PITTSBURG — Not a lot has gone right for Emporia State this season, but one area where the Hornets had been respectable — at least by the numbers — was pass defense.
The Hornets even ranked first in pass defense efficiency going into Saturday’s game against Pittsburg State.
The Gorillas not only delivered their annual beatdown, 44-14, but they did so in record-breaking fashion, making those pass defense statistics obsolete.
A notorious running team, the Gorillas threw for a school-record 412 yards. Receiver Kendall Fisher caught six passes for a school-record 238 yards, a record he nearly broke by halftime, and the Gorillas amassed 638 yards of total offense.
“They changed their game plan a litte bit and kind of gave our safeties some trouble,” ESU cornerback Travis Lee said. “The quarterback was real mobile in the pocket, which left the secondary just a little vulnerable.”
That vulnerability allowed Fisher to get behind the ESU secondary, and he caught touchdown passes of 60, 92 and 23 yards — all in the first half. John McCoy also connected with Ryan Holt for a 27-yard TD pass in the second quarter.
“The big plays is our kryptonite right now,” linebacker Katrel Larkins said. “We gave up three big touchdown passes, and that kills us big time. We can’t overcome that. We’re not that good of a team to overcome big plays.”
The Hornets not only had to overcome the big plays they allowed, but also some big plays of their own that were taken away.
Linebacker Matt Rosenhamer returned a fumble for a touchdown in the first quarter, but the play did not stand because Emporia State was offside.
Nathan Linsey stripped and recovered a fumble, which he returned for a touchdown in the second quarter, but the runner was ruled down by contact.
The Hornets also had a Travon Brooks interception taken away by a roughing the passer call on Larkins.
“I can sit here and make excuses, but I’m not going to,” Higgins said. “It is what it is, so I can’t do anything about it. I can’t control it as much as I try. Hopefully, those add up and we start getting some breaks. We need some somewhere down the road.”
The defensive touchdowns might have helped keep the Hornets in the game, because the Hornet offense struggled to keep pace.
Playing from behind, as usual, the Hornets had to scrap the running game and lean on redshirt freshman Tyler Eckenrode, making his second start, to try to get them back in the game.
The Gorillas knew the Hornets had to pass and constantly blitzed Eckenrode, giving him little time to operate.
“They blitzed a lot and got some pressure, and I missed a couple reads,” Eckenrode said. “I’ve got to get better individually.”
Pitt State’s pressure forced an Eckenrode fumble in the first quarter. He was also sacked three times and pressured on nearly every down. He completed only 14-of-34 passes for 191 yards, but time to throw and several dropped passes contributed to his poor completion percentage.
“I thought he did good,” Higgins said. “I thought he needed some more help out there. I thought we had too many dropped footballs.”
The drops hurt the Hornets when trying to convert on third down. They converted just 3-of-15, and Pitt State converted 7-of-11.
“If we can’t get off the field on third down and get momentum on offense and get the chains moving, we’re going to have problems,” Higgins said. “What happens when we have the problems is the points add up, and then all of the sudden you look at the scoreboard, and it’s 30-7 at halftime.
“It takes a lot of what we do game plan-wise, it takes it out the window.”
The Gorillas built their big lead because of their big plays in the passing game. Lee said he didn’t expect the Gorillas to come out passing as much as they did, especially considering McCoy and Jeff Smith were splitting time at quarterback because neither has been consistent this year.
The ESU defense — thinned by injuries to several key starters — has also had its consistency issues and allowed 30-plus points for the fourth straight week.
“Right now on the defensive side of the ball, we’ve got a lot of guys out there that are stepping up and making plays, but really, it’s guys that should be in a backup role right now,” Higgins said.
Saturday at Carnie Smith Stadium
Pittsburg State 44, Emporia State 14
Emporia State 0 7 0 7 — 14
Pittsburg State 17 13 7 7 — 44
First quarter
PSU — Witter 27 field goal
PSU — Fisher 60 pass from McCoy (Witter kick)
PSU — Fisher 92 pass from Smith (Witter kick)
Second quarter
ESU — Smart 1 run (Andrews kick)
PSU — Fisher 23 pass from McCoy (Witter kick)
PSU — Holt 27 pass from McCoy (kick failed)
Third quarter
PSU — Burke 3 pass from McCoy (Witter kick)
Fourth quarter
PSU — Smith 14 run (Witter kick)
ESU — Abner 3 run (Andrews kick)
GAME STATISTICS
ESU PSU
First downs 15 24
Rushes-yards 35-78 34-226
Passing yards 191 412
Comp.-Att.-Int. 14-34-0 20-31-1
Totals plays-yards 69-269 65-638
Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-1
Penalties-yards 7-57 13-114
Punts-average 5-39.6 2-54.5
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — ESU: Smart 10-56, Page 13-31, Abner 4-5, Hall 1-0, Eckenrode 7-(minus-14); PSU: Clemons 12-98, Spradling 7-46, Isaac 6-41, Love 3-16, Smith 2-15, McCoy 2-12, Thomas 1-(minus-1).
Passing — ESU: Eckenrode 14-34-0 191; PSU: McCoy 17-27-1 302, Lee 1-2-0 13, Smith 2-2-0 97.
Receiving — ESU: McEvoy 3-43, Smart 3-32, Richardson 2-41, Hageman 2-30, Schiltz 2-13, Page 1-13, Abner 1-13, Smith 1-6; PSU: Fisher 6-238, Thomas 5-42, Dickey 3-11, Holt 2-37, Burke 2-28, Clemons 1-43, Spradling 1-13.