Fort Hays State Weekly Football Press Conference
October 10th, 2018
Fort Hays State head coach Chris Brown conducted his weekly press conference in advance of the Tiger’s upcoming game with Pittsburg State Saturday afternoon in Hays. Brown and select players met with the media inside Lewis Field on Wednesday, a session that can be seen by clicking on the video below.
(00:00 Head Coach Chris Brown, 10:36 Quarterback Jacob Mezera, 16:37 Defensive Lineman Wyatt Parker)
RUSSELL, Kan. – The TMP-Marian volleyball team dropped tough five-set match in Russell yesterday. After winning the first set 25-20 they dropped the next two 19-25, 23-25. They came back to win the fourth 25-15 before losing the fifth 10-15.
The Monarchs are now 18-13 on the season. They begin play in the MCL Tournament Thursday in Smith Center.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team was ranked second in both the 2018-19 MIAA Coaches and Media Preseason Women’s Basketball Polls, released Tuesday (Oct. 9) by the league office in conjunction with MIAA Basketball Media Day. The Tigers are coming off a third-place finish in the regular season and a runner-up finish in the conference tournament a year ago.
The Tigers picked up one first place vote in each poll, totaling 154 points in the coaches poll and 265 in the media version. Defending national champion Central Missouri topped both polls, receiving all 13 possible first-place votes and 169 points in the coaches poll and 20 top selections while accounting for 291 points in the media poll. The media poll made its first appearance in the MIAA preseason routine since the lead up to the 2013-14 season.
This is the fourth time in the last six seasons that the Tigers have received a first-place vote in a preseason conference poll and the seventh-consecutive season they have been picked to finish in the top five.
Fort Hays State lost just one senior to graduation from last year’s team that finished the season receiving votes in the WBCA Coaches Poll after reaching the Central Region Semifinals, falling to eventual champ UCM. Among the returners are four all-conference performers in Tatyana Legette (second team), Carly Heim (honorable mention), Kacey Kennett (HM) and Lanie Page (HM). The Tigers return a total of 11 letterwinners, all of which have played in at least 15 games as a Tiger.
Head coach Tony Hobson begins his 11th year at Fort Hays State with a career record of 618-198, the second-most wins among all coaches in the MIAA. He eclipsed 200 wins as a Tiger last season, carrying a 205-92 mark at FHSU into the new season, just 12 wins shy of matching the program record for coaching victories.
Fort Hays State will open the preseason inside historic Allen Fieldhouse against Kansas on October 28 before traveling to Manhattan, Kan. to take on Kansas State on November 1. The Tigers open the regular season in Hays on November 9 against Southwest Minnesota State.
2018-19 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Missouri (13) – 169
2. Fort Hays State (1) – 154
3. Emporia State – 131
4. Washburn – 126
5. Central Oklahoma -113
t6. Missouri Western – 104
t6. Pittsburg State – 104
8. Lindenwood – 90
9. Nebraska-Kearney – 73
10. Missouri Southern – 63
11. Southwest Baptist – 61
12. Northeastern State – 42
13. Northwest Missouri – 31
14. Lincoln – 13
2018-19 MIAA Preseason Media Poll
1. Central Missouri (20) – 291
2. Fort Hays State (1) – 265
3. Washburn – 220
4. Emporia State – 216
5. Pittsburg State – 203
t6. Central Oklahoma – 177
t6. Lindenwood – 177
8. Missouri Western – 159
9. Nebraska Kearney – 146
10. Southwest Baptist – 113
11. Missouri Southern – 88
12. Northwest Missouri – 68
13. Northeastern State – 59
14. Lincoln – 23
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association released its preseason polls for men’s basketball on Tuesday (Oct. 9), part of MIAA Basketball Media Day held at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City. Fort Hays State was picked sixth in the media poll and seventh in the coaches poll among the 14-team MIAA teams.
