EDMOND, Okla. – In their second road match of the weekend in Oklahoma, the Tigers fell to Central Oklahoma 4-1 as the Bronchos pushed past the Tigers in an offensive-forward match. With the loss, the Tigers are now on a two-match losing skid and now drop to 8-5-3 overall with a 5-3-1 mark in MIAA play. The Bronchos are now 7-7-2 overall with a conference record of 4-3-2.

Central Oklahoma was the first to get on the board as Katie Killion broke away from the crowd to slip the ball past the Tiger goalkeeper for her first goal of the season. Later on in the first half, the Tigers could not contain Morgan Cherry as she captured her fifth goal of the season ten yards outside the box. Fort Hays State headed into the locker room trailing 2-0 to Central Oklahoma.

Twelve minutes into the second half, Asha Haile found an assist from Kelsie Eason for her eighth goal of the season and to put Central Oklahoma up 3-0 over the Tigers. The final goal of the afternoon from Central Oklahoma came after Eason hit a loose ball 20 yards out to put up the Bronchos 4-0 with just over 20 minutes left in the match.

The Tigers would not be shutout, however, as freshman Olympia Katsouridis netted her first career goal for Fort Hays State after an assist from Kylie Thomas. Katsouridis headed the ball off the cross to earn the Tigers’ only goal of the match.

In the contest, the Bronchos out-shot the Tigers 17-7 and 12-4 on target.

The Tigers are back home this Friday (Oct. 27) as they host Nebraska-Kearney for their final regular-season MIAA home match. Sunday will be the final regular-season match for Fort Hays State as they travel to Washurn.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Fort Hays State held the MIAA’s top rushing team to 72 yards as they beat Missouri Western 38-10 Saturday afternoon at Spratt Memorial Stadium for their first 8-0 start in program history.

The Tigers recovered mishandled snap on  a punt then Monterio Burchfield hauled in a 67-yard touchdown pass to put FHSU up 14-0 early in the game.

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Game Highlights

Leading 14-10, the Tigers drove 72 yards in six plays and scored on a four-yard Kenneth Iheme run to go up 21-10 at the half. They scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the third quarter to put the game away.

.Kenneth Iheme rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Monterio Burchfield hauled in five catches for 184 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Mezera completed 14 of 22 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown.

The Tigers defense was stellar again, holding the Griffons to 188 total yards with four sacks.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Fort Hays State women’s cross country team finished second at the 2017 MIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday (Oct. 21), its best finish since joining the conference in 2006. Three individuals earned All-MIAA honors for the Tigers, including a pair of first team honorees. Central Missouri hosted the six-kilometer race at the Mules National Golf Course on a warm, breezy morning. A total of 104 runners competed in the event.

The Tigers earned 91 points to finish runner-up, three points in front of third place Southwest Baptist. Pittsburg State won the conference title after finishing with 31 points, the lowest team score in the event since Missouri Southern in 2009 (18 points).

Lindsay Roberts led the Tigers to the line, placing fifth with a time of 22:42.04, less than 22 seconds behind individual champion Piper Misse (PSU). Lauren Roberts climbed nine spots over the final three kilometers, finishing eighth with a time of 23:02.35 after sitting in 17th at the 3K split. Both Roberts sisters earned first team All-MIAA honors for their performance.

Chelsea Jackson picked up honorable mention All-MIAA accolades for the fourth time in her career, traversing the course in 23:18.07 to finish 15th. Yessenia Gonzales narrowly missed earning a spot on the All-Conference team, finishing 24th with a time of 23:51.28. Lisa Penner rounded out the scoring for the Tigers, crossing the line in 24:36.10 to place 43rd.

The Tigers will look to carry this momentum with them when they travel to Kearney, Neb. for the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships on November 4, in an attempt to qualify for the National Championships for the second year in a row. The women’s six-kilometer race is set to begin at 11 a.m.

Fort Hays State, ranked No. 8 in the latest AFCA Division II Poll, focuses on another challenging road game Saturday at Missouri Western. The Tigers and Griffons are slated to kickoff at 1 pm at Spratt Stadium. The Tigers enter at 7-0, while the Griffons are 4-3.

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Fort Hays State has a chance to set a new school record for best start to a season. With a 37-20 win last week against Washburn, the Tigers matched the 7-0 record of the 1917 team. But that was the entire season for the 1917 team, so this Tiger team has a chance to push the school’s best-start mark higher. To do so, the Tigers will need to put a six-game losing streak to the Griffons in St. Joseph to bed. FHSU snapped an 11-game losing streak overall to MWSU last year with a 35-27 win in Hays.

