{"id":91088,"date":"2025-10-20T09:37:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=91088"},"modified":"2025-10-20T09:38:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:38:17","slug":"fort-hays-state-looks-to-regroup-after-loss-to-northwest-missouri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=91088","title":{"rendered":"Fort Hays State looks to regroup after loss to Northwest Missouri"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>By GARRETT WELLBROCK<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Tiger Media Network<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MARYVILLE, Mo. \u2014 Fort Hays State safety Michael Chavez summed it up simply after Saturday\u2019s 52-3 loss to No. 19\/15 Northwest Missouri State: \u201cIt\u2019s one of those games \u2014 obviously didn\u2019t turn out the way we wanted it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Tigers faced a relentless Bearcat offense that piled up 437 rushing yards, scoring six of their seven touchdowns on the ground. Redshirt freshman quarterback Zechariah Owens proved nearly impossible to contain, breaking loose for touchdown runs of 56 and 73 yards as Northwest improved to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the MIAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Owens\u2019 mobility forced the Fort Hays State defense to adjust constantly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve got two challenging quarterbacks \u2014 a young guy who could run. They did a good job of spacing us out, gave him space to run.\u201d Chavez said. \u201cThey just came out and executed today, and we\u2019ve got to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bearcats wasted little time asserting control, scoring on their first two drives and building a 24-3 halftime lead. The Tigers\u2019 only points came on a 39-yard field goal by Zane Hall late in the first quarter. From there, Northwest\u2019s run game overwhelmed the defense, adding four touchdowns in the second half \u2014 including an 85-yard burst by Quincy Torry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chavez finished with 10 tackles, one of the few defensive bright spots for Fort Hays State, which fell to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the MIAA. He said the game became a test of toughness as the defense spent long stretches on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt a certain point it just turns into a mental thing \u2014 mental toughness \u2014 and that\u2019s something you take pride in as a defender,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cBut we\u2019ve got to find ways to get off the field and not be on the field as much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FHSU Head Coach Chris Brown credited the Bearcats for setting the tone early and maintaining it throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a very good football team \u2014 they\u2019re physical on both sides of the ball,\u201d Brown said. \u201cTheir run game was tremendous. They hit us in the mouth and just kept rolling. Our offense didn\u2019t really get anything going. We\u2019ve got to figure something out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Tigers managed just 131 total yards of offense, with quarterback Caleb Heavner throwing for 63 yards and running back Curtis Douglas managing just 27 yards to lead the ground game. Injuries also mounted for Fort Hays State, which Brown said disrupted any hope of finding rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Late in the game, redshirt freshman quarterback Mason McMinn saw his first college action, leading the offense on its final possession. Despite the lopsided score, McMinn said the experience was meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt felt good to get my feet wet,\u201d McMinn said. \u201cBeing a young guy, it feels good to showcase what I developed last year and in the spring. It just felt comfortable out there \u2014 like practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McMinn added that patience and preparation have been key to his role.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s tough, but my job is to support Caleb and Coach Ross and help Caleb be the best he can be,\u201d he said. \u201cI consider myself a dual threat, using the legs a little bit if I have to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even after a humbling loss, Chavez said the Tigers\u2019 focus is already on next week\u2019s trip to Washburn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOnce we watch the film and fix our mistakes, it\u2019s on to next week,\u201d he said. \u201cThe goal every week is to be 1-0 \u2014 this game doesn\u2019t define our football team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>INF 349<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By GARRETT WELLBROCK Tiger Media Network MARYVILLE, Mo. \u2014 Fort Hays State safety Michael Chavez summed it up simply after Saturday\u2019s 52-3 loss to No.&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":91089,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":false,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3387,7349],"tags":[1694,99,16359],"class_list":["post-91088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football-sports","category-sports","tag-fhsu-football","tag-football","tag-garrett-wellbrock"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/fhsufb.vs_.uco-13-scaled-e1760971055127.jpg?fit=1707%2C896&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=91088"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91091,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91088\/revisions\/91091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/91089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=91088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=91088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=91088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}