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Fort Hays State hits the road to Pittsburg State on Saturday (Oct. 8) for a battle between second place teams in the MIAA. The Tigers and Gorillas both sit at 4-1 on the season, just a game back of Northwest Missouri State for the MIAA lead. The Tigers will be looking for their second consecutive win over the Gorillas in Pittsburg. Game time is set for 2 pm at Carnie Smith Stadium.
Both FHSU and PSU are receiving votes in the latest AFCA Division II Top 25 Poll. The only loss for both FHSU and PSU came to Central Missouri. Three Kansas schools are tied for second in the MIAA standings, which includes Fort Hays State, Pittsburg State, and Emporia State. Emporia State, currently ranked No. 18 nationally, is on the road this week at Northeastern State. The nation's top ranked team and MIAA leader Northwest Missouri State is still undefeated and travels to Central Oklahoma this week.
The Tigers have not won consecutive games in Pittsburg since 1970 and 1972. Just two years ago, FHSU snapped a 20-game winless streak overall to Pittsburg State with a 7-6 win in Pittsburg. That was the first win for the Tigers in the all-time series since 1978. Last year, FHSU held a 10-point halftime lead over PSU in Hays, but saw PSU escape with a 31-24 win. Pittsburg State is 7-1 in the series since FHSU joined the MIAA.
Fort Hays State's defense has been key to success this year as it ranks second in the MIAA in both scoring defense and total defense. The Tigers are allowing only 15.4 points per game and 348.4 yards per game. Only Northwest Missouri State is better in both categories at 14.6 points per game and 223.4 yards allowed per game. The Tigers have three defensive touchdowns this season, which ranks fifth in the nation. Pittsburg State ranks fourth nationally with four defensive touchdowns.
The Tigers are looking for their first 5-1 start to a season since 1998.
Shaquille Cooper leads the Tigers in rushing at 72.8 yards per game, which ranks second in the MIAA, while quarterback
Jacob Mezera is averaging 203 yards passing per game.
Tyler Bacon leads Tiger receivers with 24 catches for 236 yards. On defense,
Alex Schmidtberger (55) and
Jose Delgado (54) rank third and fourth in the MIAA in tackles.
Sie Doe, Jr., leads the MIAA in sacks (8) and tackles for loss (9.5).
Brandon Brown is the top scoring kicker in the conference, averaging 8.4 points per game. He has connected on 9-of-10 field goal attempts this season.
Pittsburg State had starting quarterback John Roderique return last week after an injury early in the season. Backup quarterback Thomas LePage did well in Roderique's absence. LePage has 798 passing yards for the season, while Roderique has 655. Levi Copelin and Austin Panko are the top two targets, Copelin with 604 receiving yards and Panko with 304. The Gorillas have had 14 players attempt at least one rush on the season. Michael Rose leads the team in rushing with 188 yards. Spencer Brown leads the Gorilla defense in tackles with 43.
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