WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State moved up to No. 5 in the latest AFCA Division II Top 25 Poll, released on Monday (Nov. 6). This marks the highest national ranking ever for Tiger Football in an official NCAA Division II poll, passing the No. 6 mark held last week and during the 1996 season. FHSU is coming off a thrilling win over two-time defending national champion Northwest Missouri State this past week to win the MIAA Championship.

The Tigers are one of ten teams in the Top 25 that remain among the ranks of the unbeaten. The top eight teams in the nation are all still undefeated. FHSU has defeated a pair of top 15 teams this season, defeating Central Missouri when it was No. 13 in Week 2, and last week defeating a No. 8 ranked Northwest Missouri State team. The Bearcats dropped down to No. 18 in the rankings this week.

Fort Hays State did receive four of the 34 first place votes submitted this week. Minnesota State remains No. 1 after receiving 21 first-place votes, while Shepherd (W.Va.) is No. 2 with seven first-place votes. Indiana (Pa.) checks in at No. 3 with two first-place votes, and Midwestern State (Texas) had just seven more voting points overall than FHSU to hold the No. 4 spot in the poll.

Five of the top seven teams in the Super Region 3 rankings are inside the top 20 of the AFCA Poll, led by FHSU at No. 5. Indianapolis is No. 6, Ashland (Ohio) is No. 10, Ferris State (Mich.) is No. 11, and Northwest Missouri State is No. 18. Ouachita Baptist, Grand Valley State, and Arkansas Tech are all receiving votes.

Below is the AFCA Division II Top 25 for Monday, November 6, 2017.

Rank School (1st votes) Record Points Previous
1. Minnesota State (21) 10-0 829 1
2. Shepherd (W.Va.) (7) 9-0 799 2
3. Indiana (Pa.) (2) 10-0 761 3
4. Midwestern State (Texas) 8-0 702 4
5. Fort Hays State (Kan.) (4) 10-0 695 6
6. Indianapolis (Ind.) 10-0 688 5
7. Central Washington 10-0 664 7
8t. Assumption (Mass.) 9-0 573 10
8t. Texas A&M-Commerce 8-1 573 9
10. Ashland (Ohio) 9-1 555 11
11. Ferris State (Mich.) 8-1 487 12
12. Wingate (N.C.) 9-0 453 14
13. Sioux Falls (S.D.) 9-1 452 13
14. Colorado Mesa 9-1 416 15
15. Virginia State 9-0 369 16
16. Humboldt State (Calif.) 8-1 312 17
17. Winona State (Minn.) 9-1 298 18
18. Northwest Missouri State 8-2 256 8
19. Bowie State (Md.) 9-1 251 20
20. Eastern New Mexico 8-1 219 21
21. Findlay (Ohio) 9-1 190 22
22. West Alabama 8-2 155 23
23. Colorado State-Pueblo 8-2 107 24
24. West Georgia 8-2 91 25
25. Shippensburg (Pa.) 9-1 83 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Minnesota-Duluth, 18; Slippery Rock (Pa.), 12; Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 10; Grand Valley St. (Mich.), 9; Arkansas Tech, 7; California (Pa.), 5; Catawba (N.C.), 5; Notre Dame (Ohio), 4; Delta St. (Miss.), 1; LIU-Post (N.Y.), 1.

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State Men’s Soccer already claimed at least a share of the MIAA Championship last Sunday (Oct. 29) with a 1-0 win over Lindenwood in Hays. That gave the Tigers a 7-1 mark in conference play for the season. Fort Hays State had to wait until Sunday (Nov. 5) to find out if it would share the title with Northeastern State or take it outright pending on the outcome of Northeastern State’s game at Lindenwood.

The Tigers will not have to share the title as Northeastern State fell to Lindenwood on Sunday evening, 1-0, in overtime. The RiverHawks finished MIAA play at 6-2 with the result.

The Tigers will find out their fate for the NCAA Tournament on Monday evening (Nov. 6) during the NCAA Men’s Soccer Selection Show at 5:30 pm on NCAA.com. The Tigers are seeking their sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and are in strong position after holding steady in the region rankings at No. 2 for three straight weeks. Northeastern State was No. 1 in all three releases of the rankings. The top two teams from the Central Region are selected to play in the NCAA Tournament. Fort Hays State has won the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament three consecutive years.

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Harley Hazlett hauled in a 66-yard touchdown pass to give Fort Hays State a 10-point lead. He then picked off a pass on the final play if the game to seal a 13-12 win over Northwest Missouri State for their MIAA title.

