Pittsburg State rallies past NW Missouri

? Neal Philpot threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Carpenter, giving Pittsburg State a 21-17 comeback victory over Northwest Missouri State on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium.

Pitt State, ranked No. 1 in Division Two, broke a seven-game losing streak to Northwest Missouri, which came into the game ranked No. 2.

The win gave the Gorillas (11-0, 9-0 MIAA) the championship in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Assn., a first-round bye in the Division Two playoffs and the No. 1 ranking heading into the playoffs.

The game drew a crowd of 25,542 to see the teams match up on the Kansas City Chiefs’ home field for the third straight year.

In a game in which each team led three times, NW Missouri (10-1, 8-1) went up 17-14 midway through the third quarter on a 64-yard TD pass from Jeff Netolicky to E.J. Falkner.

Pittsburg State and Northwest Missouri State have won or shared 15 of the last 16 MIAA championships. They entered the game as the two highest-scoring teams in Division Two, with Pittsburg State averaging 63 points a game and Northwest Missouri averaging 49.

“You have too many good players on both defenses to get that many points,” Pittsburg State coach Chuck Broyles said.