To snap the drought in St. Joseph, the Tigers will have to be sharp with ball security Saturday as they face a Griffon team that ranks second nationally in turnover margin (+14) and turnovers gained (22).

Fort Hays State ranks second in the MIAA in scoring defense, allowing 16.6 points per game. That mark ranks 14th nationally. The Tigers have held teams to 20 or less five out of seven games this year. FHSU is also second in the MIAA in total defense, allowing 312.9 yards per game to rank 33rd nationally. Fort Hays State’s run defense has been solid, allowing 85.4 yards per game on the ground. Six of the seven opponents this year have been held to 89 or less yards rushing.

The rushing defense will be put to the test once again as Missouri Western leads the MIAA in rushing at 246.7 yards per game. The Griffons have the conference’s top rusher in Josh Caldwell, averaging 112 rushing yards per game, but Kenneth Iheme is hot on his heels at 109.9 rushing yards per game after eclipsing the 100-yard rushing mark in each of the last three games. The stretch includes a career-high 189-yard rushing performance against Pittsburg State. He has 769 rushing yards for the season. Charles Tigner provides a strong second option with 407 rushing yards. He rushed for a career-high 171 yards against Washburn last week.

Balancing the rushing is a strong passing attack led by Jacob Mezera. His top three targets, Tyler Bacon, Monterio Burchfield, and Layne Bieberle, have combined for 87 receptions and 1,203 of the team’s 1,919 receiving yards. Mezera is completing 67.3 percent of his passes and has 15 touchdowns. Last week, Mezera became the sixth Tiger quarterback to reach the 4,000-yard passing mark in a career.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jose Delgado leads the Tigers in tackles with 60, averaging 10 per game. He also leads the team in sacks with 3.5. Doyin Jibowu leads FHSU in interceptions with three, while Kamon Clayton has a team-best 10 pass break-ups.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State Men’s Basketball was selected seventh in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, released on Friday (Oct. 20). FHSU is coming off a tie for fourth place in the MIAA last year, a season that saw the Tigers go 18-11 overall.

Fort Hays State’s lone All-MIAA selection returning this year is Hadley Gillum, who averaged 13.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last year as a junior. The native of Plainville, Kansas is the only senior on this year’s team. Even with the youth of the team, three of five starters from last year return. That group includes Gillum, Trey O’Neil, and Kyler Kinnamon. O’Neil buried 46 3-point field goals, while Kinnamon led the team in assists at 3.3 per game.

The Tigers lost two of three All-MIAA performers from last year, seeing the exit of seniors Rob Davis and JaQuan Smith. One of the best scorers of the ball in school history, Davis earned All-MIAA First Team and All-America honors, averaging 21.4 points per game. Smith averaged 7.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in the post and was a member of the MIAA All-Defensive Team.

The top scorer off the bench last year, Brady Werth, returns in the post after averaging 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Aaron Nicholson and Grant Holmes played in a reserve role last year, each averaging more than 10 minutes per game on the floor.

The Tigers added four new players this year, including three transfers and a true freshman. Junior college transfers include Marcus Cooper, KeShawn Wilson, and Calvin Harrington, while Nyjee Wright is the only true freshman. They join redshirt freshmen Jared Vitztum and Isaiah Nunnery, both local products, as players looking to make an impact in their first year on the floor at FHSU.

Mark Johnson enters his 17th year guiding the Tigers. He has an overall record of 322-149, the all-time wins leader at FHSU. Johnson has led the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournament appearances.

Fort Hays State has a pair of exhibitions against NCAA Division I opponents Kansas State and Kansas before starting the regular season on November 10. The exhibition at Kansas State is on Sunday, October 29, and the exhibition at Kansas is on Tuesday, November 7.

Defending national champion Northwest Missouri State is picked as the favorite once again. The Bearcats have won four consecutive MIAA Regular Season titles.

Below is the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll for 2017-18.

2017-18 MIAA Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (13) 169 points
2. Central Missouri 145 points
3. Washburn (1) 144 points
4. Nebraska Kearney 124 points
5. Central Oklahoma 115 points
6. Missouri Southern 112 points
7. Fort Hays State 100 points
8. Pittsburg State 87 points
9. Lindenwood 86 points
10. Emporia State 48 points
11. Lincoln 45 points
12. Northeastern State 41 points
13. Southwest Baptist 40 points
14. Missouri Western 18 points