Chris Brown Postgame Interview

Harley Hazlett Postgame Interview

Connor Shedeed Postgame Interview

Game Highights

The Bearcats answered the Tigers touchdown with a 14 play, 75 yard drive capped by a 21-yard touchdown pass from Jonathan Baker to Quincy Woods.

The Tigers went three and out on the next possession but Connor Shedeed intercepted a pass to give the ball back at their own six.

Following a safety which pulled the Bearcats to one, Northwest had one final shot. Aquil Knowles was called for targeting following a pass completion to Jordan Bishop. The Bearcats Jarred Bishop was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for coming off the bench following the play.

Harley Hazlett then intercepted Jonathan Baker’s pass on the final play of the game.

The Tigers gained only 251 yards of offense in the defensive battle. Northwest gained 318.

Fort Hays State aims for its first MIAA title in football on Saturday in Maryville, Missouri, in a matchup of Top 10 nationally ranked teams. The No. 6 ranked Tigers face No. 8 ranked Northwest Missouri State at Bearcat Stadium, beginning at 1:30 pm. FHSU enters at 9-0, looking to win the MIAA title outright, while NWMSU enters at 8-1 and looks to pull back into a tie for first with FHSU.

Listen to the game on Tiger Radio Mix-103 beginning at 12:30 pm with the Auto World Pregame Show. Listen Live

This game has plenty of storylines surrounding it and the biggest for FHSU is a chance to win the MIAA and hold on to the No. 1 ranking in Super Region 3. The Tigers vaulted to the No. 1 spot in the second release of the rankings thanks to a Northwest Missouri State loss at Pittsburg State last week. FHSU and Indianapolis are the only two teams in the Super Region that remain undefeated. The Tigers are playing for a potential bye in the opening round of the NCAA Playoffs and the right to host a home game.

Northwest Missouri State just had its 38-game win streak that dated back to the start of the 2015 season snapped last week at Pittsburg State in a 20-10 loss. NWMSU has not lost at home since 2014, which also happened to be to Pittsburg State on October 18 of that year. The Bearcats have won 23 straight at their home venue.

Fort Hays State looks to be the first team other than Northwest Missouri State to win the MIAA title outright since 2012. Missouri Western went 9-1 to win the title outright that season. Back then, Truman, Southwest Baptist, and Lincoln were still members of the conference in football. The Bearcats have won the MIAA crown five straight years, sharing it only once in 2014, when that aforementioned home loss to Pittsburg State led to a tie between those teams for the conference title at 10-1.

Now in its 12th year of membership with the MIAA, FHSU is on the brink of winning its first title in one of the most elite football conferences at the NCAA Division II level. It has been a long time coming for FHSU winning a conference title in football overall, 22 years in fact. The 1995 squad, members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at the time, was the last to do so, going 6-0-1 in conference play. This Tiger team, though, has to endure the grind of the MIAA schedule with the entire season comprised of conference games. This team may have to go a perfect 11-0 to attain the title outright, playing four more conference games than any previous FHSU conference championship team ever had to play to win a title. FHSU has seen 10 conference championship teams in its history and the 1993 and 1995 teams had to play the most conference games of any of those 10, both playing just seven.

This game will feature two of the top defenses in the country. The Bearcat defense is the nation’s best in terms of scoring defense and total defense. The Bearcats allow only 8.7 points per game and just 205.2 yards of total offense per game. NWMSU has shutout four teams this year, including three on its home field. Central Oklahoma is the only visiting team that has put points on the board this year in Maryville with 10, a game that NWMSU won 17-10.

The Tiger defense has been solid all year long, allowing just 14.8 points and 289 yards of total offense per game. FHSU ranks 11th nationally in scoring defense and 18th in total defense. They are second in the MIAA behind NWMSU in both categories.

The Tigers have had the more high-powered offense between the teams this year, producing 475.7 yards of total offense and 34.8 points per game. Northwest Missouri State is averaging 408.9 yards per game, but just 26.9 points per game. Three of Northwest Missouri State’s wins this year have been by seven or less points. The Bearcats did not score more than 24 points against any of the teams currently with a winning record in the MIAA. FHSU has put at least 31 points on the board against every team this year except for Pittsburg State, winning that game 21-17.

With both defenses very sound this season, mistakes could become the key to victory on Saturday. Both teams are +4 in turnover margin this season. NWMSU has gained 14 turnovers, while giving the ball away 10 times. FHSU has gained 16 turnovers, while giving the ball away 12 times. However, up until last week, NWMSU was +9 in the turnover department. The Bearcats threw four of their five interceptions for the season last week and turned the ball over an uncharacteristic six times at Pittsburg State.

