By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post
HAYS, Kan. - Trevor Watts caught a career-high 13 passes for 210 yards, Travis Dixon rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns but it wasn't enough to overcome a record-setting day from Emporia State senior quarterback Braden Gleason who set the MIAA record for touchdown passes in the Hornets 45-42 win over Fort Hays State Saturday afternoon at Lewis Field.
Gleason completed 30 of 40 passes for 369 yards and six touchdowns and now has 109 career touchdown passes breaking the MIAA record of 107 set by Eric Czerniewski of Central Missouri between 2006-10.
It's the first time under head coach Chris Brown that the Tigers scored 40 or more points and lost. They had been 28-0 when scoring 40 or more.
The Tigers (7-4, 6-4 MIAA) scored touchdowns on two of their first three possessions but trailed by 18 in the second and third quarter before closing the gap to three following a successful two-point conversion late in the third quarter.
FHSU got a stop on the next Emporia State possession but Trevor Watts muffed the punt giving the Hornets (8-3, 7-3 MIAA) the ball back at the 12-yard line. They would score three plays later to build the lead back to 45-35.
Jack Dawson would score on a one-yard run with 47 seconds to play but the Tigers couldn't recover an onside kick and ESU ran out the clock.
The two teams combined for 997 yards of total offense. Fort Hays State produced 513, a season high in an MIAA game. The Tiger defense had a hard time solving the up-tempo Hornet offense in the first half, yielding 313 yards at halftime but held ESU to 171 yards in the second half.
Travis Dixon scored on touchdowns runs of two and 30 yards in the first quarter and had 110 of his 154 rushing yards at halftime.
FHSU trailed 17-13 after the first quarter but was forced to punt on their next two possessions. The Hornets answered with touchdowns but push the lead to 31-13 after scoring in their first five possessions.
Jack Dawson hit freshman wide receiver Jabari Lewis on a 14-yard touchdown pass with just over a minute to to play in the second to cut the gap to 31-20 at halftime.
After Emporia State scored a touchdown on the first possession of the third quarter, the Tiger defense got stops on five of the next six possessions. The only score came following the muffed punt.
Dawson finished 24-31 for career-high 362 yards and three touchdowns. In addition to the TD pass to Lewis, he connected on a six-yard strike to Jayden Horace and a 24-yard strike to Trevor Watts in the fourth quarter.
Watts became the first 200-yard receiver for FHSU in a game since Monterio Burchfield in 2017 against Central Oklahoma, finishing with 210 yards on 13 catches.
Defensively, John Johnson led the Tigers with 13 tackles followed by Makel Williams with 11.
For a second-straight game, the Hornets had two 100-yard receivers. Tayler Kahman hauled in nine passes for 119 yards and three scores while Ethan Schultze added 103 yards on four catches.
Fort Hays State has now reached at least seven wins in a season seven times under head coach Chris Brown.