Fort Hays State Weekly Football Press Conference
October 10, 2017
Fort Hays State head coach Chris Brown conducted his weekly press conference in advance of the Tigers home game with Washburn Saturday afternoon at Lewis Field.
Brown and select players met with the media inside Lewis Field on Tuesday, a session that can be heard by clicking on the links below.
Head coach Chris Brown
Senior cornerback Kamon Clayton
Sophomore tight end Matt Wendelberger
Senior running back Kenneth Iheme
Fort Hays State moved up two spots in the latest D2Football.com Poll released on Tuesday (Oct. 10). The Tigers are No. 10 in the latest edition of the weekly supplemental poll.
The Tigers are currently two notches higher in the AFCA Division II Poll at No. 8, which serves as the official top 25 poll of Division II football. Up until the last two polls, the Tigers had a higher ranking in the D2Football.com Poll in each of the previous three weeks. FHSU has been in the top 25 of both polls now for five straight weeks.
Fort Hays State is one of four MIAA schools currently in the D2Football.com Poll. Northwest Missouri State continues its reign at No. 1, while Washburn is No. 22 and Central Missouri is No. 24.
Below is the D2Football.com Poll for Tuesday, October 10.
Team Record Previous
1 Northwest Missouri State 6-0 1
2 Indiana (Pa.) 6-0 3
3 Minnesota State 6-0 5
4 Grand Valley 5-1 7
5 Ashland 5-1 8
6 Shepherd 5-0 6
7 CSU-Pueblo 5-1 9
8 Midwestern State 4-0 11
9 Ferris State 4-1 10
10 Fort Hays State 6-0 12
11 Texas A&M-Commerce 4-1 2
12 Indianapolis 6-0 13
13 Slippery Rock 6-0 15
14 Winona State 6-0 17
15 West Alabama 5-1 21
16 Central Washington 6-0 18
17 West Georgia 5-1 23
18 Sioux Falls 5-1 4
19 Bowie State 6-0 19
20 Delta State 5-1 14
21 Assumption 5-0 22
22 Washburn 5-1 25
23 Southeastern Oklahoma 6-0 NR
24 Central Missouri 4-2 NR
25 Wingate 5-0 NR
Karee Dinkel was regional champ after shooting an 84 and winning by five strokes. Emily McGuire was sixth and Sophia Garrison ninth.
The 4A State Tournament is Monday October 16th at Lake Shawnee in Topeka.
Team Finish
1. Andale, 400
2. Hays, 401
3. Buhler, 460
4. Holcomb, 503
4. Larned, 512
5. Pratt, 512
6. Hugoton, 562
7 Wellington, 610
TOP 10 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Karee Dinkel, Hays, 84
2. Morgan Brasser, Andale, 89
3. Haley Miller, Buhler, 91
4. Jacy Anderson, Andale, 94
5. Emily McGuire, Hays, 97
6. Megan Burrows, Holcomb, 99
7. Madison Peters, Ulysses, 101
8. Aubrey Meyers, Pratt, 102
9. Sophia Garrison, Hays, 108
10. Jaela Albers, Andale, 108
CHENEY, Kan. – The TMP-Marian girls’ golf team qualified for the 3-2-1A State Tournament for the fourth consecutive year by placing third with a score of 409 at the Cheney Regional held at the Cherry Oaks Golf Course. The Monarchs were just five strokes behind champion Hoisington who shot a 404. Cheney took second with a 405.
Individually, Shannen Chin won her second consecutive regional title with a score of 77. Other TMP scores were Jenna Romme 106, Avin Inlow 111, Haleigh Spray 115, Abby Heimerman 117 and Katy Walters 121.
TMP-Marian will host the 3-2-1A State Girls Golf Tournament at the Smoky Hill Country Club on Monday October 16.
TEAM RESULTS
1. Hoisington 404
2. Cheney 405
3. TMP-Marian 409
4. Garden Plain 416
5. Kingman 420
6. Medicine Lodge 520
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (all state qualifiers)
1. Shannen Chin, TMP, 77
2. Camryn Watkins, Kingman, 89
3. Rylie Walker, Medicine Lodge, 94
4. Jacqueline Strunk, Garden Plain, 95
5. Trinity Dolezal, Hoisington, 95
6. Maleigha Schmidt, Hoisington, 97
7. Addison Cokely, Cheney, 97
8. Morgan Ayers, Cheney, 99
9. Emory Ast, Cheney, 101
10. Hope Seiwert, Garden Plain, 102
Another state qualifier was Isabelle Fontes, Garden Plain, 107
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State senior running back Kenneth Iheme earned MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week honors on Monday (Oct. 9) for his efforts in the 21-17 win over Pittsburg State this past Saturday.
