Story by CAYDEN SANDERS Photos by PARKER NISBETH and ANNABELLE MALSAM
Tiger Media Network
The Fort Hays State University football team entered Saturday’s senior day contest against Central Missouri fresh off an overtime win against Washburn last week. The Tigers carried that momentum late into the third quarter, building a 24-7 lead before the Mules scored 21 straight points to play spoiler, winning 28-24.
Head Coach Chris Brown said other than a second-quarter interception, FHSU (5-5, 4-4) played well in the first half and could have scored more than their 10 points at halftime. However, according to Brown, the second half was a different story.
“It came down to playing very undisciplined. When you look at how many unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that we got in this game, and how many holding penalties, all those little things are costing you to win ball games,” Brown said. “If you’re not disciplined, you’re not going to win football games. We were very undisciplined in the second half, and that’s what cost us.”
Running back #25 Ajai Holmes takes a moment to pray before kickoff. 
Wide receiver #5 Keyshawn Dooley prays on the sideline before the game. 
Local Cub Scouts present the flags during the national anthem ceremony. 
Quarterback #4 Caleb Heavner locks in during pregame warmups. 
Caleb Heavner drops back and looks downfield for an open target. 
Wide receiver #8 Jabari Lewis prepares to haul in a pass. 
Jabari Lewis focuses in as the ball comes his way. 
Tight end #0 Cale Cormaney lines up and gets set for the snap. 
Caleb Heavner takes off on a run before being brought down. 
Wide receiver #11 Ryan Allen reacts after a clutch play to move the chains. 
Cornerback #9 Matthew McBride celebrates after a key defensive stop to force a 4th down. 
Defensive lineman #7 Parrish Terry fires up the crowd after a big play. 
#37 Michael Polley sends the ball downfield on the kickoff. 
Caleb Heavner finds open field and races toward the 1-yard line. 
Caleb Heavner grimaces after coming up just short of the end zone. 
Michael Polley lines up and kicks for the Tigers. 
Linebacker #3 John Johnson and defensive lineman #8 Gaven Haselhorst celebrate after a huge sack. 
Keyshawn Dooley celebrates after a big catch and run for the Tigers. 
Caleb Heavner winds up for another deep throw. 
Keyshawn Dooley breaks loose after a huge reception with open field ahead. 
Keyshawn Dooley crosses the goal line for a Tiger touchdown. 
Caleb Heavner keeps it himself on the ground for a short gain. 
Running back #7 Curtis Douglas stays in bounds, tiptoeing the sideline for extra yards.
FHSU led the Mules 10-0 at halftime, but five minutes into the second half, UCM (4-5, 4-3) scored on a 13-yard run from Jayden Lang, capping off a 12-play 70-yard drive.
Fort Hays pushed their lead back to 10 with a 1-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Curtis Douglas less than two minutes later. The Tigers scored for the final time at the 1:30 mark in the third quarter when junior quarterback Caleb Heavner found sophomore wide receiver Keyshawn Dooley for a 55-yard touchdown pass. It was Dooley’s first touchdown in a Tiger uniform.
“They had stacked defenders to the boundary and they blitzed,” Heavner said. “They haven’t really shown that a lot. Stepped up in the pocket, and he was as open as anyone I’ve ever seen. So good route by him.”
In the waning seconds of the third quarter, the Mules’ offense made a big play of their own, as Donovyn Omolo found Aazeryuan Voss for a 63-yard touchdown pass, cutting the FHSU lead back to 10 points. UCM scored on its next offensive drive in the fourth quarter to pull within three points, 24-21.
FHSU’s two chances to move the ball in the fourth quarter ended in punts, and UCM took advantage by driving the ball 99 yards for a go-ahead touchdown with just 55 seconds remaining in the game. FHSU had one last chance at midfield with 4 seconds left, but Heavner’s desperation throw was intercepted, ending the game.
According to Brown, FHSU’s defense played well in the first half, as the Mules punted or turned the ball over on each of their first-half possessions. But mistakes made during the second half doomed the Tigers as UCM scored on four of five second-half possessions.
