No. 1 Gorillas roll over winless Lincoln

PITTSBURG, Kan. -- No. 1-ranked Pittsburg State jumped out to a 35-3 first quarter lead, padded the cushion to 56-3 late in the second quarter and cruised to a 59-17 victory over winless Lincoln Saturday (Sept. 22) at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium.

For the second time in as many games, the Gorillas (4-0, 4-0 MIAA) played before a sellout crowd -- this time with 10,779 Family Day fans crowding into "The Pitt."

Pitt State struck first four plays into the game. After forcing the Blue Tigers (0-4, 0-4 MIAA) into a three-and-out, Marquise Cushon blocked a punt that Israel Maselera recovered in the LU end zone for a touchdown.

Briceton Wilson added a pair of touchdowns, scoring on runs of 1 and 8 yards later in the quarter, and Trezz Tillman added an eight-yard TD scamper.

The Gorillas capped their 35-point first quarter with Tony Abenoja tossing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Luke Rampy on the final play of the period.

John Brown returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown and a 42-3 Pitt State margin with 12:23 to play in the second period, while Solomon Wakins and Wilson added touchdown runs later in the quarter.

Pitt State finished the game with 418 yards of total offense, including 216 rushing yards. The Blue Tigers had 311 total yards in the contest.

Gus Toca recorded three of Pitt State's eight quarterback sacks. He also forced a fumble. Tyler Disney made a game-high 11 tackles.

The Gorillas are idle next week before hosting MIAA rival Central Missouri at 2 p.m. (CDT) on Oct. 6.