Fort Hays State hosts Missouri Southern on Saturday for Senior Day at Lewis Field Stadium, the final home game of the season. The Tigers currently sit in fifth place in the MIAA and look for their second consecutive winning season, entering the game with a record of 5-4. Missouri Southern enters at 4-5.
A win on Saturday would give the Tigers back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2003 and 2004. If the Tigers can win their final two games of the season, they would post their first seven-win season since 1996. Fort Hays State has already secured its most wins in MIAA play since joining the conference in 2006 with five so far.
The Tigers are coming off a 24-17 win at Nebraska-Kearney last week, outscoring the Lopers 24-7 in the second half to win a third straight game over their rivals to the north. Missouri Southern comes into the game off a 41-10 loss to Pittsburg State last week.
Fort Hays State currently ranks fourth in the MIAA in total defense, allowing 366.2 yards per game. The Tigers are also fourth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 19.1 points per game. The Tigers have held opponents to under 30 points in all nine games so far this year. Missouri Southern allows 30.3 points and 384.9 yards per game.
Missouri Southern is a very run-heavy offense, running the ball 86 percent of its total plays this season. The Lions have the top rushing offense in the conference at 281 yards per game.
Kenneth Iheme had a breakout game at running back last week, running for 149 yards in the win at UNK. Treveon Albert has 1,289 passing yards so far with nine touchdowns. Four of those touchdowns have gone to Ed Williams, who leads the team in receiving with 755 yards on 45 catches. Justin McPhail leads the defensive charge for FHSU with 83 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and two interceptions. Joita Te’i leads the Tigers in sacks with 5.0. Nathan Lindsey and Alex Schmidtberger are also tied for the team lead in interceptions, each with two.
There will be 12 Tiger seniors recognized before the start of the game, which includes Edward Smith, Ed Brown, Ed Williams, Michael Terry, Nathan Lindsey, Micheal Jordan, Steven Koenig, Jesse Trent, Tomasi Molesi, Garrison Hendricks, Brandon Walther, and Joita Te’i.