By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State fell to Missouri Western in its first home contest of the season on Thursday night (Sept. 8) by a score of 35-19. The Tigers moved to 0-2 on the season, while the Griffons improved to 2-0.
Missouri Western never trailed in the game, going out to a 14-0 lead before the Tigers scored their first touchdown with 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter on a three-yard pass from Jack Dawson to Adrian Soto. The Griffons led 14-7 at the end of the first frame. From that point, the Griffons reeled off 21 consecutive points to build a 35-7 lead with just 47 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Tigers scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one on a two-yard rush by Soto and then another on a four-yard rush by Dawson. Both extra points were blocked by Brandon Johnson of MWSU.
Soto finished the game with 150 all-purpose yards, rushing for a team-high 99 yards and adding 51 receiving yards. Manny Ramsey had a big game receiving, hauling in five catches for 123 yards. He averaged 24.6 yards per catch. Dawson threw for 243 yards in his Tiger debut at quarterback, completing 17-of-33 attempts. He also rushed for 25 yards.
Mason Perez led the Tiger defense with nine tackles, followed by Makel Williams with eight. Myles Menges and Hunter Brown each had seven.
The Griffons ran the ball for over 300 yards for a second straight week, totaling 311 in the game. They added 106 passing yards and finished with 417 yards of total offense to Fort Hays State’s 375. Jared Scott had 125 rushing yards to lead the Griffons, followed by Brandon Hall with 101. Quarterback Reagan Jones ran for 71 and threw for all 106 of the Griffon passing yards. Isaac Wallace led the Griffons in tackles with eight, followed by C.J. Ravenell with seven.
Fort Hays State looks to get in the win column next week when they travel to Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo. Game time is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 17.