Jacob Mezera is the signal caller for the Tiger offense. He is nearing the 5,000-yard passing mark for his career, now with 4,823 yards. He averages 252.2 yards passing per game. His top target has been Monterio Burchfield, who has 39 receptions for 823 yards this season. FHSU has four players with 300 or more receiving yards, so Mezera spreads the ball around nicely each game. Balancing the offensive attack on the ground is Kenneth Iheme, the MIAA’s top rusher at 114.3 yards per game. He is the first MIAA running back to break the 1,000-yard barrier this season, now with 1,029 yards. Complementing him in the backfield is Charles Tigner, who averages 73 yards rushing per game. The FHSU offense has produced 200 or more rushing yards in each of the last four weeks and five times this season overall.

Jose Delgado leads the Tiger defense with 76 tackles for the season. Nathan Shepherd leads the Tigers in sacks with four, often drawing double or triple team coverage from opposing offensive lines. In the secondary, Doyin Jibowu has four interceptions, while Kamon Clayton has a team-best 12 pass break-ups. As a team, FHSU has 20 sacks, seven interceptions, and 40 pass break-ups this season.

After 110 minutes and 14 shootout rounds, the FHSU women’s soccer team downed the Missouri Southern Lions to advance to their second-consecutive MIAA semifinal using PKs. The Tigers claimed an 11-10 shootout score to move on in the conference tournament and earned a chance to play No. 1 and undefeated Central Missouri on Friday in the conference semifinals. With the 0-0 tie, the Tigers now move to 10-5-4 overall, while the Lions end their season at 5-9-4.

The first half saw neither team gain an advantage as the Tigers and Lions held each other scoreless. The Tigers had the slight upper-hand in shots in the first 45 minutes as they outshot the Lions 5-4. The second half was much the same as regulation ended with the Tigers holding Missouri Southern to just three shots compared to their eight.

Throughout the two overtime periods, only four shots were taken, all from the feet of FHSU members. In total, the Tigers outshot the Lions 19-8 throughout the entirety of the match. The shot advantage would not be enough for a win as the match moved to PKs as a winner needed to be decided to advance in the MIAA tournament.

After 14 shootout rounds, giving both programs chances to out-shoot the other, the Tigers clawed their way to an 11-10 PK victory alongside their 0-0 tie. Missouri Southern seemed to have the momentum as they started out the PK sessions 2-1 over the Tigers. However, two-consecutive misses for the Lions allowed the Tigers to get on top 3-2. After both teams broke the 4-5 tie, they stayed even with each other matching made attempts. Kylie Thomas went to the line for the Tigers with the points tied at 10 a piece in the 14^th attempt. Thomas soared the ball left of Galindo to conclude the shootout and punch the Tigers’ ticket to the conference semifinals.

Jasmine Beaulieu led all players with a game-high six shots, followed by Darby Hirsch and Eden Stoddard with four attempts each. Glory Amalaha led the Lions with a team-high three shot attempts in the match. Luz Galindo for Missouri Southern and Kristen Thompson for Fort Hays State both took added a tie in their goalkeeping records for the season. Galindo added six saves to her name while ending her season with a 4-3-2 record and 55 saves. Thompson collected three saves and now owns a 6-3-2 record during her senior campaign along with 46 saves on the year.

Up next, the Tigers travel to Warrensburg, Mo., for a meeting with the No. 1 team in the land; Central Missouri. The Jennies have out-scored their opponents 69-2 on the year and boast a perfect 19-0 record. Previously this season, Fort Hays State fell to Central Missouri 2-0 in Hays. That matchup’s time has yet to be announced by the MIAA, but check back on FHSUAthletics.com for details of the match.

Hartford, Conn. – The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team opened the season Wednesday (Nov. 1) with an exhibition game against UCONN in Hartford Connecticut. The Huskies opened the game on a 13-3 run on their way to an 82-37 win.

Coach Tony Hobson post-game interview

Kacey Kennett post-game interview

Game highlights

After trailing 44-14 late in the second quarter the Tigers closed the first half and began the third quarter on a 10-6 run to cut the score to 50-24. But the Huskies answered with a 14-3 run and cruised to the victory.

Kacey Kennett was the only Tiger in double figures with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting including 4-of-10 from three. Tatyana Legette pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

UConn had four players score in double figures led by Kia Nurse who scored a game-high 19 points.

Fort Hays State plays its final exhibition game Monday at Kansas State.