FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State (5-5, 4-4 MIAA) at
Emporia State (5-5, 4-4 MIAA)
Saturday, November 15 ⦁ 1 p.m.
Emporia, Kan. ⦁ Welch Stadium
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: MIAA Network: CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
Fort Hays State Football will wrap up the 2025 regular season on Saturday at Emporia State. The game will be the 38 The Spot MIAA TV Game of the Week, but can also be viewed as normal with a subscription to The MIAA Network. The teams enter with identical records, both at 5-5 overall and 4-4 in the MIAA.
This is the second year in a row that FHSU and ESU are meeting in Emporia. FHSU won last year's meeting when the Hornets were ranked No. 11 in the nation by a score of 36-7. The Tigers led 19-7 at halftime and then shutout the Hornets 17-0 in the second half to run away with the win. The win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Hornets for the Tigers.
The Tigers are seeking to secure head coach Chris Brown's 10th winning season at FHSU. The Tigers currently own a two-year streak of finishing with a winning mark, going 7-4 in 2023 and 8-3 in 2024.
Fort Hays State and Emporia State head into this matchup in a four-way tie for fourth in the MIAA standings. UCO is only one game ahead at 5-3 in conference play, while Nebraska-Kearney and Central Missouri are part of the logjam at 4-4 in conference play.
The Tigers are coming off a 28-24 loss to Central Missouri at home back on November 1. The Tigers had a bye week before taking on the Hornets this week. Emporia State is coming off a 45-17 win at Washburn. The Hornets are 2-2 at home this year with win over Minot State and Missouri Southern, but losses to the top two teams in the MIAA – Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State.
Caleb Heavner has over 2,000 yards of total offense for the year, currently with 1,574 passing yards and 571 rushing yards to lead the offense. Ryan Allen (287) and Cale Cormaney (277) lead the Tigers in receiving yards.
On defense, John Johnson became the first FHSU player since 2018 to record at least 100 tackles in a season with a career-high 17 against Central Missouri. He enters Saturday with a team-best 104 tackles and 9.0 tackles for loss. Gaven Haselhorst leads the Tigers in sacks with 5.0, while Michael Polley and Michael Chavez lead the Tigers with two interceptions each.