BY TRISTAN SASSE
In a battle of MIAA foes, the No. 8 Fort Hays State University Tigers outlasted the Ichabods, 37-20. FHSU improved to 7-0 for the first time since 1917 and tied their best start in school history. The annual Hall of Fame Game marked the first victory for FHSU over Washburn since 2015. Entering Saturday, the Ichabods’ only loss was against No.1 Northwest Missouri State.
Coach Chris Brown had high praise for his players and coaching staff following the win and 7-0 start.
“They worked their tails off to get to this point. They’re very deserving,” said Brown. “I’m proud of them. They just need to continue to keep working, keep moving forward, and enjoy this game right now, but we got to move on to the next week.”
On Saturday, the Tigers offense was firing on all cylinders as they accumulated 549 yards of total offense on 83 plays. On the ground, Charles Tigner rushed for 171 yards and Kenneth Iheme added 103. Through the air, Jacob Mezera added 282 yards and threw for three touchdowns while completing 23 of 36 attempts. Monterio Burchfield led the Tigers with 82 receiving yards. Burchfield has 599 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on the year.
Defensively, the Tigers allowed under 300 yards. FHSU only gave up 89 yards in the second half on 30 plays. The Tigers had three sacks and two interceptions on the afternoon. Doyin Jibowu took over and sealed the game with two interceptions late in the fourth quarter. Brown said the defense improved as the game went on.
“They were ready to attack, ready to play aggressive, ready to get after people and create some turnovers. That’s just what they do,” said Brown. “They got comfortable and understood what they were doing. They locked in and made some great plays today.”
The Tigers began the afternoon by capping off a 13 play, 62-yard drive on their opening possession with a 29-yard field goal by Brandon Brown. The Ichabods answered on the ensuing drive with a 52-yard reception by Will Hamilton set up a 35-yard field goal by Perry Schmiedeler. Safety D.J. Olmstead gave the Ichabods their first lead with a 60-yard interception return moments later. Olmstead leads the MIAA with six interceptions on the season, three of them have been returned for touchdowns.
Schmiedeler connected on another field goal in the second quarter. The Tigers responded and found the end zone with a shovel pass to Harley Hazlett. The Ichabods tacked on a late first-half touchdown when Blake Peterson connected with Jam Brania-Hopp. Washburn led at the half, 20-10. FHSU trailed at halftime for the third straight week.
The second half started with an 8 play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a 12-yard touchdown run by Tigner. Tigner followed up with a 46-yard rush that set up a 30-yard field goal by Brown. Due to 10 unanswered points by the Tigers, it was tied at 20 heading into the final quarter. Washburn had eight total yards of offense in the third quarter.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Burchfield hauled in a 21-yard touchdown reception. Mezera later found Tyler Bacon for a 30-yard reception and his first career touchdown. In the closing minutes, Brown connected on a 47-yard field goal. His third field goal of the afternoon gave the Tigers 27 unanswered points and a 37-20 victory.
Next week, the Tigers face another strong MIAA opponent when they travel to St. Joseph, Missouri to take on the Missouri Western Griffons (4-3). A victory would officially give the 2017 Tigers the best start in program history.