HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State, ranked No. 11 in the nation, fell down 17-0 to Pittsburg State before rallying for 21 unanswered points and a 21-17 win on Homecoming Saturday night (Oct. 7). It took every tick on the clock for the Tigers to survive as three Pittsburg State pass attempts to the endzone from 18 yards out were broken up, the last as time expired. FHSU moved to 6-0, while PSU dropped to 2-4.
 
Fort Hays State ended its futility at home against Pittsburg State, defeating the Gorillas in Hays for the first time 1978. The Tigers moved to 6-0 for the first time since 1983. They will look to match the best start ever in program history next week, a mark that has stood for 100 years, a 7-0 mark in 1917 that happened to cover the entire season back then. It put the Pittsburg State 700^th program win celebration on hold for the third week in a row and moved the Gorillas two games under the .500 mark for the first time since 1993.
 
Pittsburg State challenged the nation's second-best rush defense (FHSU entered the game allowing just 61 yards per game on the ground) and gave FHSU everything it could handle. After both teams punted the ball away at the end of their first possessions, Pittsburg State methodically marched the ball down the field 80 yards on 13 plays, rushing the ball on the first 12, and capped it with a 32-yard touchdown pass from John Roderique to Austin Panko. The drive chewed up 6:21.
 
Tiger quarterback Jacob Mezera struggled to find a rhythm in the first quarter and the Tigers found themselves down 14-0 when Mezera was intercepted at the FHSU 22 and Simanu'a Thomas rumbled all the way to the endzone for the pick six. PSU led 14-0 after one quarter.
 
After that play, Mezera never returned to the game. Jacoby Williams had to manage the Tiger offense the rest of the way and his first pass attempt did not go well. He was intercepted on a pass deep down the left sideline by Keeyon Incle. That mistake turned into a 47-yard field goal by Jared Vincent to push the Gorilla lead to 17-0 with 10:18 remaining in the first half.
 
It was gut-check time for the Tigers with a packed house of 6,875 fans looking on anxiously and the defense finally came up with the big play that provided a spark. Doyin Jibowu jarred the ball loose on a rushing attempt by Michael Rose and Tanner Hoekman recovered. Then Kenneth Iheme hit the Gorillas in the mouth with a 47-yard touchdown run on the following play and electrified the atmosphere.
 
The Tigers stalled out another Gorilla drive just over midfield, but the punt at the end of the drive was downed at the 1-yardline. The Tigers needed to go 99 yards and Kenneth Iheme nearly broke free again from 97 yards out, but was tripped up at the FHSU 30 by the last man to beat. But that did not matter as Williams immediately found Matt Wendelberger behind the defense down the left sideline on the next play and Wendelberger sprinted the final 45 yards to paydirt. It was a 70-yard touchdown reception for the Tiger tight end. All of the sudden the Tigers were back in it, and the Gorillas took a knee on their next drive to send the game to halftime. Pittsburg State led 17-14 at the break.
 
The Tigers reached field goal range on their second drive of the third quarter, but Brandon Brown missed from 35 yards to the left leaving the Tigers down by three. Pittsburg State then marched the ball 72 yards on 13 plays, but Vincent missed a field goal attempt from 25 yards early in the fourth quarter. Fort Hays State would finally put an end to the scoreless half for both teams moments later.
 
Iheme, who had a monster game rushing the ball for a second straight week, broke off a 38-yard run to immediately put the ball in Gorilla territory at the 42 yardline. A 26-yard pass over the middle to Tyler Bacon from Williams gashed the Gorillas more, taking the ball down to the 16. Then on 3^rd-and-10, Williams came up with a big 14-yard rush to get the first down and put the ball at the 2 yardline. Iheme cashed the opportunity in for the Tigers with a 2-yard touchdown run. Fort Hays State grabbed its first lead of the night with 11:34 to go in the game.
 
From that point, the Tiger defense would have to make key stops. The Tigers forced the Gorillas to punt on the drive following the touchdown, stalling the drive out near midfield. Following the punt, the Tigers were able to chew up 4:46 before punting the ball back to the Gorillas.
 
The final PSU drive started with 2:06 remaining on the clock. The Gorillas converted a 4^th-and-2 to keep their drive alive near midfield as the clock ticked inside a minute remaining. On 3^rd-and-6, Roderique completed a 13-yard pass for another PSU first down. With 23 seconds remaining, Roderique completed a 15-yard pass taking the ball down to the FHSU 18. After a spike of the ball, 12 seconds remained. Roderique took a pair of shots at the left corner of the endzone, but Kamon Clayton knocked away both, setting up the final play with two seconds remaining. After Roderique dropped back, Nathan Shepherd took of hold his legs, forcing his pass to fall short of the targeted player in the endzone and the Tigers survived.
 
The teams were nearly dead even in total yards, FHSU winning that battle by just one, 386 to 385. The Tigers went from allowing 61 rushing yards per game to 91.8 per game after Pittsburg State racked up 246 yards on the ground. It was the first team to produce more than 89 yards rushing against the Tigers this year.
 
The Tigers ran their record to 22-1 in games since the start of the 2013 season when they rush for over 200 yards. The Tigers finished with 208, thanks to a career-high 189 from Iheme on 28 carries. Williams finished with 143 passing yards, completing 6-of-10 attempts. Mezera was 3-of-9 for 35 yards. Six of the nine FHSU receptions in the game went to tight ends, led by Wendelberger with 84 yards on three catches.
 
Roderique finished with 131 rushing yards for the Gorillas, followed by Rose with 85. Austin Panko led PSU in receiving yards with 64 on four catches. Marcus Brantley led the Gorillas in tackles with nine.
 
Jose Delgado led the Tigers in tackles for the second straight week, producing 14 with a half sack. Wyatt Parker added 12 and Tanner Hoekman had 11. Clayton and Jibowu each had three pass break ups, while Jibowu and Aquil Knowles each forced fumbles.
 
Fort Hays State gets another tough challenge next Saturday (Oct. 14) when Washburn comes to Hays. The Ichabods are out to a 5-1 start on the year, receiving votes in the latest AFCA Poll. Game time is set for 2 pm at Lewis Field Stadium. The 2017 Tiger Sports Hall of Fame inductees will be honored at halftime of the game.