Third quarter costly in Tigers’ loss to Mo. Western

By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Fort Hays State Football fell by a score of 38-31 at Missouri Western on Thursday night (Sept. 9). The Tigers held a 17-10 halftime lead only to see a rash of third-quarter mistakes lead to 21 unanswered points for the Griffons. A fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the Tigers came up short.

The lead changed hands twice in the first half. FHSU took the lead to start on an Adrian Soto 1-yard touchdown early in the first quarter. The Griffons responded with a touchdown to tie the game and then took a 10-7 lead on a field goal. In the second quarter, the Tigers took the lead back on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Chance Fuller to Hunter Budke, making the score 14-10. FHSU added to its lead as time expired in the first half on a 28-yard field goal by Fernando Avila-Castro, making it 17-10.

The third quarter mistakes for the Tigers began with Missouri Western scoring a touchdown on an interception thrown on fourth down in Griffon territory. The Tigers responded fast with a Fuller 67-yard touchdown strike to Soto, putting the Tigers back up by seven at 24-17. But three more miscues kept the momentum flowing in Missouri Western’s direction. The Tigers fumbled in their own territory and the Griffons scooped the ball to score a touchdown and tie the game at 24-24. Another Tiger interception led to a quick touchdown run by the Griffons, pushing the home team into the lead at 31-24. Then the Tigers had a defensive breakdown and allowed an 86-yard touchdown pass, making it 38-24 Griffons.

The Tigers cut back into the lead when Fuller connected with Josh Okechukwu for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 4:41 to go in the game. Missouri Western was able to chew off enough time to punt the ball away to the Tigers with only 13 seconds remaining in the game. The Tigers ran a couple of plays, but could not get past midfield.

It is unknown when accurate stats will be available from this contest. When fully vetted for accuracy, stats will be updated on fhsuathletics.com.

Fort Hays State, now 0-2, returns to action next week at home when it takes on Lincoln University. Kickoff is set for 7 pm on Saturday night (Sept. 18) at Lewis Field Stadium.

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