Nov. 2, 2002
Truman's Jason Douglas Scores Two Kickoff Return Touchdowns But The Bulldogs Fall To Pittsburg State
Truman (5-4, 3-4 MIAA) scored its most points against No. 17 Pittsburg State (7-2, 5-2) since 1966 but could not manage to pull out a win as the Gorillas defeated the Bulldogs 49-35 in Kirksville, Mo., today.
The teams were tied at seven apiece at the half after both quarterbacks, PSU's Neal Philpot and Truman's Dusty Burk, scored on two yard runs in the second quarter.
Philpot scored again on a 3-yard run at 10:48 in the third, but the Bulldogs' true freshman cornerback Jason Douglas returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown to even the score. However, linebacker Terek Wilson intercepted Burk a few minutes later and returned it 23 yards to put Pittsburg State ahead again.
Burk drove the Bulldogs 64 yards on nine plays on the next drive and scored on a 1-yard run with 5:30 to go in the third quarter to help tie the score at 21. Philpot answered with a 10-play, 77-yard drive and 5-yard TD run at 1:17 in the third. But Burk would have the last word in that stanza, hooking up with senior wide receiver Geoff Jensen on a 39-yard touchdown pass with 56 seconds remaining to again tie it up.
Tailback Joe Taylor scored on a 3-yard run at 13:57 to put he Gorillas ahead at 35-28, but Truman Jason Douglas tied the NCAA Division II record and set a new MIAA mark for KO returns for a touchdown in a game with his second of the day, this one for the full 100 yards.
On Pittsburg State's next drive, Joe Taylor would put PSU ahead for good following a 74-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. Philpot added a TD run of 9-yard with 1:50 left in the game for the final points of the day.
Truman's Andrew Blakley moved into second all-time on the NCAA DII list of career reception leaders with 285 since 1999. The Harlon Hill candidate has 3,293 career yards and 22 TDs for his career as well.
The last time Truman scored 35 or more points over Pittsburg State was in 1964 when the Bulldogs won 40-16. It was the most points by a Bulldog team since PSU joined the league in 1989.
Pittsburg State generated 483 yards of total offense and controlled the ball for 35:26, while Truman had its lowest game of the year with 264 total yards.