Iheme rushed for a career-high 189 yards on 28 carries against Pittsburg State. Iheme’s biggest rush of the night shifted the momentum to FHSU after falling down 17-0. Right after a fumble forced by the Tiger defense, Iheme ran 47 yards to the endzone to cut the deficit to 10. Later in the second quarter, Iheme had a 27 yard run to get the ball from the FHSU 3 to the 30, tripped up by the last man to beat. However, it led to a 70-yard touchdown pass on the next play, cutting the PSU lead to three. In the fourth quarter, Iheme sparked the Tigers again with a 38-yard run to get the ball in Gorilla territory. Later on the drive, he scored a two-yard touchdown, which proved to be the game-winning score with 11:34 remaining.
Iheme joins Jacob Mezera (Week 1 Offensive Athlete of the Week), Brandon Brown (Weeks 1 and 4 Special Teams Athlete of the Week), Nathan Shepherd (Week 2 Defensive Athlete of the Week), Monterio Burchfield (Week 3 Offensive Athlete of the Week), and Jose Delgado (Week 5 Defensive Athlete of the Week) as Tigers to earn weekly MIAA honors this season. The Tigers have had a player earn a weekly MIAA honor each week this season.
The other MIAA Football Athlete of the Week honors went to Cody Lindsay of Missouri Western (Defensive Athlete of the Week) and Tyler Basch of Missouri Western (Special Teams Athlete of the Week).
Click below to listen to Tiger Talk with “Voice of the Tigers” Gerard Wellbrock and Fort Hays State head football coach Chris Brown.
Tiger Talk airs on Monday evening at 6 p.m. on Tiger Radio Mix-103.
WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State continued its ascent in the latest AFCA Division II Poll, released on Monday (Oct. 9). The Tigers moved up three more spots, now in the top 10 at No. 8. Fort Hays State is out to a 6-0 start on the season after pulling out a thrilling 21-17 win over Pittsburg State on Homecoming this past weekend in Hays.
The Tigers are now approaching their highest ranking ever in an official NCAA Division II Poll. The highest mark was a No. 6 ranking in the September 16th poll of 1996, organized by the NCAA Football Committee at that time. The AFCA Poll did not take over as the official poll until 2000. This is the highest ranking for the Tigers since holding the No. 8 ranking in the preseason poll of the 1996 season.
Continuing their rise in the poll will not be easy for the Tigers with a 5-1 Washburn team coming to Hays this weekend. The Ichabods remain among the top receiving vote teams in the poll. Northwest Missouri State continued its reign at No. 1 with a 36th consecutive victory. The two-time defending national champs defeated Central Oklahoma 17-10 this past Saturday. Both FHSU and Northwest Missouri are 6-0, with Washburn one game back in third place in the MIAA standings. Central Missouri is also receiving votes in the poll, with its two losses to Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri.
Below is the AFCA Poll for October 9.
Rank School (1st votes) Rec. Pts. Prev.
1. Northwest Missouri St. (34) 6-0 850 1
2. Shepherd (W.Va.) 5-0 797 3
3. Indiana (Pa.) 6-0 780 4
4. Minnesota St. 6-0 750 5
5. Indianapolis (Ind.) 6-0 688 7
6. Midwestern St. (Texas) 4-0 682 10
7. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) 5-1 615 8
8. Fort Hays St. (Kan.) 6-0 600 11
9. Slippery Rock (Pa.) 6-0 516 12
10. Central Washington 6-0 507 13
11. Texas A&M-Commerce 4-1 483 2
12. Colorado St.-Pueblo 5-1 417 14
13. Winona St. (Minn.) 6-0 367 22
14. Bowie St. (Md.) 6-0 358 19
15. Ferris St. (Mich.) 4-1 356 15
16. Ashland (Ohio) 5-1 319 18
17. Assumption (Mass.) 5-0 306 20
18. Sioux Falls (S.D.) 5-1 287 6
19. Southeastern Oklahoma St. 6-0 223 23
20. Colorado Mesa 5-1 216 21
21. Delta St. (Miss.) 5-1 206 9
22. West Georgia 5-1 175 25
23. West Alabama 5-1 172 NR
24. Wingate (N.C.) 5-0 88 NR
25. Humboldt St. (Calif.) 4-1 82 17
Others Receiving Votes: California (Pa.), 43; Virginia St., 39; Washburn (Kan.), 35; Central Missouri, 22; West Chester (Pa.), 22; Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 18; Eastern New Mexico, 17; Catawba (N.C.), 10; Notre Dame (Ohio), 3; Arkansas Tech, 1.
HOUSTON (AP) – Alex Smith threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns to help the Kansas City Chiefs remain undefeated with a 42-34 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday night in a game where J.J. Watt broke his left leg.
