HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State will take on Lincoln University in the annual Homecoming football game on Saturday night (Sept. 30) at Lewis Field Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. It is a non-conference game this year as Lincoln moves to the Great Lakes Valley Conference next year. FHSU enters the game at 2-2, while Lincoln is 0-4.
Fort Hays State is 7-4 in head coach
Chris Brown's tenure on Homecoming. The Tigers won six straight Homecoming games from 2015 to 2021 until the streak was snapped last year at the hands of Washburn. All seven wins have been against different opponents and this is the first time the Tigers are playing Lincoln for Homecoming on Brown's watch.
FHSU holds a 10-2 advantage in the all-time series with Lincoln. FHSU has won nine straight games against LU going back to the 1985 season. FHSU went 6-0 against Lincoln in MIAA play from 2011 to 2022.
FHSU won last year's meeting between the teams in Jefferson City by a score of 51-14. After the Blue Tigers scored the game's first touchdown in the first quarter, FHSU reeled off 48 straight points before Lincoln scored again with about nine minutes remaining in the game. FHSU has scored at least 50 points against Lincoln in the last three meetings, including 72 in a shutout win the last time the teams met in Hays (2021).
Though Lincoln is playing all but one MIAA team this year (Pittsburg State), they are a non-conference game for all schools in the conference. The Blue Tigers have not won a game since the 2019 season when they defeated Northeastern State at home on October 19. Lincoln has dropped 31 straight contests since. Lincoln will still be a conference opponent for all MIAA schools in every other sport it competes in this year except for football.
For FHSU on offense,
Jack Dawson has thrown for 1,024 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. He averages 257 passing yards per game and has went past the 250-yard mark in three of four games this season.
Trevor Watts and
Jayden Horace are tied for the team lead in receiving yards with 243 each, and Horace is tied with
Bryson Smith for the most receiving touchdowns each with three.
Travis Dixon leads the Tigers in rushing with 119 yards for the season.
On the defensive side of the ball,
John Johnson leads the Tigers in tackles with 31. He and fellow inside linebacker
Makel Williams have combined for 59 tackles this season and rank first and second in tackles on the team.
Jason Wallace has a team-high 2.0 sacks, while
Myles Menges and
Parrish Terry are tied for the team lead in tackles for loss with 3.0 each. Williams is the team leader in interceptions with two. The team has seven interceptions for the season, which ties for eighth-most in NCAA Division II.
For complete notes on the game, visit the FHSU Game Notes link above.