The coaches tabbed the Tigers where they finished in the MIAA standings last year. The Tigers went 10-9 in conference regular season play in 2017-18, finishing alone in seventh. FHSU went on to win a pair of MIAA Tournament games as the No. 7 seed, knocking off No. 2 seed Missouri Southern in the quarterfinals before bowing out to No. 3 seed Washburn in the semifinals. The Tigers finished last year at 19-12 overall.
Missouri Southern edged Northwest Missouri State by two points for the top slot in the coaches poll (157-155), but NWMSU topped MSSU in the media poll by just one voting point (262-261). Northwest Missouri State received one more first-place vote than Missouri Southern in the coaches poll, despite getting picked second. However, Missouri Southern received 10 first-place votes in the media poll compared to six for Northwest Missouri, despite finishing second in the voting totals. Fort Hays State did receive one first place vote in the Media Poll.
Fort Hays State enters its 18th year under the guidance of head coach Mark Johnson, who enters with a career record of 341-161 (.679) at FHSU. The Tigers have earned seven trips to the NCAA Tournament on Johnson’s watch, while also claiming both an MIAA regular season and tournament title.
The Tigers have a very senior-heavy team this year with seven on the roster. Six of those seniors were on the floor for the Tigers last year, led by forward Brady Werth. He is the only returning Tiger to average double figures in scoring last year, pouring in 12.7 points per game. Hadley Gillum was the top scorer for the Tigers last year as a senior at 16.8 points per game. Marcus Cooper, Trey O’Neil, and Kyler Kinnamon enter their senior seasons in 2018-19. Cooper averaged 8.6 points per game, while O’Neil averaged 7.8 per game. Kinnamon added 5.6 points per game, while leading the team in assists at 4.2 per game. Cooper is the top returning rebounder, pulling down 4.9 per game last year.
The other seniors for the Tigers include Grant Holmes and Calvin Harrington, both seeing significant playing time off the bench last season. Freddy Bitondo is a senior transfer from Sam Houston State that looks to give the Tigers more inside presence, standing at 6’7″.
Juniors Aaron Nicholson and Payton Stephens also played a key role as reserves last year. Nicholson shot a team-best 40.7 percent beyond the 3-point line last year, while making nine starts. Jared Vitztum and Isaiah Nunnery, a pair of Hays products, return for their sophomore seasons. Vitztum started six games last year as a redshirt-freshman. Nyjee Wright looks to get on the floor for the first time after redshirting his first year out of high school.
Along with Bitondo, other new additions to this year’s team include junior transfer Devin Davis and true freshman Gilbert Peters. Davis comes to FHSU from Allen Hancock College in California, while Peters is a native of Montezuma, Kansas. Davis was an all-conference performer at his previous stop, while Peters was an all-state selection and helped South Gray High School to a state title in 2017-18.
The Tigers are exactly one month away from their season opener, set for Friday, November 9 in Marshall, Minnesota against the University of Sioux Falls. The following night, they will play Southwest Minnesota State. The first home game of the season for the Tigers will be on November 17 when they host Colorado School of Mines.
Below are the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media Polls for 2018-19.
MIAA Coaches Poll
1. Missouri Southern (6) – 157
2. Northwest Missouri (7) – 155
3. Washburn (1) – 132
4. Central Missouri – 128
5t. Central Oklahoma – 118
5t. Pittsburg State – 118
7. Fort Hays State – 104
8. Lindenwood – 87
9. Lincoln – 68
10. Nebraska Kearney – 66
11. Emporia State – 47
12. Northeastern State – 40
13. Southwest Baptist – 30
14. Missouri Western – 24
MIAA Media Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (6) – 262
2. Missouri Southern (10) – 261
3. Washburn (3) – 237
4. Central Missouri – 225
5. Pittsburg State (1) – 212
6. Fort Hays State (1) – 208
7. Central Oklahoma – 163
8. Lindenwood – 150
9. Nebraska Kearney – 123
10. Lincoln – 119
11. Emporia State – 79
12t. Missouri Western – 66
12t. Southwest Baptist – 66
14. Northeastern State – 35
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tuesday (Oct. 9) marks the unofficial start to basketball season as all 28 coaches descend upon Kansas City for MIAA Basketball Media Day presented by Seigfreid Bingham. The event, hosted at The College Basketball Experience, will be live streamed in its entirety for FREE on The MIAA Network.
