It was the Fort Hays State University (2-1, 2-1 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) defense that carried the Tigers to victory by forcing four turnovers in 20-7 route of Lindenwood University (1-2, 1-2 MIAA) this past Saturday.
The win marks their best start in the four years under head coach Chris Brown.
“Sometimes we have to pick each other up,” said Brown. “Offense helps defense, defense helps offense, special teams helps everybody. A great defense is a great offense, and to have a great offense you have to have a great defense.”
The FHSU defense limited the Lions to seven total points, which were not scored until the second half.
The defensive effort only surrendered 20 yards on 21 carries, while picking up one sack on the night.
“Defensive front is real good,” said linebacker Brock Long, Assaria junior. “There’s a ton of them so they rotate in and out and are fresh. They do are real nice job for us.”
Long, a transfer from Hutchinson Community College, had eight tackles for FHSU, while linebacker Alex Schmidtberger, Topeka sophomore, finished the game with 12 tackles.
“I had some mistakes, but I did some good things too,” Long said. “All in all, it just comes back to the team.”
It was another fellow linebacker that may have made the play of the game and sparked the team.
After punting on their first five possessions of the game, Lindenwood had the ball deep inside the Tiger’s territory when linebacker Justin McPhail, Liberal junior, intercepted a pass by Lindenwood’s Dillon Miller at the 25 yard line, and returned it to the opposite four yard line.
“We really knew what they were trying to do to us,” McPhail said.
Two plays after the interception, the Tigers got into the endzone with running back Edward Smith, Miami, Fla., senior, running it with 7:39 remaining in the second quarter.
After trading punts, the Lions had a chance before the half to potentially tie the game after a punt return gave the Lions a short field.
Lindenwood drove the FHSU two yard line until Dillon threw his second interception of the half, getting picked off by defensive back Rashad Dunnigan, Tampa., Fla, junior, in the endzone with four seconds left in the half.
“That really helped us carry some momentum into the second half,” McPhail said.
Lindenwood responded by scoring on their first drive of the second half with a three yard touchdown pass, which tied the game at seven.
From that point, it was 13 unanswered points by the Tigers. Starting with the quick answer after the Lindenwood touchdown, the Tigers went 81 yards on five plays with the bulk of the work being done by running back Kenneth Iheme, Wichita sophomore, who ran 40 yards to the endzone. This gave the Tigers a 14-7 lead, which was a little over halfway through the third quarter.
Turnovers would help the Tigers on all sides of the ball. After the kickoff following the Iheme touchdown run, Lindenwood fumbled and the Tigers recovered it inside the 20 yard line. FHSU completed a 30 yard field goal by kicker JP Maciel, Endid, Okla., sophomore, to give them a 17-7 advantage.
Another field goal made by Maciel in the fourth quarter brought the score to 20-7.
“It’s awesome to win at home,” Brown said. “I’m excited about that. Give the fans something to watch. That’s what its about: the community support, the fan support.”
The Tiger offense did enough to secure the victory as they out gained Lindenwood by two yards 285 to 283. FHSU had one turnover to the four by the Lions.
“We’re so close to being explosive offensively,” Brown said. “A catch away, a block away, maybe even a hole away, but we’re close to having some explosive plays.”
Smith led a very effective running game by earning 99 yards, which gained the Tigers 204 yards on the ground.
“Offensive line played great tonight,” Smith said. “We came out wanting to execute a running game and we did what we needed to do.”
Quarterback Treveon Albert, Atlanta, Ga., junior, who filled in for the injured Kevin Spain, Scottsdale, Ariz., junior, was 11-of-27 passing for 84 yards, and added 46 yards on 11 carries.
The Tigers will be back on television for the MIAA Game of the Week when they travel to take on nationally ranked Pittsburg State University (3-0, 3-0 MIAA) at 2 p.m.