Box Score

The Tiger football team is no longer unbeaten as they fell 19-6 at Emporia State on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 25). The Tigers could never gain any momentum in a game that had a 1-hour, 20-minute lightning delay right before the end of the first half and wet conditions the rest of the way. Fort Hays State is now 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.

The only scoring the Tigers had was two field goals by Tyler Kimbrough of 43 and 39 yards in the second quarter, which brought the Tigers to within three points of ESU at 9-6. The rain and lightning came with 58 seconds remaining in the first half, causing the teams to clear the field for a little over an hour.

The Tigers surrendered a field goal right before the end of the half when play resumed and were still very much in the game. They just could not find any rhythm on offense in the second half and a 67-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Eckenrode to Shjuan Richardson proved to be the game sealer for the Hornets with 14:36 remaining.

The Tigers only had 203 yards of total offense in the game. Emporia State controlled the clock well throughout, keeping the potent Tiger offense off the field that averaged over 500 yards per game coming in. The Hornets had the ball for 35-minutes, 42-seconds, compared to just 24-minutes, 18-seconds for the Tigers.

Mike Garrison was 16-of-33 passing for just 148 yards and two interceptions. James Walker had only 35 yards rushing on 12 carries. O.J. Murdock led all FHSU receivers with seven catches for 70 yards. Brock Einspahr and Alex Whitehill led FHSU in tackles, each with 12.

The Tigers return home for their next two games with Homecoming against Washburn next week on Oct. 2 and then Central Missouri on Oct. 9. Game time is set for 7 pm next week against the Ichabods at Lewis Field Stadium in Hays.