JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A record setting day for the Fort Hays State football team as they cruised to a seventh-straight win with a 66-6 rout of Lincoln Saturday at Dwight T. Reed Stadium. It’s the most points scored by the Tigers in the NCAA era, breaking the mark of 63 set against South Dakota School of Mines in 2013. FHSU moved to 7-2, while Lincoln dropped to 1-8.
The Tigers scored on their first five possessions of the first half, building a 31-0 lead by the 7:35 mark of the second quarter. They added two more touchdowns before halftime for a 45-0 heading into the locker room.
Dante Brown opened the first-half scoring with a 26-yard field goal. The lead grew to 10-0 on a Chance Fuller 9-yard touchdown pass to Layne Bieberle. Harley Hazlett helped push the lead to 17-0, rounding out the scoring in the first quarter with a 2-yard rush into the endzone.
The Tigers tacked on 28 points in the second quarter. Fuller found Manny Ramsey for three consecutive touchdowns on passes of 8, 24, and 23 yards. Fuller added his fourth touchdown pass of the quarter and fifth of the game with a 30-yard catch and run to Dandre Reed. Fuller tied his game-high for passing touchdowns this season, which is also the FHSU record shared with several other quarterbacks.
Fort Hays State did all of its scoring damage in the second half on the ground. Te’Corey Tutson and Charles Tigner picked up touchdowns in the third quarter, Tutson from six yards out and Tigner from 18 yards out. Voshon Waiters provided the record-breaking points for FHSU in the fourth quarter on a two-yard dive.
The Tiger defense held the Blue Tigers scoreless until late in the fourth quarter when Hosea Franklin broke loose for an 82-yard touchdown run with 5:24 remaining in the game. That helped Lincoln finish with 230 yards of total offense, but it was still a season low by an FHSU opponent. FHSU held Lincoln to 31 yards in each of the first two quarters and 44 in the third. The Blue Tigers picked up the majority of their yards (124) in the fourth when the game was well at hand. FHSU held Lincoln to 10 first downs in the game, including just two in the first half.
FHSU on the other hand moved the chains all throughout the day, finishing with a season-high 34 first downs. That is also a new school record, going past the mark of 32 set earlier this season against Washburn and in 1986 against Black Hills State. With the movement offensively, FHSU racked up 593 total yards.
Fuller completed 75 percent of his passes in the game (24-of-32) before yielding to Voshon Waiters in the third quarter. Fuller finished with 296 passing yards, while Waiters also had a nice day of completing 6-of-8 passes for 108 yards. The pair combined for 404 passing yards.
Reed produced his first 100-yard receiving game as a Tiger with 169 on 10 catches. He also had a nice 38-yard kickoff return to open the game to spark the Tiger offense. He finished with 213 all-purpose yards, even adding a six-yard rush. Tutson was the top rusher for FHSU with 64 yards on nine carries. Seven different Tigers carried the ball, helping the team produce 189 rushing yards.
With six catches, Harley Hazlett broke the FHSU career record for receptions, now with 173. It passed the mark of 168 set by Eric Busenbark.
Defensively, Drew Harvey, Isaiah Creal-Musgray, and Kolt Trachsel tied for a team-high five tackles each.
Fort Hays State now preps for a battle with Northwest Missouri State next week in Hays. Game time is set for 2 pm at Lewis Field Stadium on Saturday, November 9. The game will have big NCAA playoff implications with the Tigers entering at 7-2 and the Bearcats at 8-1.