HAYS, Kan. – Seventh-ranked Fort Hays State moved to 9-0, breaking the school record for wins in a season, with a 34-7 win at home over Emporia State. A strong defensive effort shutout the Hornets for three quarters and the Tigers built a 34-0 lead in the process before allowing a touchdown late.
 
Fort Hays State moved into sole possession of first place in the MIAA as No. 1 Northwest Missouri State had its 38-game win streak snapped at Pittsburg State by a score of 20-10. Fort Hays State will now have a chance to win an MIAA Championship next week at Northwest Missouri State. FHSU will enter the game 9-0, while NWMSU is 8-1. New national and super region polls will release on Monday.
 
The Tigers produced a season-high 583 yards of total offense, throwing for 326 yards and rushing for 257. Jacob Mezera threw for all 326 yards with three touchdowns, while Kenneth Iheme led the rushing attack with 146 yards. It was the fifth consecutive 100-yard rushing game for Iheme, who pushed past the 1,000-yard barrier for the season, now with 1,029.
 
The Tiger defense dominated the game early, allowing only one first down in Emporia State's first six drives of the game. A Tiger penalty generated the lone first down. The Hornet offense did not gain a first down without aid of penalty for the first 25 minutes of the game. By halftime, Emporia State had only 46 yards of total offense on 25 plays.
 
Fort Hays State led 13-0 at halftime, getting a touchdown on a Mezera pass to J.J. Lewis at 9:47 in the first quarter, then a pair of second quarter field goals from Brandon Brown (41 and 32 yards) to build the lead at the break.
 
Three plays into the second half, FHSU found breathing room when Mezera hit Tyler Bacon on a slant over the middle of the field for a 68-yard touchdown. Bacon caught the ball near midfield with a defender on his back shoulder, but broke the tackle and outran the remainder of the Hornet defense to the endzone.
 
A Sterling Swopes sack cause another Emporia State drive to result in a punt and the Tiger offense went back to work. The Tigers gashed the Hornets with four big plays, a 13-yard pass to Lewis, a 25-yard rush by Charles Tigner, a 30-yard pass to Matt Wendelberger, and then a 25-yard touchdown pass to Iheme. The Tigers led 27-0 with 10:33 to go in the third quarter.
 
Fort Hays State's final march to the endzone took the entire field, a drive that covered 5:49 between the third and fourth quarters. The 11-play, 99-yard drive ended on a Charles Tigner 2-yard touchdown run. Tigner was just one yard shy of 100 for the game.
 
Emporia State produced its only points on its second-to-last drive of the game. A Kai Callins 1-yard touchdown run kept the Tigers from getting a shutout with 5:24 remaining in the game.
 
Iheme went over 200 all-purpose yards in a game for the second time this year, finishing with a team-best seven receptions for 62 yards to go with his 146 rushing yards. Bacon led the team in receiving yards for the game with 78 on two catches. Six receivers had at least 36 yards receiving.
 
Jose Delgado led the Tiger tackling effort with 12. Swopes had 1.5 sacks, sharing one with Wyatt Parker. Sheldon Schmidt also dropped the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. Rayvon Lewis had his first interception as a Tiger late in the game.
 
For Emporia State, T'Quan Wallace finished 15-of-28 passing for 118 yards. Callins led the rushing attack for ESU with 46 yards on eight carries. Justin Brown had 66 receiving yards on five catches. Gabe Cleveland led the Hornets in tackles with 11.
 
The Tigers now prepare for the big meeting with Northwest Missouri State next Saturday (Nov. 4) in Maryville, Mo., with a chance to win the conference title outright. To do so, the Tigers need to produce their first-ever win over the Bearcats since joining the MIAA in 2006. NWMSU has won the last 13 meetings between the schools dating back to 1979, including all 11 MIAA meetings.