FHSU Sports Information Department
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Fort Hays State moved to 3-0 on the season with a 30-7 road win at Lindenwood on Saturday evening (Sept. 19). The Tiger defense held the Lions scoreless over the first three quarters and recorded three interceptions, including one that went back for a touchdown.
The Tigers are 3-0 for the first time under head coach Chris Brown, now in his fifth season as head coach. FHSU is now 7-1 in road contests since the start of the 2014 season.
The Tiger defense kept the Lions out of the red zone all the way until late in the third quarter. FHSU led 30-0 going into the fourth quarter. Lindenwood picked up its only touchdown of the evening by scoring on the first play of the final quarter, a pass from 11 yards out. FHSU held Lindenwood to just 268 yards of total offense (season low for an opponent so far).
Raheeme Dumas, Jose Delgado, and Alex Schmidtberger all had interceptions in the game. Delgado’s was key as it pushed the Tigers to their 30-0 lead with 1:34 to go in the third quarter. He took the ball all the way to the endzone from 43 yards out.
The Tigers led 20-0 at halftime. FHSU found the endzone on its second drive of the game, ending in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Treveon Albert to Andrew Flory. The Tigers scored on their next drive with a 1-yard Derek Kendall-Campbell touchdown run, but the extra point missed and FHSU led 13-0 at 5:40 in the opening quarter. In the second quarter, Shaquille Cooper added a two-yard touchdown run with 1:19 remaining before the half. Drew O’Brien added a 36-yard field goal midway through the third quarter before Delgado’s interception return for a touchdown.
The majority of the fourth quarter drives by FHSU were spent taking time off the clock with the big 30-7 lead. The Tigers finished the game with 328 total yards, but had 280 through the first three quarters. The Tigers posted over 200 yards of rushing for the sixth straight game dating back to last season with 227 yards on the ground.
Albert did the majority of the damage offensively with 144 rushing yards and 101 passing yards. With Lindenwood keying on Cooper for the majority of the night, Albert stepped up his ground game for FHSU. Cooper finished with 57 rushing yards and Flory led the Tigers in receiving with 67 yards.
Brock Long turned in his usual solid effort at linebacker with a team-high 16 tackles. Schmidtberger followed with 12 and would have had about a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown late if a penalty was not called during the return.
The Tigers now look forward to a big game with No. 4 ranked Pittsburg State next week in Hays for Tailgreat. FHSU knocked off a then No. 8-ranked Pittsburg State team last year in Pittsburg, 7-6, to end a 35-year winless drought against the Gorillas. Kickoff is set for 7 pm at Lewis Field Stadium on Saturday, September 26.