Area college football: Paul Schleicher headlines Pittsburg State’s Hall of Fame class

Pittsburg State inducted its 2015 Hall of Fame class during Saturday’s home game against Missouri Southern, and the 11-member class had some local flavor in it.

Paul Schleicher, a standout halfback from 1956-59 was one of two members from the Legacy Category, which was started in 2005. It honors Pitt State athletes who completed their athletic eligibility at least 50 years ago.

“I was surprised because I thought they would do this earlier because I broke so many records. I was surprised this time that they did it,” Schleicher said with a laugh.

Schleicher went to Pitt State from St. Agnes, which is now Bishop Miege.

“My coach (at St. Agnes) took me down there to see if I could get a scholarship, and that’s how I went there,” Schleicher said. “I was excited to go to Pittsburg.”

Schleicher wasted no time putting his name into the record books, especially during his 1959 senior season. He was the CIC First-Team all-conference pick at running back after setting Pitt State’s then single-season records of 797 rushing yards and 92 points.

Schleicher saved his best game for his last regular-season contest as a Gorilla. He rushed for a then single-game record of 204 yards against Northeastern State on Nov. 14, 1959.

Schleicher left Pitt State as the school’s all-time leading rusher, wrapping up his career with 1,626 yards.

Schleicher has had a few reasons to make it back to Pittsburg this season, but Saturday’s trip was special.

“Lately we’ve been going back quite a bit. My wife is from there, so she had her 60th high school reunion, and I played on the championship team in ’57, so they had a luncheon,” Schleicher said. “We go down there quite a bit. Since ’57 was our first championship team, and we’ve had four total. The second championship team was ’61. I got to play with both teams. It felt comfortable to be inducted.”

In Saturday’s game, Pitt State jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back in a 41-14 victory over Missouri Southern.

Jeff Seybold led the Gorillas with 92 rushing yards and a touchdown. Thomas LePage threw for 171 yards and two scores.

Missouri Southern got 188 passing yards and a touchdown from T.J. Fleeton.

Other Saturday highlights

▪ Northwest Missouri didn’t allow a point in the second half and improved to 9-0 on the season with a 24-10 victory at Missouri Western. Brady Bolles led the Bearcats with 267 passing yards and a touchdown. Missouri Western quarterback Skyler Windmiller had 235 yards and a touchdown, but also three interceptions.

▪ Emporia State built a 30-0 advantage and didn’t look back in a 47-21 home win over Washburn. Brent Wilson paced the Emporia State offense with 267 passing yards and four touchdowns. Kavaski Ervin caught six passes for 120 yards and two scores. Washburn was led by 106 rushing yards from Brandon Bourbon.

▪ Central Missouri came through with a shutout on the road, 31-0 at Lindenwood. The Mules got 101 rushing yards and two TDs from Eric Stebenshuh. He also threw for 260 yards and two scores. Jaylen Zachary caught seven passes for 103 yards.

▪ Fort Hays State won at home, beating Nebraska-Kearney 24-7. Shaquill Cooper ran for 93 yards and a touchdown for Fort Hays State, and Treveon Albert threw for 212 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers.

▪ Missouri State fell at home 39-0 against South Dakota State. Ryan Heaston rushed for a team-high 73 yards in the loss.

▪ MidAmerica Nazarene built a 34-0 lead and cruised to a 44-21 home win over Avila. Javon Taylor led the Pioneers with 204 rushing yards and two TDs, including a 99-yard run. Drake Tofi ran for 138 yards and a touchdown, and Donald Garcia (107 yards) was Nazarene’s third triple-digit rusher. Avila got 276 yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Calvin Jacobson.

▪ Benedictine won at William Penn (Iowa) 41-40 in two overtimes after William Penn missed the game-tying extra point in the second OT. Jacob Koester had most of the offense for Benedictine, throwing for 385 yards and two TDs. Jameel Kirkland ran for the game-winning score and had 115 receiving yards.

▪ Baker won at home, topping Central Methodist 40-21. Baker improved to 8-1 on the season. Logan Brettell completed 36 of 43 passes for 398 yards and three touchdowns for Baker. Cornell Brown caught nine passes for 164 and two touchdowns and Clarence Clark caught 11 passes for 108 yards and a score for the Wildcats.

▪ Ottawa’s defense was stingy in a 17-0 home victory over Southwestern. Tanner Staats provided all the offense the team would need, running for 199 yards and a touchdown.

▪ William Jewell had no answer for the University of Indianapolis offense and lost 63-35 in Liberty. Jewell QB Nick West had a huge day, throwing for 455 yards and four touchdowns. Thomas Cook ran for 100 yards and Anthony Mullins caught four passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinals.

▪ Southwest Baptist saved the best for last, scoring the final 23 points and rallied past Missouri S&T 46-42 in Rolla, Mo. Quarterback Trent Edwards threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns in just 14 completions for Southwest Baptist. Bubba Jenkins ran for 108 yards and three scores for Southwest Baptist, while Nathan Mourik led the receivers with 158 yards and two TDs. Missouri S&T got 96 rushing yards and a score from Major Dalton. Lamar Wilkes threw for 210 yards and three touchdowns.

▪ Missouri Valley scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, which was good enough for a 27-24 win at Evangel. Elliott Hawkins ran for 173 yards and two TDs for Missouri Valley, including the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.

▪ Saint Mary fell at home to Sterling 44-25. Drew Cortez threw for 256 yards and two TDs for Saint Mary. Cole Williams was his favorite target, catching 10 passes for 164 yards and two scores.

▪ Quincy dominated the fourth quarter, scoring 17 unanswered points, and rallied past Truman State 23-19 in Quincy, Ill. Bulldogs quarterback Randy Schroeder threw for 154 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the loss.

▪ McKendree (Ill.) scored 21 points in the first and second quarters and rolled to a 65-0 home win over Lincoln. Lincoln quarterback Dennis Vinson threw for 159 yards.

This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Area college football: Paul Schleicher headlines Pittsburg State’s Hall of Fame class."