TOPEKA, Kan. – Dante Brown booted a 24-yard field goal at the end of regulation to force overtime then kicked a 30-yarder in overtime to lift Fort Hays State to a 41-38 win over Washburn Saturday afternoon to snap their 9-game Yager Stadium losing streak. It’s the Tigers (1-2, 1-2 MIAA) first win in Topeka since 1987 when they won by forfeit and their first win on the field there since 1985.
The game-winner from Brown came after Isaiah Creal-Musgray intercepted a Mitch Schurig pass in the endzone on the Ichabods (1-2, 1-2 MIAA) overtime possession.
The Tigers led by two touchdowns entering the fourth quarter after quarterback Chance Fuller hit Harley Hazlett on a 33-yard scoring strike then Hunter Budke from 18 yards out to put FHSU up 35-21. Fuller finished 23 of 31 for 271 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions before leaving in the fourth quarter after being slammed to the turf on a hard tackle on the Tigers first possession of the fourth quarter.
Washburn took advantage by scoring 17 unanswered points to go up 38-35 following a 2-yard touchdown run from Mitchell Percy with 3:33 to play.
Junior college transfer Vashon Waiters engineered a gutsy 15-play, 68-yard drive to set up Brown’s game tying field goal at the end of regulation. Waiters, playing for the first time this season, hit Harley Hazlett on a 7-yard pass on 3rd and seven then converted with an 8-yard pass to running back Charles Tigner on 4th and five from their own 42 to keep the drive alive.
Charles Tigner scored on a 14-yard touchdown run to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive on the Tigers first possession to give them the early 7-0 lead. Fuller hit Jacoby Williams on a 3-yard touchdown pass to give FHSU a 14-7 lead early in the fourth.
James Letcher, Jr. returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 14-14. The Tigers then muffed the kickoff giving the Ichabods the ball back at the FHSU 37 which led to another score and put the Ichabods up 21-14.
Fuller would engineer a 6-play, 52-yard drive which ended with a 7-yard TD pass to Harley Hazlett with 3:25 in the second quarter to tie the game 21-21.
The Tigers finished with 494 total yards of offense which included a season-high 161 on the ground. Charles Tigner led the ground attack with 125 yards. Harley Hazlett had a team-best 105 receiving yards on nine catches and two touchdowns. Layne Bieberle hauled in six passes for 77 yards to move past Xavier Brown and Eric Busenbark into fourth on the all-time receiving yards list with 2,087.