For those of you who stayed for all four quarters of last Saturday’s deluge at Carnie Smith Stadium, you witnessed a breathtaking football game.

Yes, there were several mistakes made by both Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State, but considering the circumstances – nearly the entire game was played in a torrential downpour – you couldn’t have asked for a better contest.

Perhaps the most important factor to come out of Saturday’s game was the Lions’ ability to compete against a perennial contender in the MIAA. And this wasn’t a fluke for Southern either.

No, Southern played a hard-fought game against the seventh-ranked Gorillas on their home turf, and nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season.

Southern has run toe-to-toe with the Gorillas for successive seasons now, which is directly related to the coaching staff’s ability to recruit prolific, game-changing athletes – an encouraging sign of things to come.

Renard Johsnon and Toderick Hunt are a powerful duo out of the backfield, while wide receiver Isaac Norman, a 5-foot-5 junior out of Jenks, Okla., has proven he is a valuable option in critical situations.

Norman, along with tight end Korey Henry, made plays when the Lions needed them most against the Gorillas in the second half.

Norman, Henry, Johnson and Hunt are all byproducts of traditional prep powerhouses, which goes to show what you can do when you’re able to recruit effectively.

What we witnessed last Saturday was a Lion football team transforming in front of our eyes.

The Lions didn’t back down against the Gorillas, and in some instances during the game had a little swagger in their step. Unlike previous meetings, the Lions were not outmatched and outmanned. Head Coach Bart Tatum showed a lot of confidence in his players on third down.

Yeah, the Lions had trouble converting on third down in the first half, but so did the Gorillas. We can blame Mother Nature for that.

The point is, when the coaching staff instills confidence, players find a way to make something happen. And the Lions played like a confident football team to the very end.

I was even more impressed with Bart Tatum and his coaching staff after the game.

Here it was, the perfect opportunity to voice their frustration with the officials about the game-winning touchdown catch by Marques Nelson in the back of the end zone.

An outpouring of Lion fans felt Nelson didn’t have one foot inbounds when he grabbed the ball for the go-ahead score.

Instead of putting the blame on the officiating crew, Tatum manned-up by saying the Gorillas would have had a chance to win regardless of the questionable call. Tatum isn’t the kind of coach to point the blame somewhere else.

Not to say past coaches have played the blame game, but when you’re attempting to build a contender, a loss is a loss – there are no excuses.

Now, the Lions welcome No. 5 Nebraska-Omaha to Fred G. Hughes Stadium, which will be an even bigger MIAA challenge. This will be the first time Southern and Nebraska-Omaha have faced each other.

It will be interesting to see how Missouri Southern responds after playing physical football with PSU. The Lions are hoping to establish the run, establish field position, stop the run and, of course, play in dry weather.