By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post
EMPORIA - Fort Hays State rushed for over 300 yards for a second-straight week and picked up their first road win of the season with a dominant 36-7 win over #11/13 Emporia State on a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon at Welch Stadium. It was the Tigers third win over a ranked team this season as they improved to 7-3 overall and 5-3 in the MIAA. ESU, who had their 9-game home win streak snapped, dropped to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the MIAA.
The win snapped Fort Hays State's three-game losing-streak to the Hornets and was their first win in Emporia since 2014.
The FHSU defense held ESU to a season-low 165 yards of offense. They set the tone early forcing the first of eight 3-and-out on the Hornets first possession of the game. The Tiger offense then drove 60-yards in 10 plays and grabbed the early lead on a 30-yard Carson Arndt field goal.
The lead would grow to 5-0 when the Hornets snapped the ball over their punter's head which rolled out of the back of the endzone for a safety. The game was then halted due to lightning before the Hornets free kick.
Shane Watts pushed the Tigers lead to 12-0 when he scored on a 43-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. ESU scored its only touchdown of the game later in the quarter when Tyler Kahmann scored on a 45-yard touchdown reception after breaking a tackle in the Tiger secondary. FHSU quickly answered on the next possession with a 69-yard touchdown run which pushed the lead to 19-7.
Watts had his second-straight 200-yard rushing game, going for a career-best 250 yards on 28 carries. He became the first player in Fort Hays State history to rush for 200 yards in back-to-back games. He also became the 20th Tiger to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. Quarterback Caleb Heavner added 72 yards on the ground on 22 attempts. The Tigers finished with 331 rushing yards as a team, a new season high after going for 301 the previous week against Missouri Southern State.
After another weather delay before the start of the second half, the Tigers continued their dominance in the second half. A 54-yard run by Watts set up a 7-yard touchdown Heavner touchdown run, pushing the lead to 26-7. Later in the quarter, Heavner connected with Jabari Lewis on a 7-yard touchdown pass to make the score 33-7. Arndt tacked on a 36-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter for the final score.
ESU was just 1-for-13 on third-down conversions for the game. John Johnson led the Tigers with 11 tackles, while Myles Menges had an interception and Demitri Scott had a sack.
Heavner completed eight passes for 83 yards. Jayden Horace led the Tigers in receiving yards with 36.
200-YARD RUSHERS
Fort Hays State has had 200-yard rushers in back-to-back games twice in its history, but both times it was accomplished by two separate players. The last time it occurred was in 2002 when Dustin Demel ran for 291 against Fort Lewis (10/12/02) and Charles Lewis ran for 221 at Panhandle State (10/19/02). Prior to that in 1997, Donald Gregory ran for 234 against Wayne State (Neb.) (9/27/97) and Terry Blassingame ran for 232 at Mesa State (10/4/97). This was the first time ever it was done by the same player.
WATTS CAREER DAY
Watts' 250 rushing yards ranks fifth-most for a single game in school history, the most since Shaquille Cooper's 263 against Northeastern State on September 10, 2015.
UP NEXT
Fort Hays State is idle next week before closing out the regular season on Saturday, November 16 at Nebraska-Kearney.