Missouri Western (4-3) at Fort Hays State (5-2) Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 2 pm Hays, Kan. - Lewis Field Stadium
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Fort Hays State Football enters the eighth week of the season tied for third place in the MIAA at 5-2. The Tigers host Missouri Western on Saturday (Oct. 22) at 2 pm at Lewis Field Stadium. The Tigers look to snap an 11-game losing streak to the Griffons.
 
Two teams have been a thorn in the side for the Tigers since they joined the MIAA in 2006. Both Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri State have won every meeting with the Tigers in MIAA play. Both are 10-0 against the Tigers since 2006. The last win for FHSU over Missouri Western occurred in 2000 by a score of 23-15 in Hays.
 
Fort Hays State is looking to shake off a disappointing loss at Washburn last week. The Tigers outgained the Ichabods 433-299 yards, but mistakes on special teams and turnovers led to Washburn escaping with its ninth-straight win over FHSU in Topeka.
 
Fort Hays State has seen a big increase in the passing game the past two games. Sophomore quarterback Jacob Mezera threw for 446 yards (new school record for NCAA Division II era) at Pittsburg State in Week 6 and then backed that with a 354-yard performance at Washburn. The Tigers had not thrown for over 300 yards in a game since October 11, 2014 until the Pittsburg State game.
 
With the increase in passing production, Tyler Bacon (303), Charles Tigner (332), and Shaquille Cooper (312) all have over 300 receiving yards this season. Bacon is the team leader in receptions with 31, while Cooper and Tigner have combined for 43 catches. Cooper is still the team leader in rushing with 461 and he's averaging a team-best 120.4 all-purpose yards per game.
 
On defense, Sie Doe, Jr., continues to have a big season with 10 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss. He ranks third in the nation in both total sacks and sacks per game (1.43) and leads the MIAA in both categories. He also leads the conference in forced fumbles (4). Doe is closing in on the school record for sacks in a season, which is 12 set by Trevell Smittick in 1998. At linebacker, the Tigers have two of the top four tacklers in the MIAA. Alex Schmidtberger ranks third with 74 and Jose Delgado ranks fourth with 68.
 
The Griffons own the top offense in the MIAA, producing 522.3 yards per game. Missouri Western is third in the conference in scoring at 39.9 points per game. Fort Hays State will counter with the second-best defense in the conference, allowing 21.1 points per game and 364 yards per game.