INDIANAPOLIS – Fort Hays State saw its 2018 season end in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Division II Playoffs on Saturday (Nov. 17). The program's first playoff win remains elusive as Indianapolis outscored FHSU 21-3 in the final quarter to win 38-27. The Tigers end their season at 9-3 overall, while the Greyhounds improved to 10-1 overall and move on to the second round to face Ouachita Baptist.
Indianapolis took a 14-0 lead through one quarter before Fort Hays State pulled within three at halftime, 17-14. The Tigers held on to their momentum early in the second half, outscoring the Greyhounds 10-0 in the third quarter to take a 24-17 lead, but the Greyhounds took the momentum back following a targeting call against senior
Doyin Jibowu late in the third quarter. Jibowu looked to have made a solid tackle for loss on the play, but instead was ruled targeting and turned a 4-yard loss into a 15-yard gain via penalty that kept the Greyhounds' drive rolling toward the Tiger endzone.
Fort Hays State nearly made a goal-line stand early in the fourth quarter on the aforementioned drive, but UIndy quarterback Jake Purichia found his way in to the endzone on a rush on 4
th-and-goal at the FHSU 1. The score was knotted 24-24 with 14:16 to go in the game. UIndy kept its momentum rolling at the 11:16 mark when Purichia found Daveon Bell for a 76-yard touchdown. The Tigers didn't have quite enough left to catch the Greyhounds from that point.
FHSU closed the gap to 31-27 with 3:55 remaining on a 40-yard
Dante Brown field goal and the Tigers got the ball back with 2:02 remaining at their own 11 after a defensive stop. However,
Jacob Mezera was intercepted on the first play of the drive and Robert Williams returned the ball 22 yards for a touchdown to seal the game.
Chance Fuller threw for 252 yards with three touchdowns, completing 24-of-36 passes. Mezera went 11-of-15 for 79 yards.
Harley Hazlett finished with 14 receptions for 103 yards and one touchdown.
Layne Bieberle had 88 yards receiving with a touchdown.
Charles Tigner hauled in the other touchdown pass for FHSU.
Jose Delgado finished the game with a team-high 11 tackles, followed by
Tanner Hoekman with 10 and
Wyatt Parker with nine. FHSU had 409 yards of total offense compared to 431 for Indianapolis.
Purichia finished with 182 passing yards for the Greyhounds. The Tigers gave up too much yardage on the ground, allowing 137 yards rushing to Al McKellar and 106 yards to Toriano Clinton. Indianapolis finished with 249 rushing yards as a team. Cole Sigmund led the Greyhounds with 10 tackles.