Deshaun Watson’s 48-yard touchdown pass got the Texans within six early in the fourth quarter before Smith extended the lead for Kansas City (5-0) to 32-20 on a 10-yard pass to De’Anthony Thomas with about 9 minutes left. Tyreek Hill padded the lead when he returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown.
Watson threw for 261 yards and five touchdowns, but the Texans (2-3) failed to recreate the magic they found last week when they scored a franchise-record 57 points in a victory over Tennessee.
Watt, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, was injured in the first quarter and the team announced that he sustained a tibial plateau fracture, but didn’t provide any details on how long he’ll be out. The defensive end returned this season after missing the last 13 games last year after his second back surgery.
The Texans cut their deficit when Watson threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Fuller in the third quarter. But the 2-point conversion failed, leaving them down 23-13.
Kansas City’s Charcandrick West caught two touchdown passes and Travis Kelce had eight receptions for 98 yards in the first half, but didn’t return after halftime and the team said he was being evaluated for a concussion.
The Chiefs were up by six when Smith found West on an 8-yard touchdown pass to make it 13-0 in the second quarter. Houston rookie D’Onta Foreman fumbled two plays later to give Kansas City the ball right back and the Chiefs tacked on a field goal.
Foreman stepped out of one tackle before plowing over Marcus Peters as he tried to tackle him before two other Chiefs finally brought him down after a 25-yard gain that got Houston to the 10 on the Texans’ next drive. The Texans cut it to 16-7 when Watson found DeAndre Hopkins in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown pass with about two minutes left in the first half.
Smith then connected with West again, this time on a 4-yard TD pass to put the Chiefs up 23-7 at halftime.
The Chiefs led 3-0 early after a 35-yard field goal by Harrison Butker on their first drive. Watt was injured on the play before the field goal and fell to the ground while being blocked. Watt remained on his hands and knees for a couple of minutes while trainers checked on him.
They flipped him onto his back and were looking at his left leg. He was then helped to his feet and looked to be in a lot of pain and didn’t appear to be able to put any weight on the leg as he was helped off the field by two Texans officials. He remained on the sideline under a tent for a few minutes before being taken to the locker room on a cart and then taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Butker added another field goal early in the second quarter to make it 6-0.
Kansas City rookie Kareem Hunt had 29 carries for 107 yards to give him four 100-yard rushing games this season.
Hopkins had four receptions for 52 yards with three touchdowns after catching two late scoring passes when the game was out of reach.
INJURY REPORT
Chiefs’ safety Steven Terrell suffered a concussion on the opening kickoff. … Houston linebacker Whitney Mercilus injured his chest in the first quarter and didn’t return. … Houston safety Corey Moore suffered a concussion
UP NEXT
Chiefs: Host Steelers next Sunday.
Texans: Host Cleveland next Sunday.
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Fort Hays State men’s soccer team defeated the Lindenwood Lions 2-1 on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 8). The Tigers improved to 6-4-2 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA, while the Lions fell to 6-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
The Tigers and Lions were in a defensive battle throughout the first half as neither team scored. Fort Hays State got off six shots in the first half, including four on goal. Lindenwood was just behind with four shots, while only one was on target.
The second half started with a bang from the Lions as Michele Ganz scored his ninth goal of the season in the 49th minute. The Tigers rebounded with the equalizer from Abdoulaye Cisse in the 54th minute, scoring his sixth goal of the season that tied the game at one goal apiece. With the goal, Cisse now owns the school record for consecutive matches scoring a goal with six straight.
The Tigers and Lions battled each other in a tough defensive matchup once again until Mauricio Etcheverry found the back of the net for the second time this season on a shot from 30 yards out in the 80th minute to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
The score stood until the end as Michael Yantz earned the win in goal for the Tigers to improve his overall record to 5-3-2 on the season. Yantz picked up five saves on the day to increase his season total to 44 on the year.
The Tigers continue their undefeated start to conference play when they travel to Bolivar, Missouri, to face Southwest Baptist on Friday (Oct. 13). Kickoff is set for 3 pm.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The weekend trip to Missouri for the Fort Hays State women’s soccer team ended with two big wins for the Tigers, including a 1-0 double-overtime victory against No. 20 Missouri Western. Silvana Romero netted her third goal of the season to give the Tigers their fourth MIAA win of the season, and improve their overall record to 7-3-2 and 4-1 in conference. With the loss, the Griffons drop to 10-2 this season and 4-1 in MIAA competition.
