For now, the Missouri Southern football team’s three-game losing streak this season pales in comparison to another streak extended this afternoon.

The Pittsburg State University Gorillas won the Sonic Miner’s Bowl at Carnie Smith Stadium today, for the 17th time in a row.

PSU used a 27-yard field goal with five seconds remaining in the game to go ahead 24-21.

The Gorillas opened the scoring on the day in the first quarter, but the Lions managed to knot it up going into halftime as Collin Howard scampered into the endzone on what appeared to be a broken play just before the end of the second quarter. 

He then added a touchdown pass to Ne’Ronte Threatt in the middle of the third quarter to give Southern a lead in the Miner’s Bowl for the first time since 2002. Fourteen unanswered Pittsburg points, seven off of an interception returned for a touchdown, put them up by a score until Howard hooked up with Landon Zerkel for a game-tying touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. 

Punting from his own endzone, Mark Krause set Pittsburg up at the Southern 36 yard line where they took over, marching the ball into the red-zone before Jake Craig split the uprights to give the Gorillas the win. 

Next week, PSU will travel to Emporia State while Southern will host the defending National Champion Northwest Missouri State Bearcats.