up 7-0 with 10:57 remaining in the first quarter.

The Tiger defense took the spotlight for the remainder of the game, frustrating one of the most powerful offenses in the nation. The defense set the tone by stopping Pittsburg State's first drive of the game at the FHSU 33-yardline on 4th-and-4.

The Gorillas got on the board following a Tiger fumble deep in Gorilla territory. A tackle for loss by Nathan Lindsey stalled out the brief Gorilla drive on the FHSU 21-yardline, forcing a 37-yard field goal by Connor Frazell to make it 7-3 with 5:24 to go in the opening quarter.

Pittsburg State had its most successful drive of the game in the second quarter, going 71 yards on 12 plays. But Brock Long provided a big tackle on 3rd-and-6 from the FHSU 19-yardline to force the Gorillas into a field goal situation again. Frazell converted from 33 yards with 1:10 to go in the opening half, making it 7-6 in favor of FHSU.

Fort Hays State controlled the clock in the third quarter as the defense held the Gorillas to a 3-and-out on all three of their drives in the period. The defense held the Gorillas to -1 total yards in the quarter.

Pittsburg State finally had big choice to make with the clock nearing 3:00 remaining in the final quarter. In a 4th-and-10 situation from the FHSU 38-yardline, the Gorillas opted to attempt a 55-yard field goal. Daniel Lindsey dashed in off the edge and provided a game-saving block of the field goal, giving the ball back to FHSU with 2:59 remaining.

The Tiger offense could not advance the ball and had to punt back to the Gorillas with 2:00 remaining. The defense would not allow for any last minute heroics from the home 11, as the first three plays for PSU were incomplete passes and on fourth down, Nate Simpson sealed the win by tackling Pitt State's receiver for no gain. The Tigers went into victory formation and ran out the clock from that point, handing the Gorillas their first loss of the season.

Fort Hays State picked up its first win over Pittsburg State since 1978, which occurred in Hays. It was the first win over the Gorillas in Pittsburg since 1976. PSU was 19-0-1 in the last 20 meetings going all the way back to 1979.

The Tigers moved to 3-1 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA with the win, moving into a second-place tie in the MIAA standings with Pittsburg State, Central Oklahoma, and Missouri Western. Defending national champion Northwest Missouri State is the only remaining unbeaten team in the MIAA at 4-0 after a win over previously unbeaten Central Oklahoma on Saturday.

After holding Lindenwood to just 20 yards rushing last week, FHSU allowed only 80 rushing yards to the Pittsburg State. Joita Te'i had a great game at defensive end, producing three sacks and six tackles. DeAndre James led FHSU in tackles with eight. Justin McPhail and Brock Long also added six tackles each. Andre McKinnon also had a sack and the Lindsey twins each recorded five tackles.

Edward Smith led the Tiger rushing attack with 37 yards. Treveon Albert threw for 67 yards on 9-of-16 passing. Zack Gaughan had a team-best three catches for 20 yards and Isaiah Maxi had a team-best 23 receiving yards on two catches. Drew O'Brien averaged 41.7 yards per punt, helping the Tigers in the field position battle throughout the afternoon.

Jeff Seybold led PSU in rushing with 32 yards. Anthony Abenoja threw for 160 yards on 15-of-27 passing. Austin Daniel had four catches for 51 yards.

The Tigers head on the road again next week to Washburn (Oct. 4) in Topeka, Kan. Game time is set for 1 pm.