For the first time since 2009, coaches from each MIAA program will take to the podium in the same place to kick off the basketball season. MIAA Commissioner Mike Racy will open the festivities at 9 a.m. before coaches from all 14 schools follow over the next five hours.
Head women’s basketball coach Tony Hobson and head men’s basketball coach Mark Johnson are scheduled to speak to the media at 12:15 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to tweet questions for coaches during their press conference by using #AskMIAA. Any person whose question is read during a press conference will receive two tickets to the MIAA Championship games Sunday, March 10.
Both teams start the regular season precisely one month after Media Day (Nov. 9), with the women opening at home against Southwest Minnesota State while the men take on Sioux Falls in Marshall, Minn.
WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State fell out of the AFCA Top 25 on Monday (Oct. 8) after a 28-24 loss at Emporia State. The 4-2 Tigers the third-highest listed team in the receiving votes section this week with 37 votes.
The Tigers were in the AFCA Top 25 for a little over a year after entering last year on September 11. They remained in the top 25 for 16 consecutive releases of the poll (includes final 2017 poll and 2018 preseason poll).
The MIAA has only two ranked teams remaining in the poll. Pittsburg State fell from No. 8 to No. 18 this week after a loss to Northwest Missouri State on Saturday. Both teams are now 5-1. Northwest Missouri moved up a little bit in the poll to No. 13 this week.
Fort Hays State currently sits in a tie for third place in the MIAA standings with Missouri Western and Nebraska-Kearney. The Tigers look to knock off one of the MIAA frontrunners this week in Hays when Pittsburg State comes to town. The game kicks off at 2 pm on Saturday (Oct. 13) at Lewis Field Stadium.
Below is the AFCA Top 25 Poll for October 8, 2018.
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Record | Pts. | Prev. | Week 6 | Next Game |
| 1. | Minnesota St. (29) | 6-0 | 819 | 1 | D. Minnesota St.-Moorhead, 42-20 | Oct. 13 vs. Minot St. (N.D.) |
| 2. | Grand Valley St. (Mich.) | 6-0 | 780 | 2 | D. Dixie St. (Utah), 35-14 | Oct. 13 vs. No. 3 Ferris St. (Mich.) |
| 3. | Ferris St. (Mich.) (4) | 6-0 | 770 | 3 | D. Michigan Tech, 42-24 | Oct. 13 at No. 2 Grand Valley St. (Mich.) |
| 4. | West Georgia | 6-0 | 708 | 5 | D. North Greenville (S.C.), 31-7 | Oct. 13 at No. 10 West Florida |
| 5. | Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) | 6-0 | 665 | 6 | D. No. 19 Harding (Ark.), 7-3 | Oct. 13 at Oklahoma Baptist |
| 6. | Minnesota-Duluth | 6-0 | 630 | 7 | D. Augustana (S.D.), 28-17 | Oct. 13 vs. Southwest Minnesota St. |
| 7. | Texas A&M-Commerce | 5-1 | 594 | 9 | D. No. 4 Midwestern St. (Texas), 20-19 | Oct. 13 vs. No. 16 Tarleton St. (Texas) |
| 8. | Valdosta St. (Ga.) | 6-0 | 584 | 10 | D. Delta St. (Miss.), 59-28 | Oct. 13 at Florida Tech |
