The Emporia State football team held off a 4th quarter rally by Washburn to win the 117th Turnpike Tussle 35-30 Saturday afternoon.
Emporia State Coach Garin Higgins said earned this win.
Washburn scored 1st on a 32-yard field goal. Emporia State answered with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Braden Gleason to Cory Thomas.
Gleason also threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Cowan to give the Hornets a 14-10 lead.
Jace McDown returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown to give Emporia Stat a 21-10 lead at halftime.
For the afternoon Emporia State forced 5 turnovers, 3 interceptions, and 2 fumble recoveries.
Emporia State added to their lead on a 63-yard scoring play on a pass to Billy Ross Jr. to open the 2nd half.
Braden Gleason threw his 4th touchdown pass of the day to Tyler Kahmann to give the Hornets a 35-10 lead.
Washburn would score 3 touchdowns in the final 10:21 of the game. A recovered on-side kick by Emporia State ended the threat.
A big plus for Emporia State was the punting of Ross Brungardt who averaged 48 yards per punt that included a 66-yard punt.
With the win, the Hornets improve to 3-2 for the season. They play at Central Missouri next Saturday.
MIAA scores
Fort Hays State 42 Nebraska Kearney 35
Pittsburg State 20 Missouri Southern 16
Northwest Missouri State 30 Missouri Western 7
Central Missouri 41 Northeastern State 10
Central Oklahoma 69 Lincoln 28
