John Teigland passed for 257 yards and 2 TDs in the victory.
PITTSBURG, Kan. – Levi Terrell and James Franklin III each ran for two touchdowns, quarterback John Teigland passed for two more and Camren Torneden raced 94 yards to score on a kickoff return to help the Mavericks capture a 48-27 MIAA victory over Pittsburg State Saturday at Carnie Smith Stadium.
The Mavericks, in posting their first win at Pittsburg State since 1972, are now 4-5 overall and 4-3 in the MIAA. The Gorillas fell to 4-5 and 3-4. UNO will return home next Saturday for its final home game, hosting Missouri Western at 1 p.m.
Teigland, who did not play last week because of an injury, completed 15 of 19 throws for 257 yards, including TD strikes to tight end Mike Higgins and fullback Ryan Maloley. His primary target was wide receiver Brian Miller who caught five passes for 120 yards before leaving the game in the first half with a knee injury.
The Mavericks protected a 27-13 halftime lead with an offense that produced three touchdowns and a defense that held the Gorillas to 164 yards in the second half and stopped PSU drives four times, twice with punts and twice on fourth down.
The teams traded touchdowns - and blocked PAT kicks – in the first and second quarters before Torneden gave UNO the lead with his long kickoff return.
UNO drove 80 yards to score first, with most of the march eaten up with a pair of passes covering 40 and 21 yards from Teigland to Miller. Terrell punched in from the three, but Jacob Ramsay’s conversion kick was blocked. The Gorillas answered with a 67-yard drive, tying on Terrance Isaac’s six-yard run. UNO’s Jerry Key kept the game tied, 6-6, by blocking Jake Craig’s PAT attempt.
The Mavericks came right back and scored on a 60-yard drive that was aided by Teigland’s 27-yard pass to Miller at the PSU seven. Franklin scored after runs of six and one yard to retake the lead. This time Ramsay’s kick was good for a 13-6 lead. The Gorillas again had a quick response, marching 64 yards to score on Briceton Wilson’s nine-yard run to tie at 13.
Torneden then broke out of a swarm of Gorillas near midfield, cut to his right and outran his pursuers to the right corner of the end zone. It was the second time in the past three games that the true freshman from Lawrence, Kan., returned a kickoff 90-plus yards. He set up a UNO field goal by returning a kick 92 yards Oct. 16 to the Fort Hays State eight.
The Maverick defense stopped the Gorillas on fourth down at the UNO 31 with 4:09 left in the half and Teigland completed four straight passes in the 69-yard, nine-play drive to put the Mavs up by 27-13 at the break. Teigland connected with Miller for gains of 21 and 11 yards. Miller had to leave the game with a knee injury after the last completion, however. After Terrell ran for nine yards, Teigland and Higgins teamed on passes of seven yards and six for the score.
UNO expanded on its halftime lead on Franklin’s 10-yard run. The Gorillas had forced UNO to punt, but were offside and the Mavs took advantage with a 74-yard, 10-play drive.
PSU’s Isaac answered with a 42-yard TD run on the first play after the kickoff, but UNO retaliated with a 53-yard drive, ending on Teigland’s 11-yarder to Maloley in the end zone. The Gorillas again came back, driving 68 yards with Isaac scoring his third touchdown of the game from the two with 1:10 left in the third quarter.
The Mavericks refused to buckle and after the teams traded punts, Teigland passed 39 yards to Higgins to set up a four-yard Terrell run for the final score. UNO’s defense held Pittsburg State twice more before ending the game on the Gorilla 15.
UNO held a 423-366 edge in total yards, rushing for 166 yards, including 94 by Terrell on 16 carries. Higgins had four catches for 57 yards. On defense, freshman linebacker Shaquil Barrett led with eight tackles and two sacks.
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