| 9. | Colorado School of Mines | 6-0 | 525 | 12 | D. Western St. Colorado, 44-16 | Oct. 13 at Fort Lewis (Colo.) |
| 10. | West Florida | 5-1 | 496 | 11 | D. North Alabama, 24-19 | Oct. 13 vs. No. 4 West Georgia |
| 11. | West Chester (Pa.) | 6-0 | 463 | 13 | D. Bloomsburg (Pa.), 17-14 | Oct. 20 at East Stroudsburg (Pa.) |
| 12. | Midwestern St. (Texas) | 5-1 | 450 | 4 | Lost to No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce, 20-19 | Oct. 13 at Texas A&M-Kingsville |
| 13. | Northwest Missouri St. | 5-1 | 448 | 16 | D. No. 8 Pittsburg St. (Kan.), 31-7 | Oct. 13 vs. Nebraska-Kearney |
| 14. | Colorado St.-Pueblo | 5-1 | 406 | 15 | D. New Mexico Highlands, 48-3 | Oct. 13 at Colorado Mesa |
| 15. | Southern Arkansas | 6-0 | 356 | 17 | D. Southern Nazarene (Okla.), 21-16 | Oct. 13 at Southeastern Oklahoma St. |
| 16. | Tarleton St. (Texas) | 5-0 | 319 | 21 | D. Eastern New Mexico, 48-28 | Oct. 13 at No. 7 Texas A&M-Commerce |
| 17. | Notre Dame (Ohio) | 6-0 | 296 | 20 | D. Fairmont St. (W.Va.), 24-21 | Oct. 13 vs. Urbana (Ohio) |
| 18. | Pittsburg St. (Kan.) | 5-1 | 281 | 8 | Lost to No. 16 Northwest Missouri St., 31-7 | Oct. 13 at Fort Hays St. (Kan.) |
| 19. | Kutztown (Pa.) | 5-0 | 220 | 23 | D. East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 35-33 | Oct. 13 vs. Lock Haven (Pa.) |
| 20. | Indianapolis (Ind.) | 4-1 | 215 | 22 | D. Missouri S&T, 24-17 | Oct. 13 at Quincy (Ill.) |
| 21. | Central Washington | 4-2 | 111 | 25 | D. No. 24 Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 45-31 | Oct. 13 vs. Western Oregon |
| 22. | Tiffin (Ohio) | 6-0 | 93 | NR | D. Malone (Ohio), 38-21 | Oct. 13 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan |
| 23. | Indiana (Pa.) | 4-2 | 71 | 14 | Lost to Slippery Rock (Pa.), 30-27 | Oct. 13 vs. Clarion (Pa.) |
| 24. | Harding (Ark.) | 4-2 | 66 | 19 | Lost to No. 6 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 7-3 | Oct. 13 at Southwestern Oklahoma St. |
| 25. | LIU-Post (N.Y.) | 5-0 | 64 | NR | D. Shippensburg (Pa.), 41-39 | Oct. 13 vs. St. Anselm (N.H.) |
Others Receiving Votes: Ohio Dominican, 57; Davenport (Mich.), 46; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 37; Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.), 33; Morehouse (Ga.), 23; Florida Tech, 19; Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 17; Slippery Rock (Pa.), 17; West Texas A&M, 13; Hillsdale (Mich.), 11; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 7; Bemidji St. (Minn.), 5; Colorado Mesa, 5; Virginia Union, 2; Winona St. (Minn.), 2; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 1.
MARYVILLE, Mo. – Sustained rain at Mozingo Lake Golf Course forced the cancellation of the Midwest Fall Classic, scheduled to be the fourth event of the season for the women’s golf team.
The Tigers will wrap up the fall season next week in Muskogee, Okla. for the Central Super Regional Preview, hosted by Northeastern State University at Muskogee Country Club. The 36-hole event will be contested Tuesday and Wednesday, October 16-17.
