By MAYAN PAZ
Tiger Media Network
Fall weather has arrived early, and the Fort Hays State University campus is preparing for fall football as the Tigers host Angelo State on Thursday to kick off the 2025 football season. The game is a rematch of last season’s opener, where, after a one-day delay due to a thunderstorm, the Tigers earned a 21-7 victory to kick off the season.
Similar to last year, Angelo State will arrive in Hays as favorites on paper, as the Rams are ranked No. 13 in the top-25 pre-season poll. Excitement is in the air, and FHSU Head Coach Chris Brown can’t wait for the kick-off.
“It feels like it’s game week finally. We have been training hard, and it’s finally time to go on the field,” Brown said. “We are prepared and excited to have that opportunity.”
The offensive effort for the Tigers will be led by quarterback Caleb Heavner. Heavner, a junior from Texas, stepped into the starting QB role midway through last season and made a great impression in his 10 games at the helm. With a 70% passing completion rate, he earned the QB honorable mention award from the MIAA conference.
Brown spoke about Heavner’s ability to learn and improve as a player due to his passion for studying the game.
“He is a student of the game. He spends so much time training, watching film, and working with our assistant coach, Tom Ross,” Brown said. “It’s not only an hour here and there, he truly dedicated himself to learn and improving, as well as making sure his teammates are on the same page.”
Angelo State had the sixth-best scoring defense in the nation last season, conceding only 13.1 points per game. This will present a significant challenge for the FHSU offense, but according to senior tight end Cale Cormaney, the Tigers are prepared.
“We have a lot of respect for the Angelo State team and what they do,” Cormaney said. “We know their coach, and we know they really work hard on the field. But we work hard as well, and we are going to give them our best. At the end, it comes down to execution, and we have faith in ourselves that we can be the better team.”
This matchup will be a great way for the Tigers to test their strength against a top rival ahead of next week’s matchup against No. 6 CSU-Pueblo. Both Angelo State and CSU-Pueblo are in FHSU’s Super Region, which is used to determine post-seaon playoff berths.
Despite playing a non-conference opponent to open the season, Brown believes the team is fairly prepared for the challenge.
“Me and their head coach are good friends, and with them playing us for the second year in a row, we exchanged game films from last season. So we are prepared for them, and they will be ready for us,” Brown said. “Obviously, there are some changes with transfers in both teams, so that will be the challenge for both teams in terms of preparation.”
FHSU and Angelo State will kick off at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Lewis Field Stadium. TMN will broadcast the game live on the MIAA Network and provide post-game coverage on tigermedianet.com.