Fort Hays State looks to stay on the winning track when it hosts Lindenwood University this Saturday (Oct. 6) for Homecoming at Lewis Field Stadium in Hays. Game time is set for 7 pm. FHSU is coming off its first win of the season at Truman and enters at 1-4 overall, 1-4 in the MIAA, while Lindenwood is 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA.
Fort Hays State looks to continue their ascent up the MIAA standings after facing teams that are all currently in the national rankings for their first four contests of the season. The Tigers are coming off a 37-23 win at Truman this past weekend as the offense came alive, producing 541 yards of total offense. The season-high for the Tigers before that was 303 against Emporia State in the season opener. Fort Hays State did the majority of its damage against Truman on the ground with 348 rushing yards.
Tarean Austin and
Treveon Albert were very instrumental in sparking the Tiger offense at Truman. Austin produced 276 yards of total offense, throwing for 140 yards and rushing for 136. He had a hand in four Tiger touchdowns, two rushing and two passing. Albert was also a key with 153 all-purpose yards and 134 yards of total offense. He completed his only passing attempt of the game on a halfback pass, finding
Cornelius Gallon for a 53-yard touchdown. Albert also rushed for 81 yards on 10 carries and caught six passes for 72 yards.
Layton Hickel led the Tiger defense at Truman with 15 tackles, a career high that helped him grab MIAA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Shane Smith and
A.J. Woodall also reached double figures in tackles in the game with 11 each.
Fort Hays State is looking for back-to-back wins for the first time since 2010, when they opened that year with three consecutive victories. FHSU is also looking to snap a three-game home losing streak, which dates back to the season finale last year.
The Tigers are 13-8 in Homecoming contests since joining NCAA Division II in 1991. The Tigers have dropped the last two Homecoming games with a 40-20 win over Emporia State in 2009 as their last.
Lindenwood enters this game with the top passing offense in the MIAA at 340 yards per game. Emporia State is the only other team in the MIAA averaging over 300 per game through the air. Lindenwood quarterback Ben Gomez is the reigning MIAA Offensive Player of the Week after tying the MIAA record for passing touchdowns in a game last week against Nebraska-Kearney with six and throwing for 480 yards.
This is the first-ever meeting between Fort Hays State and Lindenwood.
