The Missouri Western Griffons improved to 20-11
all-time against the Emporia State Hornets as they survived a second
half comeback attempt 28-21. Western improved to 3-5 overall and 2-4 in
the MIAA winning their fourth straight in the series with the Hornets.

The Griffons came out of the gates and dominated the first half of play
scoring 28 unanswered first half points. Western out gained the Hornets
in the first frame 285 to 96 and held Emporia to just 38 yards rushing
and 6 first downs.

Western controlled the clock as they had the ball for 18:55 to the
Hornets 11:05. Western converted on all three red-zone chances with Zach
Walker scoring the Griffons first touchdown on a one yard scamper to cap
off a 12 play 56 yard drive in the first quarter.

Western would score 21 points in the second quarter with Newhart
hooking up with Cedric Houston and Adam Clausen on passes of 60 and 12
yards to make the score 21-0 with 6:47 left in the half. The Griffons
would close out the scoring in the first half when Walker scored his
second touchdown of the contest on a 12 yard scamper.

Western’s defense was led by Sean Whiters as he had 5 total tackles
and an interception late in the half to keep the Hornets off the
scoreboard. The Griffons Bradley Davidson also blocked a Hornet 38 yard
field goal attempt in the first quarter.

In the second half the Griffons were going into make it 35-0 when the
Hornets caused a fumble in the end zone and brought the ball out to
their eight yard line. Quarterback Andre Sloan El would find his touch
and guide the Hornets 92 yards on 13 plays to cut the lead to 28-6 after
a Davidson blocked extra point.

 The Hornets would keep playing well on both sides of the ball and
would score 15 more points to close the gap to 28-21 with 4:03 left in
the contest. The Hornets elected to kick the ball deep and the Griffons
were able to sustain a drive to close out the game.

Western closed the game with 401 yards on 66 plays with 297 yards
coming through the air. The Griffons had the ball for 31:42 and had 2
interceptions which were returned for 69 yards.

Drew Newhart finished the day with 297 yards passing on 22-of-32 with 2
touchdowns. Thomas Hodges led the way with 67 yards on 15 carries and
Adam Clausen had a nice day a he had a career high four receptions for
52 yards and caught his first career touchdown.

Sean Whiters continued his dominating play as he had 13 tackles with
one being for a loss. Soane Etu had 9 tackles with three quarterback
hurries and 1.5 tackles for a loss. Nate Bruto also had a nice game as
he had 9 tackles with one interception and one pass breakup.

The Hornets finished with 388 total yards with 300 coming through the
air. Sloan El went 28-of-46 with two interceptions and one touchdown
pass. Sloan El also ran for two scores. Defensively Tyler Mikkelson had
10 tackles with 7 being solo.

Western will be in on the road next Saturday, October 25 when they
travel to Joplin, Mo. to take on the Lions of Missouri Southern. Kickoff
is set for 2:00 pm.

Missouri Western State University (located in St. Joseph, Mo.) is an
NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Mid-America
Intercollegiate Athletics Association.