HAYS, Kan. – On a rainy, cold day in Hays, the Fort Hays State women’s soccer team dampened Northwest Missouri State in a 3-0 tilt. The Tigers leave the Bearcats winless in MIAA play at 0-4, while FHSU improves their conference record to 3-2 alongside a 5-5-2 overall mark. Fort Hays State increases their win-streak to three contests, all accounting for MIAA victories.
After neither team was able to get on the board in the first half, the Tigers and Bearcats headed to the locker room locked at 0-0. However, Fort Hays State was set on ensuring the victory as they went off in the second half, accounting on three goals.
Darby Hirsch netted her third goal of the season in the 51st minute off a reversed cross pass from Zariah Smith to put the Tigers up 1-0. This would remain the score for over 20 minutes before freshman Macy Decker took the game into her own hands. Decker would not only earn her first goal of her Tiger career, but added one more for good measure. In the 73rd minute, Decker captured a pass from Olympia Katsouridis to put Fort Hays State up 2-0. Just 10 minutes later, Decker connected with Smith as she earned her second assist of the match while Decker captured her second goal in the contest. This would prove to be the final goal of the contest, but would give the Tigers a 3-0 shutout win over Northwest Missouri State.
The Bearcats had the slight advantage in shots in the game, edging the Tigers 10-9. Gloria Hanrahan for Northwest Missouri State and Chloe Montano for Fort Hays State led all players with three shot attempts each.
Megan Kneefel adds another win to her goalkeeping record as she improves to 5-4-2 on the season. In the match, Kneefel added four saves to up her season total to 47. Alexis Serna-Castillo took the loss for the Bearcats and drops to 1-7 on the season while adding one save to her number for the year.
The Tigers are back on the road this coming weekend as they face No. 17 Central Missouri in Warrensburg on Friday (Oct. 12). They continue their Missouri visit with a Sunday (Oct. 14) matchup at Lindenwood.
HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State men’s soccer team staved off a second half comeback effort from Lindenwood, defeating the Lions 2-1 on a frigid and rain-soaked afternoon in Hays on Sunday (Oct. 7). The Tigers improved to 9-2-1 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA, while the Lions dipped to 5-4-2 on the season and 1-2-1 in conference play.
The Tigers collected their sixth-consecutive victory on the heels of Santiago Agudelo and Rogelio Lopez. Agudelo connected on the first score for the Tigers at the 4:34 mark in the first half. Agudelo recorded his team-leading 14th goal of the season with an assist from Moritz Walther.
Lindenwood outshot FHSU in the first half eight to four. The Tigers held their 1-0 edge heading into the break.
In the 56th minute, Rogelio Lopez took a centering pass from Santiago Agudelo and recorded his fourth score of the season, as Agudelo picked up his fifth assist on the year. The Lions made things interesting as they cut the Tiger lead in half with a goal in the 72nd minute after a rebound from a blocked shot by FHSU, beating Fernando Pina into the back of the net.
The aggressive nature between the two squads was apparent as they combined for 35 fouls and five yellow cards in the match. Lindenwood held the advantage in shots as they struck the ball towards the net 13 times, including six on goal. Fort Hays State took 12 shots, with five of those on frame.
Fernando Pina earned the victory in goal for FHSU, improving his overall record to 4-0-1 in the process. Pina allowed just his fifth goal of the season. Santiago Agudelo led the Tiger offense with three total points (one goal and one assist) and eight shots in the match, three of which were on frame.
The Tigers are back in action next weekend as they continue their MIAA home stand by welcoming the Southwest Baptist Bearcats to town on Friday (Oct. 12) before hosting 17th-ranked Northeastern State on Sunday (Oct. 14). Kickoff against the Bearcats is slated for 7 p.m. while the contest against the RiverHawks is set to commence at 1 p.m.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Turns out the Kansas City Chiefs can play a little defense, too.
