Fort Hays State (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) at
Missouri Western (0-1, 0-1 MIAA)
Thursday, September 9 – 7 pm
St. Joseph, Mo. – Spratt Stadium
Radio: KJLS (103.3-FM)
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Fort Hays State plays its first road game of the 2021 season at Missouri Western in St. Joseph Thursday night. Both teams enter the game at 0-1 on the season. FHSU fell to No. 4 ranked Northwest Missouri State in a tight 15-7 battle in Hays, while MWSU fell at Central Oklahoma 24-20 in Week 1.
Fort Hays State will be looking to snap a two-game skid to the Griffons. In 2019, Missouri Western left Hays with a 28-17 victory and a year earlier defeated FHSU on its home field 23-13. FHSU won the two seasons prior, claiming a 35-27 win in Hays in 2016 and a 38-10 win in St. Joseph in 2017. The 2017 win is Fort Hays State's only win in St. Joseph since joining the MIAA in 2006.
While Fort Hays State has seen a steady rise to the upper third of the MIAA standings, finishing fourth or higher the last six seasons (2014-19), Missouri Western quickly burst back into the upper third in 2019 after a four-year hiatus from finishing in the top four of the standings. Fort Hays State and Missouri Western tied for third in the MIAA standings in 2019, both at 8-3. Missouri Western went on to win the Live United Bowl over Henderson State to finish at 9-3 overall.
Missouri Western leads the all-time series with Fort Hays State 16-12-1 and this will be the 30th meeting between the schools.
Other Quick Hits
-Fort Hays State is still receiving votes in the first regular season edition of the AFCA Top 25 Poll. The MIAA has two teams in the Top 25 and four teams in the receiving votes list.
-Since the MIAA went to an 11-conference game schedule in 2014, Fort Hays State is 24-10 in road games. FHSU is 1-2 in St. Joseph in that span.
-Chance Fuller threw for 265 yards in the season opener against Northwest Missouri State.
-Monterio Burchfield produced his fourth 100-yard receiving game as a Tiger in the season opener, finishing with a team-high 118.
-Layke Heimerman produced a career-high 16 tackles in the season opener and he ranks second nationally in tackles after the first week of play.
-Jordan Starks recorded at least 10 tackles in a game for the fourth time in his career at FHSU in the season opener.
-Javaris Sanders had a career-high eight tackles and a sack in the season opener.
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