FHSU Athletics
#3/3 Pittsburg State (1-0, 1-0 MIAA) vs
RV/- Fort Hays State (1-0, 1-0 MIAA)
Thursday, September 7 - 7 p.m.
Hays, Kan. – Lewis Field Stadium
Vyve Broadband Kickoff Classic
Radio - KJLS (103.3)
Fort Hays State Football plays its first home game of the 2023 season on Thursday night at Lewis Field Stadium in Hays. It will be a big one as the Tigers take on No. 3/3 ranked Pittsburg State, the defending MIAA champions. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Live coverage includes The MIAA Network, radio, and live stats.
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The Tigers are coming off a 56-0 shutout win at Northeastern State in their season opener. FHSU jumped out to a 35-0 lead by halftime and added three more touchdowns in the second half to produce its most points in a game since a 64-6 win at Northeastern State on November 6, 2021.
Pittsburg State is also coming off a win in its season opener, downing Washburn 34-7 in Pittsburg last week. The Gorillas started the year at No. 4 in the national rankings and moved up one spot this week in both the AFCA and D2Football.com polls.
Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State were the only MIAA schools to hold their opponents inside of 10 points in Week 1. FHSU leads the MIAA in total defense (199 yds/game) and scoring defense (0.0 ppg), while the Gorillas are second in both categories (233 yds/game and 7.0 ppg). Pittsburg State had the top scoring defense in the MIAA last year at 14.1 points per game, which helped them join FHSU and Northwest Missouri State as the only programs to navigate an 11-game MIAA conference schedule undefeated.
This will be the first of six home games for the Tigers this season. Three of the six are against teams currently in the Top 25 of the national rankings. The Tigers are looking for their first win over a Top 10 ranked team in Hays since 1997 when they knocked off a No. 7 ranked Western State (now Western Colorado) team by a score of 28-15 when both were members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Western Colorado remains in the RMAC today, while FHSU joined the MIAA in 2006. The Tigers are seeking their first win at home against a Top 10 ranked team in their MIAA era, now at 0-9, with six of the losses to Northwest Missouri State, one to Pittsburg State, one to Missouri Western, and one to Ferris State.
Pittsburg State has won the last two meetings with FHSU (2021 & 2022). Prior to that, Fort Hays State reeled off four straight wins against PSU from 2016-2019. The Gorillas and Tigers met in the regular season finale last year in Pittsburg with PSU winning 35-14 to cap its undefeated regular season. The Gorillas went on to win one NCAA playoff game before falling to eventually national champion Ferris State in the Round of 16.
Fort Hays State quarterback Jack Dawson leads all of NCAA Division II in completion percentage (87.0) and pass efficiency rating (274.5). He threw for over 300 yards for the first time in his career last week with 317, completing 20-of-23 attempts. He also ran for one touchdown, giving him a hand in 36 of FHSU's 56 points. A pair of transfer receivers combined for 182 receiving yards, which included Hosia Stokes with 122 and Jayden Horace with 60. Four Tiger running backs combined for over 100 yards rushing, led by Shane Watts with 39.
The Tigers had a big game one on the defensive side of the ball as well. The Tigers had four interceptions in their season opener, which included picks by Myles Menges (tipped by Gaven Haselhorst), Makel Williams, Mason Perez, and Trevion Mitchell. The defensive line created pressure all game long and accounted for 32 percent of the team's tackles. FHSU shut down NSU twice in the red zone to preserve its shutout.