FHSU Athletics
Northeastern State (0-2) at
Fort Hays State (2-1, 1-1 MIAA)
Saturday, September 21 – 11 a.m.
Hays, Kan. – Lewis Field
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: MIAA Network: CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
Fort Hays State Football is back at home Saturday to face Northeastern State in their second and final non-conference game of the regular season. The Tigers and RiverHawks are set to kickoff at 11 a.m. at Lewis Field in Hays. The game was originally scheduled for the evening, but was moved up because of a threat for thunderstorms in the Hays area. The Tigers are coming off their first loss of the season at Northwest Missouri State last weekend, while the RiverHawks are 0-2 so far this year.
Northeastern State is playing independent in football this year, even though it is a member of the MIAA in most of the sports it offers. The RiverHawks finished last in MIAA play last year going 0-10, but picked up a win over Lincoln in a non-conference game. The RiverHawks are already showing vast improvements from the previous year, averaging over 100 more yards of total offense per game so far this season. Northeastern State has scored at least 21 points in each of its contests this season. Last year's RiverHawk team reached 21 in a game only three times and were shutout five times.
Fort Hays State started its season with a 21-7 win over No. 24 ranked Angelo State and a 30-16 win over Missouri Western before taking a 32-20 loss at Northwest Missouri State last week. The Tigers enjoyed time in the national rankings after the win over Angelo State, gracing the Top 25 of the D2Football.com Poll for two consecutive polls and the Top 25 of the AFCA poll for a week following their win over Missouri Western. The Tigers go into this week's game receiving votes in the AFCA poll and unranked in the D2Football.com poll.
Fort Hays State has won the last nine meetings with Northeastern State, all in MIAA play from 2014 to 2023. The Tigers hold a 9-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Tigers scored over 50 points in five of the last six meetings.
Defensively the Tigers held their first two opponents inside of 400 yards of total offense. They are allowing an average of 332 yards per game. But, the Tigers are still trying to find a breakout game offensively, averaging just 309 yards per game so far this season. FHSU's season high in total offense was 345 yards against Angelo State. The Tigers have thrown for over 200 yards in a game twice and rushed for over 100 yards in a game once.
Individually on offense, Shane Watts leads the Tigers in all-purpose yards with 378 for the season. He has a team-best 260 rushing yards, while adding 101 receiving yards and 17 kick return yards. He also leads the team in touchdowns with five, which is also tied for the MIAA lead. Jabari Lewis ranks second on the team in all-purpose with a team-high 152 receiving yards and 96 kick return yards. Trevor Watts and Cale Cormaney also have over 140 receiving yards for the season. Jack Dawson is averaging 214 passing yards per game this season with three passing touchdowns.
Individually on the defensive side, Makel Williams leads the MIAA in tackles with 31, averaging 10.3 per game. Sam Brandt has two of the team's four interceptions on the season, both recorded last week at Northwest Missouri State. Myles Menges is the team leader in sacks with 2.0 this season. Brandt (24) and Mason Perez (20) join Williams as Tiger defenders with at least 20 tackles this season.
In the kicking game, Parker Janky ranks ninth in NCAA Division II for punting average at 45.3 yards per boot. Carson Arndt is averaging 1.67 field goals per game (5-of-6 for the season), which ranks 10th in NCAA Division II.