Box Score

Fort Hays State picked up its second straight win, going on the road to knock off Lindenwood 31-17 in St. Charles, Mo. on Saturday (Oct. 12). In a game that was a tale of two halves, the Tigers held on after leading 24-0 at halftime to move to 2-4 overall and 1-4 in the MIAA. Lindenwood dropped to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in the MIAA.

The Tigers got out to a fast start by amassing 232 total yards and a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. An 18-yard touchdown pass from Treveon Albert to Keaton Callins put the Tigers on top 7-0 at the 6:52 mark in the first, and then a 51-yard air strike from Albert to Ed Williams made it 14-0 at the 3:52 mark. The drives went 80 and 81 yards respectively.

Drew O'Brien capped a 30-yard drive set up by a Micheal Jordan interception early in the second quarter with a 46-yard field goal to make it 17-0. Later in the second, the Tigers marched 71 yards and an 8-yard touchdown pass from Albert to Marshall Musil made it 24-0 in favor of FHSU before the break. A last second despiration heave to the endzone by Lindenwood was picked off by DeAndre James to keep the Tigers in total control at halftime.

That control would quickly slip away after halftime as Lindenwood got a 26-yard field goal on its opening drive of the half, then a Pierre Desir interception returned to the FHSU 20-yardline quickly threw all the momentum in Lindenwood's direction. The Lions marched the 20 yards quickly, scoring on an 11-yard touchdown run to trail by just 14. Two long pass plays of 49 yards and 41-yard touchdown brought Lindenwood within seven quickly in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Fort Hays State looked to stop the unanswered string of 17 points with an O'Brien field goal, but it was blocked, keeping the score at 24-17.

The Tiger defense had to come up big in the fourth quarter to preserve what looked to be a run-away win early and they did just that. After the blocked field goal, the Tigers immediately force a 3-and-out to get the ball back. On the next Lindenwood drive, the Tigers forced a fumble by the Lindenwood quarterback near midfield to take over again.

Instead of punting on 4th-and-inches, the Tigers opted to go for a first down from the Lindenwood 42-yardline and Andre Smith bursted three yards for a key first down under two minutes remaining. In the moments following, Edward Smith broke off a 19-yard gain for another first down and then Andre Smith put the game away with a 17-yard touchdown scamper, making it 31-17 with 1:17 to play.

The Tigers were lethal on the ground against the Lions, rushing for 303 yards with two 100-yard rushers. Andre Smith had 138 yards with the game-clinching touchdown and Treveon Albert had 125 yards on the ground to go with his 187 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air. Keaton Callins led the Tiger receivers with 79 yards on six catches. Justin McPhail led the Tiger defense with eight tackles and Jeremy Jones had two sacks. FHSU finished with 490 yards of total offense, a season high. Edward Smith also went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career with 40 yards on the ground.

Dillon Miller threw for 306 yards for Lindenwood with one touchdown. Marvin Byrd led the Lions in rushing with 70 yards, while Jaron Alexander had 143 receiving yards. Clint Koons led the Lindenwood defense with 10 tackles.

The Tigers will host Southwest Baptist next Saturday (Oct. 19) in Hays at Lewis Field Stadium for the MIAA Television Network Game of the Week. The game is set to start at 2:30 pm.