By TMN SPORTS STAFF Photo by BENNY ARMSTRONG
Tiger Media Network
For the first time since 2019, the Fort Hays State football team finds themselves in the NCAA D2 top 25 poll. Last week’s impressive win over formerly ranked Angelo State has boosted the No. 24 Tigers ahead of their game against Missouri Western Western State University (1-0).
FHSU (1-0) has a poor record against MWSU in recent years, losing five straight games including a 28-7 loss last season. The last time FHSU emerged victorious versus MWSU was in 2017. Looking ahead to Saturday’s game, FHS Head Coach Chris Brown thinks that even though MWSU has been a tough opponent in the past few years, this might change this time.
“Last year, it was really all on us. We lost the ball and had a punt blocked in the first two drives of the game, and they used those opportunities to score and get an early lead,” Brown said. “For some reason, we can’t really play well against this team, but hopefully, the tide changes this year. We know that we need to take better care of the ball, and the kids are focused and doing anything they can to win this ball game.”
Brown doesn’t underestimate the Griffons in any way.
“They are a really tough team. They had a very impressive comeback in their game against Northeastern State, so they are playing with a lot of toughness and grit,” Brown said. “We will have to be good at all aspects of our game in order to beat them.”
Missouri Western defeated NSU 33-31 last week.
FHSU’s rushing defense will be put to the test against MWSU’s ground game, which ran for 251 yards last weekend. The star of that offense is Brandon Hall, who covered 185 on the ground and scored two touchdowns against Northeastern State.
“He is a good runner. He just sees the holes in the defense and runs the ball very well,” Brown said. “His offensive line does a great job for him, and he can move through contact. We need to make sure he is always crowded and tackled from the right angles by multiple defenders because he is a tough, shifty runner.”
Hall and the MWSU’s offense will face some tough figures on the FHSU side as well. Benyon Williams, the winner of last week’s MIAA Defensive Player of the Week award, and Makel Williams combined for 23 tackles against Angelo State, and they are planning to continue to exhibit their ability.
“We played good last week,” Makel said. “But it’s going to look even better in the next couple of weeks.”
Makel addressed Brandon Hall and MWSU’s impressive running game as well.
”We know that they heavily rely on their running game, so we need to establish our defensive line of scrimmage and stop their running game from the start of the game,” Makel said. “If we do that, the rest will come too.”
FHSU displayed an excellent performance on the offensive side of the field with new offensive coordinator Tom Ross on the sidelines last week, especially with their short passing game, but fans might see some different things on Saturday.
“We know what works well for us,” Brown said. “But we will have to see how the game goes. Coach Ross and the players did a wonderful job adjusting during the game against Angelo State, and we will adjust to MWSU the way that would be best for us.”
Running back Shane Watts had a terrific game last week. Even though Fort Hays ran the ball for only 74 yards, he carried it for 60 yards and a touchdown. Watts also added 62 receiving yards, second only to his brother, wide receiver Trevor Watts, and another touchdown. Watts is ready to run the ball a lot more as a team this weekend, and he is confident in the team’s ability to emerge victorious.
“We will see a major improvement in our running game,” he said. “We needed to get that first game under our belt, and we are ready for the next challenge. Last year, we lost the ball too much against MWSU, but we know that their defense is pretty much the same as last year’s, and that is going to be us versus us.”
After a rain delay caused many fans to miss Fort Hays’s home opener last week, the forecast is for clear skies to welcome the Tigers on Saturday evening. Even though it is the second game of the season, it might just feel like another home opener at Lewis Field.
FHSU and MWSU kickoff at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Lewis Field Stadium. Tiger Media Network will broadcast the game live on the MIAA Network and will provide postgame coverage.