With the match remaining scoreless until the second overtime, the Griffons showed they had the offensive strength as they outshot the Tigers 25-11 in the match with 11 hitting on target compared to Fort Hays State’s three on goal. Conversely, Megan Kneefel collected 11 saves in net for the Tigers while Sara Lyle only brought in two for the Griffons. Kneefel now owns a 4-2-1 overall record anchoring in the net for Fort Hays State while Lyle drops to 10-3 on the season.
With neither team able to get on the board throughout regulation, the Griffons were forced into their first overtime match of the season while the Tigers appeared in their third. One overtime period ended with no scores, pushing the match to the decisive extra period. Just over five minutes into the second overtime, Silvana Romero scored from ten yards out from the box on the left side to earn a solo goal and her third so far this season. The goal lifted the Tigers to the 1-0 win over the Griffons for the third-straight victory against Missouri Western.
The Tigers look to continue their two-match winning streak as they host two home matches this coming weekend. On Friday (Oct. 13), Fort Hays State meets up with 2-8-1 Southwest Baptist in Hays at 6 p.m. On Sunday (Oct. 15), the Tigers kickoff with 1-7-2 Missouri Southern for a 1 p.m. match at FHSU Soccer Stadium.
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State scored 21 unanswered points to overcome a 17-0 second quarter deficit and beat Pittsburg State 21-17 in front of 6,875 Saturday night at Lewis Field. The Tigers improve to 6-0, their best start since 1983 and beat the Gorillas at home for the first time since 1978.
Chris Brown Postgame Interview
Kenneth Iheme Postgame Interview
Jose Delgado Postgame Interview
Game Highlights
Kenneth Iheme rushed for 189 and two touchdowns. His 47 yard scamper after a Pitt State fumble put the Tigers on the board with 6:06 to play in the second quarter. He gave the Tigers their first lead on a two-yard touchdown run with 11:34 to play in the game
The Gorillas (2-4) drove to the Tiger 18 in the closing seconds but failed to complete a pass in their final three attempts. After Kamon Clayton knocked away passes in the endzone on second and third down, Nathan Shepherd hit PSU quarterback John Roderique on the final play of the game forcing the pass to fall short and preserve the victory.
Jacoby Williams completed 6 of 10 passes for 143 yards with a touchdown and an interception after starter Jacob Mezera left in the second quarter with an ankle injury. Mezera threw an interception to defensive lineman Simanu’a Thomas which was returned 22 yards for a touchdown to push the PSU lead to 14-0 late in the first quarter.
Williams hit tight end Matt Wendelberger on a 70-yard TD strike with 48 seconds to play in the second quarter to pull the Tigers within 17-14.
Pitt State ran 35 more plays than the Tigers but gained one less yard. They had the ball for 38:16 compared to FHSU’s 21:44.
Roderique led the Gorillas with 131 rushing yards while completing 12 of 28 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas running back Chris Warren III scored on a 2-yard touchdown run in the second overtime when the powerful running back moved a pile of Kansas State tacklers across the goal line, sending the Longhorns to 40-34 win Saturday night.
Warren appeared to be stopped short, but refused to go down and kept pushing his 250 pounds forward. Helped by a push of the pile by his teammates, Warren bowled into end zone, taking several Wildcats with him.
The touchdown came after Kansas State’s Matthew McCrane missed a 53-yard field goal attempt that bounced off the left upright.
The win puts Texas (3-2) at 2-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2013, the last time the Longhorns played for the league crown.
Freshman Sam Ehlinger passed for 380 yards and two touchdowns in his third career start for Texas. He also ran for 107 yards, using his legs for big gains on the game-tying drive in the fourth quarter and to set up Warren’s game-winning score in overtime.
Kansas State (3-2, 1-1) quarterback Jesse Ertz threw touchdown passes of 82 and 12 yards to Dalton Schoen in the first half. But Ertz took himself out of the game after an awkward trip and fall on a short run in the third quarter. The Wildcats trailed but Alex Delton came in and ran for the tying touchdown and later drove the Wildcats to a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter. Delton also ran for a touchdown in the first overtime.
THE TAKEWAY
The Wildcats will feel like they let a tough road win get away. The Wildcats led by 10 in the first half and had fought back to lead again in the fourth. But the Wildcats’ typically stout defense gave up big chunks of ground to Ehlinger late as the Longhorns sent the game to overtime. Delton gave them a boost with his legs late, but the Wildcats could have used Ertz’ arm in overtime.
The Texas offense is growing up behind Ehlinger, who is now 2-1 as starter and seems to get more comfortable with every throw. While Texas has said Shane Buechele has been dogged with shoulder and ankle injuries this season, Ehlinger is becoming the leader of the Longhorns offense and gives them a powerful running dimension when plays break down.
UP NEXT
Kansas State hosts No. 8 TCU next Saturday
Texas plays No. 3 Oklahoma in Dallas in the annual Red River.
