Fort Hays State (4-3, 3-2 MIAA) at
#19/15 Northwest Missouri State (5-1, 4-0 MIAA)
Saturday, October 18 – 1:30 p.m.
Maryville, Mo. – Bearcat Stadium
 
Fort Hays State Football returns to action on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 18), taking on No. 19/15 ranked Northwest Missouri State in Maryville at 1:30 p.m. The Bearcats lead the MIAA, currently with a record of 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA, while Fort Hays State enters at 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA.
 
The Tigers are looking to bounce back from a 21-14 loss to Central Oklahoma last week. Fort Hays State's last three games have been decided by one possession, but the first two of those three resulted in wins.
 
Northwest Missouri State enters this game on a five-game win streak after dropping its season opener to nationally ranked Minnesota State. Last week the Bearcats defeated Central Missouri by a score of 49-32. The Bearcats scored at least 34 points in four of the five games during their currently winning streak.
 
The Bearcats lead the all-time series with FHSU 23-15-1. FHSU has won three of the last seven meetings with NWMSU, but scored less than 20 points in all three occurrences. The Tigers won in Maryville in 2017, 13-12, and again in 2018, 17-16, before winning the 2023 matchup in Hays 17-6. The Bearcats scored at least 30 points in three of their last four wins in the series, including a 32-20 win in Maryville last year.
 
Northwest Missouri State will be the fourth AFCA Top 25 ranked team the Tigers face this season. They are 1-2 in those contests so far, which included a win over CSU Pueblo, but losses to Angelo State and Pittsburg State.
 
Offensively, the Tigers are led by quarterback Caleb Heavner, who leads the team in passing yards and rushing yards. He has thrown for 1,258 and rushed for 303, averaging 223 yards of total offense per game. The Tigers have had a committee of running backs and receivers he has spread the ball around to this year. FHSU has four running backs with more than 150 rushing yards and five receivers with over 150 receiving yards. Tight end Cale Cormaney leads in receiving yards with 235.
 
Defensively, John Johnson leads the Tigers with 75 tackles, which ranks second in the MIAA. His 10.7 tackles per game average ranks ninth nationally. Johnson became the sixth player in FHSU's NCAA Division II history to record 300 tackles in a career, now with 305. He also leads the team in tackles for loss this year with 7.0. Gaven Haselhorst leads FHSU in sacks with 4.0, while Michael Chavez and Michael Polley each have two interceptions this year.
 
The Bearcats are averaging 454 yards per game. Zechariah Owens leads in rushing yards with 330, Chris Ruhnke has thrown for 802 yards, and Luke Mathews leads in receiving yards with 261. Carter Edwards leads the Bearcats in tackles with 45.