Box Score
Box Score

FHSU struggled mightily on offense in the first half of a 35-7 defeat at the hands of Central Missouri on Saturday evening (Oct. 15) in Hays. Fort Hays State had just 18 yards of total offense in the first half, compared to 407 for Central Missouri, but trailed just 21-0 at the half. However, it was too much to overcome as FHSU did not score until the fourth quarter.

Central Missouri jumped out to a fast start, taking advantage of the sputtering Tiger offense. The Mules scored three touchdowns in the first quarter, courtesy of a 1-yard run by LaVance Taylor and two touchdown passes from Tommy Corwin to David Cannon from 28 and 13 yards out.

The Tigers were shutout for first downs in the first half. They would not gain their first set of fresh downs until the first drive of the second half. Central Missouri had 19 first downs in the first half.

The Tigers had a better second half, churning out 218 yards of total offense to finish with 236 for the game, but it was too late as they did not score until the fourth quarter when trailing 28-0. The only score was on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Sheppard to Edward Smith with 14:53 remaining. Central Missouri tacked on its final touchdown of the game at the 13:02 mark of the fourth on Tommy Corwin's fourth touchdown pass of the night, a 23-yard strike to Jamar Howard.

Central Missouri outgained FHSU 613 to 236 in the game. Corwin finished 29-of-45 for 398 yards and one interception for UCM. His one interception was thrown in the FHSU endzone near the end of the first half, picked off by Kedron Paul. Camren Torneden led UCM in rushing with 58 yards on 12 attempts and caught a touchdown pass from Corwin in the third quarter from eight yards out. David Cannon led UCM in receiving with 116 yards on six catches with two touchdowns. Evan Knight led the UCM defense with nine tackles and a half sack.

Anthony Sheppard was 11-of-25 passing for 79 yards and one touchdown for FHSU. He also led the team in rushing with 78 yards on 12 attempts. Edward Smith added 61 yards on the ground on 12 attempts. Ethan Kosjer punted 10 times in the game, averaging 42.5 yards per boot with a long of 53 yards. Alex Whitehill now has 112 tackles on the season by tying his career high of 20, which he also reached earlier this year against Southwest Baptist.

Fort Hays State is on the road the next two weeks, starting at Central Oklahoma next Saturday in a non-conference match-up. The game is set to kick at 2 pm in Edmond, Okla. The Tigers resume MIAA action the following week at Washburn, which is ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II at this time and undefeated overall at 7-0.