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The Joplin Globe, Mo.
Lions reclaim Miners Bowl trophy with win over Pitt
- Story byThe Joplin Globe, Mo.
- Lions reclaim Miners Bowl trophy with win over Pitt
Missouri Southern State University's football team defended its home turf against Pittsburg State University for the first time in 33 years with a convincing 23-13 Miners Bowl win over the Gorillas on a wet Saturday at Fred G. Hughes Stadium.
Southern defeated PSU 35-21 in 2013 at Carnie Smith Stadium but the win Saturday was the first over PSU at home since Sept. 18, 1993, when the Lions earned a 20-3 victory.
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"I think today was a great day," MSSU head coach Aitba Bradley said. "Obviously a little bit of an historic day. Anytime you cross things off your list that haven't been done in more than a decade, that's pretty special for the kids. I'm extremely proud of our coaches, players and training staff."
The Lions (3-6, 2-5) got on the board Saturday at the 8:41 mark of the opening quarter when Asher Huffman drilled a 39-yard field goal. That score culminated a 10-play, 43-yard drive that took 6:19 on the clock and included a Narkel LeFlore 15-yard run.
The Gorillas (3-6, 3-4) took a 7-3 lead off Diego Cearns' 2-yard touchdown run with 9:39 left in the first half, but the Lions were able to regain the lead when quarterback Tillman Martin found Isaiah Green for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds left in the half. The extra point was blocked by Pitt's Osahon Ogbevoen, and the Lions went into the locker room with a 9-7 lead.
Earlier in the second quarter, Southern disrupted a Gorilla drive when Brody Eggleston intercepted a Bobby Bacon pass at the Southern 23 yard line that set up a scoring drive.
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Neither team could put points on the board in the third quarter. Southern was able to drive to the PSU 32 yard line, but the Gorillas intercepted a Martin pass to end the threat with 39 second left in the quarter.
Pitt State took its last lead of the game at the 13:02 mark of the fourth quarter when PJ Wallace put the Gorillas up 13-9 with a 2-yard touchdown run, but PSU's 2-point conversion failed.
That lead was short-lived as Southern's David Bethune took the ensuing kick 91 yards to give Southern back the lead for good at 16-13 with 12:45 left in the game. It was Bethune's second runback of the season.
"I'm not going to lie, I caught the ball, I saw one of the guys was free, I literally shrugged his shoulder. I saw the cutback. I had to make one guy miss," Bethune said. "All my guys kept running, so I had my receiver trail and my lead blocker Daimond (Cassius) with me. We were just rolling after that. All I had to do was just run and beat them to the pylon."
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The Lions increased their lead to 23-13 with 5:05 left when Allen Mitchell ran the ball in from 9 yards out. Huffman's PAT was good to give MSSU a two-possession lead.
Facing a fourth and 17 with 2:48 left, PSU quarterback Bobby Bacon could not escape a sack by Southern's Kason Messenger at his own 40. MSSU took over possession of the ball and with a 14-yard LeFlore run for a first down was able to run out the clock.
For the second straight week, all phases of the Lions game contributed to the win.
"That's what football is all about," Bethune said. "Having every single level of the game being put together to help a team win.
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"You can't be mad about that. All you can do is just smile and just be happy."
LeFlore led the Lions' rushing attack with 110 yards. Mitchell added 74 yards.
Martin was 7 for 12 for 45 yards, a touchdown and one interception.
The Lions defense held PSU to 68 yards on the ground
Bacon was 18 for 28 for 196 yards and an interception.
Southern returns to action at 1 p.m. Saturday when it hosts the University of Central Oklahoma.
