Game Notes I Watch Live I Listen Live I Live Stats
The Fort Hays State football team plays its final two games of the season at home, starting against Missouri Southern on Saturday (Nov. 5) at 2 pm. Fort Hays State and Missouri Southern are tied for seventh in the MIAA standings entering the contest, each at 2-5. FHSU is 3-6 overall and Missouri Southern is 3-5 overall.
The visiting team has won the last three games in the series between these teams, with Missouri Southern winning in Hays in 2008 and 2010 and FHSU winning in Joplin in 2009. Missouri Southern took last year's meeting by a score of 41-31.
The Tigers are coming off a loss to No. 12 ranked Washburn (now ranked No. 9) last week in Topeka by a score of 45-20. The Tigers were hanging with the Ichabods for nearly three quarters, but a pair of third quarter mistakes did not allow the Tigers to pull any closer than the halftime margin of nine points. Washburn put the game out of reach with a touchdown late in the third quarter and another early in the fourth quarter.
Missouri Southern is fresh off a home loss to No. 4 ranked Northwest Missouri State (now ranked No. 3) by a score of 52-21. That snapped a two-game win streak for the Lions. Missouri Southern has the top receiver in the MIAA in Landon Zerkel, who averages eight catches and 111.1 yards receiving per game.
FHSU quarterback
Anthony Sheppard has stepped up to help account for six of the eight touchdowns produced over the last two weeks. He has three passing and three rushing touchdowns to his credit in that run. After taking over as the starting quarterback in the middle of the season, Sheppard now has 644 passing and 320 rushing yards.
Andre Smith and
Edward Smith continue to give FHSU a potent 1-2 punch in the backfield.
Andre Smith has 734 yards rushing and
Edward Smith has 633. Both are averaging at least 5.0 yards per carry and over 70 yards per game.
Alex Whitehill continues his quest for the FHSU single-season record in tackles. He leads NCAA Division II with 133 through nine games. He is now just 17 shy of the all-time record at FHSU of 150, set by Junior Hartig in 1979. He is just seven shy of the NCAA Division II record at FHSU of 140, set by Dustin Bailey in 1992. Averaging 14.8 tackles per game, Whitehill may have a great shot at breaking both marks this weekend. He is just two tackles shy of 300 for his career at FHSU, which will make him just the third player in NCAA history at FHSU to record 300 tackles.
Ethan Kosjer is closing in on history as well with a great shot to break the school record in single-season punting average and career punting average. He is averaging 44.3 yards per punt this year, which leads the MIAA. He is averaging 42.6 yards per punt in his career. Adam Ryan holds both school records, averaging 43.2 in 2000 and a career mark of 41.4.