The Chiefs’ beleaguered bunch forced Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles into five turnovers, including a pick-6 by defensive tackle Chris Jones, and Kansas City merely had to supplement with the NFL’s highest-scoring offense in a 30-14 romp over the Jaguars on Sunday.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 313 yards and ran for a touchdown, though he also threw his first two picks of the season, and Kareem Hunt added 87 yards and a touchdown on the ground as the Chiefs (5-0) marched all over the league’s top-ranked defense at soggy Arrowhead Stadium.
Tyreek Hill, who was frequently matched up with the Jaguars’ Jalen Ramsey in an entertaining one-on-one affair, had four catches for 61 yards in a game that grew testy on both sides.
Jones was ejected in the second half after he dropped an elbow on a Jaguars lineman while both were on the ground following a point-after attempt. Pass rusher Dee Ford joined him in the locker room later in the half when he was whistled for his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Hunt was flagged for head-butting linebacker Telvin Smith Jr. earlier in the game.
Nobody had a worse day than Bortles, though. He was 33 of 61 for 430 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions , and also ran for a TD – though most of his yardage came in garbage time. Bortles also was strip-sacked in the first half as early rains soaked the field.
By that point, the Chiefs were on their way to a 20-0 halftime lead.
Mahomes led them 73 yards on their first possession, finishing the drive himself with a short scramble for a touchdown. Then he led the league’s high-powered offense 82 yards for a field goal a few minutes later, leaving Jacksonville’s vaunted D second-guessing itself.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars’ offense was having all kinds of problems.
Jacksonville (3-2) drove inside the Kansas City 5 early in the second quarter, but an incomplete fade on third down and another incompletion on fourth turned the ball over. Bortles was strip-sacked on the first play of their next possession, and he threw the pick-6 to Jones on the first play of the next.
Jacksonville’s calamitous half ended when Bortles, trying to force a pass into the end zone, instead bounced it off his offensive lineman’s helmet and right to Steven Nelson for another interception.
In Bortles’ defense, his offensive line didn’t give him a whole lot of time. He was sacked five times and the Chiefs had another 11 hurries, spending most of the game right in his face.
Bortles’ only real highlight came late in the game, when he escaped the collapsing pocket and angled toward the sideline, then lowered his shoulder to finish off a 21-yard touchdown run .
The Jaguars recovered the onside kick, only for the Chiefs to force another turnover on downs.
STATS AND STREAKS
The Chiefs’ first TD was the first allowed by Jacksonville on a team’s opening possession. … The Jaguars have not started 2-0 on the road since the 2007 season. … Jaguars RB T.J. Yeldon had 53 yards rushing. … Chiefs TE Travis Kelce had five catches for 100 yards. WR Sammy Watkins had six for 78.
INJURIES
Jaguars: RB Corey Grant (foot) and LT Josh Wells (groin) left in the first half and Tashaun Gipson (hamstring) – who picked off Mahomes – left early in the second. Ramsey left on the opening series after taking a knee to the helmet, but returned to play the rest of the game.
Chiefs: OLBs Justin Houston (hamstring) and Tanoh Kpassagnon (ankle) and FSs Armani Watts (groin) and Eric Murray (lower leg) left the game in the first half. RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif left in the final minutes with a left ankle injury.
UP NEXT
Jaguars: Visit the Cowboys next Sunday.
Chiefs: Head to New England for a Sunday night showdown.
FHSU
Former Newman University head basketball coach and motivational speaker Mark Potter will speak about living with mental illness in a free public presentation Monday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m., in the Fort Hays State University Beach Schmidt Performing Arts Center, Sheridan Hall.
Twelve years ago, Potter knew something wasn’t right and he began a downward spiral into a world of darkness.
Potter missed eight games and 25 practices due to severe depression.
Since that time, he has been on a crusade to educate people about depression and encourage others suffering from mental illness to seek assistance. His passion is to share his story in hopes that people will pursue treatment and find a way to live productively with mental illness.
If you have any questions, please email Amee Stapleton, assistant athletic trainer at [email protected].
