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Fort Hays State Football plays its first road contest of the 2016 season on Thursday night (Sept. 8) in Warrensburg, Mo. The Tigers, receiving votes in the latest AFCA Top 25 Poll, face No. 16 ranked Central Missouri at 7 pm. FHSU has won the last two meetings with UCM.
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The Tigers are coming off a 22-10 win over Missouri Southern in their season opener. Despite struggling to find a rhythm offensively, the Tigers lead the MIAA in points allowed after one week. The FHSU defense came up big when it needed to against Missouri Southern with four players recording double digits in tackles and an interception return for a touchdown.
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Jose Delgado led the defense with 14 tackles and a forced fumble against Missouri Southern.
Alex Schmidtberger added 13 tackles and
Doyin Jibowu had 10.
Sie Doe, Jr., had a big game up front with 10 tackles, including two sacks.
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The Tiger rushing attack produced over 200 yards in the season opener, led by the duo of
Malik Thomas and
Shaquille Cooper. In his first full collegiate game, Thomas rushed for 115 yards on 13 carries, averaging 8.8 yards per attempt. Cooper was just shy of 100 yards with 98 on 12 carries, averaging 8.2 yards per attempt. They rank first and second in the MIAA in yards per rush.
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Central Missouri comes into the meeting with Fort Hays State in the AFCA Top 25 for the second straight year. FHSU knocked off a No. 20 ranked Central Missouri team in the regular season finale last year in Hays to clinch a spot in the Mineral Water Bowl. The Mules are ranked No. 8 nationally in the D2Football.com Poll. UCM won its season opener 34-27 at Pittsburg State.
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