The Fort Hays State defense held Central Missouri to 90 yards and no points in the second half but come up short, losing 14-12 on Senior Day at Lewis Field.
Trailing 14-6 and starting quarterback Tarean Austin out with an ankle injury, Anthony Sheppard led the Tigers on an 11-play 74-yard scoring drive, capped off by a 6-yard Sheppard run to pull FHSU within two. Sheppard’s pass to Tanner Hagaman on the two-point conversion was off the mark.
Central took a 7-0 lead on an 8-yard pass to Ronrei Lloyd with 2:18 to play in the first quarter. They would go up 14-3 on a 21-yard TD pass to Kevin Johnson with 0:22 to play before halftime.
The Tigers finish with 381 yards of offense on 75 plays. The Mules were held to 331 yards. FHSU controlled the time of possession 34:40 to the Mules 25:20.
Anthony Sheppard finished with 80 yards rushing and 54 yards passing.
The loss drops Fort Hays State to 4-6 and 3-6 in the MIAA, they close out the season next Saturday with a 12:30 game at Nebraska-Kearney.