“I thought we got a pretty good, decent pass rush that first half. I think we lost a little bit in the second half,” Brown said. “We’ve got to adjust on the sideline. Understand the situation. We can’t allow the big play. That’s exactly what we did. We allowed the big play. It’s just understanding the situation, staying back in secondary, quit biting on routes, keep everything in front, make them earn everything.”
FHSU team kneels in prayer before the game 
Jakolbi Wilson kneels in prayer before the game 
Kayson Dietz walks the sideline before the game 
Tristen Davidson prepares for kickoff 
Tariq Logan, #6, gets ready for senior night 
Kicker, David Arriaga, gets ready for gametime 
Logan Russell and coach embrace before game 
Caleb Heavner throws the ball down the field 
Caleb Heavner throws the ball down the field 
#49, Logan Russell, punts the ball 
#49, Logan Russell, punts the ball 
#49, Logan Russell, punts the ball 
Michael Polley, #37, makes a tackle 
QB, Caleb Heavner, runs the ball 
Caleb Heavner prepares to throw 
Keyshawn Dooley gets ready for the next play 
Caleb Heavner looks downfield ready to throw 
Curtis Douglas moves into position 
Curtis Douglas moves into position 
Caleb Heavner follows through on the pass 
Cale Cormaney reaches for a pass 
Cale Cormaney, #0, fights for the ball 
Michael Polley prepares to kick 
Michael Polley kicks the ball 
Ryan Allen prepares for the next play 
Cale Cormaney getting ready for the second half 
sidelines 
#19, Kody Guy, warms up at half 
#4, Caleb Heavner celebrates after a huge run 
#5, Keyshawn Dooley catches the pass from Caleb Heavner 
Dooley runs the ball 
Keyshawn Dooley heads for the endzone 
Dooley, #5, and Allen, #11, celebrate after a touchdown 
Dooley, #5, and Allen, #11, celebrate after a touchdown 
David Arriaga kicks the ball 
Caleb Heavner looks for the open pass 
Fort Hays makes a big tackle
Central Missouri’s passing offense was the difference. The Mules had 286 yards through the air and gained 10.6 yards per throw. Omolo was 24-32 for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns. UCM also converted 7-13 third downs and one fourth down, while FHSU was just 3-11 on third down.
Fort Hays totaled 366 yards, including 208 yards on the ground. UCM was able to get after Heavner, though, as he was sacked 4 times.
“They made some good adjustments, nothing that we shouldn’t be able to handle,” Heavner said. “First half, and then in the third quarter, we made some big plays. Even though we had that one turnover in the first half, we played well. In the fourth quarter, we just didn’t make plays. We should have won this game.”
Senior linebacker John Johnson led the team with a season high 17 total tackles. Entering the game, Johnson was the 19th-best tackler in the nation with 9.7 tackles per game.
“I was just a ball hawk. I was just trying to get to the ball as much as possible,” Johnson said of his performance. “This is the last home game. I was just giving my all and just going to make a play.”
Johnson became the first Tiger to earn over 100 tackles since 2018.
“It means a lot to me,” he said. “I don’t really keep up with that. I gotta congratulate myself on that, but I’m trying to get to that 120 mark, so we got one more game. I got one more game.”
A Dodge City High School alum, Johnson played games against Hays High at Lewis Field Stadium on a few Friday nights. But when Saturday morning came, so did the emotion as he realized it was his final game at the stadium.
“I mean, it hit me. It wasn’t hitting me all week, but this morning, I kind of woke up and the waterworks were happening throughout the day,” he said. “I’d say I am blessed to know I had the opportunity to play here.”
FHSU will have a bye this week before finishing the regular season on the road against Emporia State at 1 p.m. on November 15.
“We’re still gonna let our young guys get some reps, I think as a team right now, there’s no excuse,” Brown said. “We’ve got to build and we’ve got to get better. We are going to work and make sure we correct mistakes that we had today. But a lot of those mistakes are just stupid little mistakes and losing emotion and things like that.”
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