By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State safety Trey Hines was named the MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week on Tuesday (Sept. 5), presented by Mammoth Turf. Hines joins quarterback Braden Gleason of Emporia State (Offensive Athlete of the Week) and Jack Barkley of Pittsburg State (Defensive Athlete of the Week) as the opening week honorees from the conference office.
Hines boosted the Tigers on special teams in the week one win over Northeastern State by blocking a punt attempt. The block led to a scoop and score touchdown by teammate Mason Perez to put the Tigers up 28-0 midway through the second quarter on Thursday (Aug. 31). Hines also recorded one tackle defensively for the Fort Hays State defense in the shutout victory.
AFCA poll
WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State Football received votes in the first regular season release of the AFCA Top 25 Poll on Tuesday (Sept. 5). The Tigers are off to a 1-0 start to the season after shutting out Northeastern State 56-0 in the season opener this past week. The Tigers will test their mettle this week when they play No. 3 ranked Pittsburg State in the home opener Thursday night (Sept. 7) at 7 p.m.
Fort Hays State is one of five MIAA schools referenced in the first poll of the regular season. Three schools are in the Top 25, including No. 3 Pittsburg State, No. 5 Northwest Missouri State, and No. 18 Emporia State. The Tigers received more votes among the two from the MIAA in the receiving votes section. The Tigers received eight votes, compared to four for Central Oklahoma.
The Tigers are back in the receiving votes section of the poll for the first time since September 7, 2021. The Tigers faced three AFCA nationally ranked teams last season all on the road. As it stands right now, all of the current Top 25 ranked teams from the MIAA will be home opponents this season for the Tigers.
Below is the AFCA Top 25 Poll for September 5, 2023.
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. |
| 1 | Ferris St. (Mich.) (27) | 1-0 | 721 | 1 |
| 2 | Colorado School of Mines (1) | 1-0 | 693 | 2 |
| 3 | Pittsburg St. (Kan.) | 1-0 | 663 | 4 |
| 4 | Angelo St. (Tex.) | 1-0 | 616 | 5 |
| 5 | Northwest Missouri St. | 1-0 | 583 | 6 |
| 6 | West Florida | 1-0 | 558 | 7 |
| 7 | Grand Valley St. (Mich.) | 0-1 | 536 | 3 |
| 8 | Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) | 1-0 | 510 | 8 |
| 9 | Minnesota St. | 1-0 | 505 | 9 |
| 10 | Delta St. (Miss.) | 1-0 | 472 | 10 |
| 11 | Bemidji St. (Minn.) | 1-0 | 441 | 11 |
| 12 | Harding (Ark.) | 1-0 | 371 | 14 |
| 13 | Indiana (Pa.) | 1-0 | 346 | 16 |
| 14 | Shepherd (W.Va.) | 1-0 | 341 | 13 |
| 15 | Slippery Rock (Pa.) | 1-0 | 309 | 15 |
| 16 | Benedict (S.C.) (1) | 1-0 | 274 | 17 |
| 17 | Virginia Union | 1-0 | 249 | 18 |
| 18 | Emporia St. (Kan.) | 1-0 | 235 | 19 |
| 19 | Indianapolis (Ind.) | 1-0 | 170 | 20 |
| 20 | West Georgia | 1-0 | 140 | 22 |
| 21 | Ashland (Ohio) | 0-1 | 133 | 12 |
| 22 | Wingate (N.C.) | 1-0 | 130 | 21 |
| 23 | Assumption (Mass.) | 1-0 | 84 | 23 |
| 24 | Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) | 1-0 | 76 | 25 |
| 25 | Colorado St.-Pueblo | 1-0 | 62 | NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Newberry (S.C.), 44; Bowie St. (Md.), 38; Wayne St. (Neb.), 20; Henderson St. (Ark.), 16; Western Colorado, 15; Davenport (Mich.), 13; Central Washington, 8; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 8; Texas A&M-Kingsville, 8; Minnesota-Duluth, 7; Notre Dame (Ohio), 5; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 5; Central Oklahoma, 4; Limestone (S.C.), 4; Truman St. (Mo.), 4; Augustana (S.D.), 3; Tiffin (Ohio), 2; Tuskegee (Ala.), 2; Millersville (Pa.), 1.