Game Notes I Listen Live I Live Stats
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Fort Hays State looks to snap its current two-game losing skid on Saturday (Oct. 22) at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla. The game is set to begin at 2 pm from Wantland Stadium. The Tigers enter the game at 2-5 overall, while Central Oklahoma is 1-6 on the season.
Fort Hays State is coming off consecutive home losses to then No. 8 ranked Pittsburg State, 38-17, and Central Missouri, 35-7. The last win for FHSU was at the start of the month by a score of 24-21 at Lincoln University. With that win, the Tigers snapped a six-game losing streak on the road, which dated back to the beginning of the 2010 season. The Tigers now look for back-to-back road wins, something they have not done since 2009 when they defeated Western State and Truman in the first two road games of the season.
This game marks the beginning of a four-game home stand to close out the year for Central Oklahoma. The Bronchos have been on the road for six of the seven games they have played this year. All six of those road games resulted in losses, but their lone win was at home over East Central by a score of 41-21. The Bronchos lost soundly last week at Washburn, the No. 3 ranked team in the nation this week, by a score of 48-3. Fort Hays State travels to Washburn next week to resume MIAA play.
Fort Hays State is looking for its first-ever win over Central Oklahoma. The Tigers are 0-6 all-time against UCO. The last meeting was in1995 with UCO winning 28-0 in Edmond. That was the only loss outside of the NCAA Division II playoffs that year for FHSU. It was also the last year the Tigers made the playoffs. The closest contest ever played between the teams was a 17-15 win by UCO in Hays in 1992.
Alex Whitehill continues to pull away on the national leaders list in tackles for NCAA Division II. He now has a 25-tackle lead on the rest of the field with 112 for the season. He is averaging 16.0 tackles per game. Richie Schumacher of Truman ranks second in Division II in tackles with 87. Whitehill now has 277 tackles in his career at FHSU, third in the NCAA Division II era, and is just 23 shy of being just the third player in the Division II era to record 300 tackles in a career.
Whitehill broke the school record for assisted tackles in a season last week, now with 73 on the season. It broke the old mark of 70 set by Dustin Bailey in 1992. Whitehill will likely set a much bigger number with still four weeks to play in the season. He is just two tackles shy of his 114 total from last year. At his current pace, he has an opportunity to break both the NCAA and all-time single-sesaon tackle records at FHSU. Dustin Bailey owns the NCAA Division II record with 140, set in 1992, and Junior Hartig owns the school record of 150, set in 1979.
Ethan Kosjer continues his quest for school marks in punting. Kosjer ranks third in NCAA Division II in punting average at 43.8 yards per boot. He is currently on pace to break both the single-season average and career average marks at FHSU, each held by Adam Ryan.
The Tigers look to get their offense back on track as they have failed to reach 300 yards of total offense in each of the last three games. FHSU did not record a first down and had just 18 yards of total offense in the first half of the 35-7 loss to Central Missouri last week. The Tiger offense churned out over 400 yards of total offense in the first two games of the season, but have been under 350 in each of the last four.
