BY TRISTAN SASSE
Although the Fort Hays State Tiger football team has had many close contests in the opening weeks, FHSU, after beginning the season unranked, has risen to No. 8 in the AFCA Coaches Poll as of Monday, October 9. The highest the Tigers have ever been ranked in Division II was No. 6 in September of 1996.
While FHSU is ranked the highest they have been in over 20 years, they remain focused. Senior running back Kenneth Iheme gave insight on the Tigers success.
“Being number eight is great, but at the end of the day we still have accomplishments we want to achieve,” said Iheme. “We want to be number one. It keeps us motivated to know we really haven’t done anything yet. There’s still a lot of season, and a lot of games left to be played.”
The road to success hasn’t been easy for the Tigers. Last week, FHSU faced their largest deficit of the season, down 17 at home against the Pittsburg State Gorillas on homecoming. The Tigers went on to score 21 unanswered points and win, 21-17. After the homecoming victory in front of nearly 7,000 people, junior linebacker Jose Delgado mentioned the environment.
“It was unreal, we haven’t seen it like that,” said Delgado. “It’s like that football atmosphere you always want when you play a football game.”
Fort Hays also had close calls on September 16 at Central Missouri (31-24) and September 30 at Lindenwood (38-35).
“We know we have to bring our A-game,” said Delgado. “Every team sees that we’re number eight, so we have a big target on our back. We know we have to bring it, if we don’t we’re gonna get beat.”
With many close games recently, the Tigers have continued to find ways to win. Iheme believes being in similar situations before has benefited the team.
“Just knowing that we’ve been there before,” said Iheme. “We all had confidence in each other and once we get one score on the board, we know this is our game. Once we start playing how we can, we can win for sure.”
With the Tigers strong start to the season, Delgado mentioned the brotherhood that has been instilled at FHSU.
“When I first got here, the team was kind of loose, they had their own groups,” said Delgado. “They had their own cliques, but now I feel like we’re all brothers and we’re all one. I think that definitely helps as a team. We’re all brothers and family, and we’re on the same page together.”
Fort Hays is currently 6-0 and tied with No. 1 Northwest Missouri State for first in the MIAA. The Tigers remaining schedule features: Washburn (5-1), Missouri Western (4-2), Emporia State (3-3), No. 1 Northwest Missouri State (6-0) and Nebraska-Kearney (2-4). The Tigers have another strong test tomorrow when they host Washburn. The only loss for the Ichabods this season came in week two against No. 1 Northwest Missouri State.
After six weeks, the Tigers are currently averaging 34 points per game. FHSU is also outscoring opponents 204-96 on the season. The Tigers defense is only giving up 16 points per game.
While FHSU has dominated many opponents, the players are excited to see where the program is headed.
“People want to come see us play now that we have some success,” said Delgado. “That’s a big part of it this year. Fans are staying the whole game. They used to leave after like the third quarter. Now, they’re staying the full game watching us to the end. It’s awesome just to see how the team has been built over the years. It’s really amazing.”