The Missouri Western Griffon defense intercepted Fort Hays State quarterback Anthony Smith three times to help seal a 31-28 victory in front of 4,611 fans on Family Day. Western held the Tigers to just 63 yards passing in the contest as the Griffons improve to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the MIAA.
The Griffons came out ready to play as they would capitalize on a short
field on their second series of the game. Western quarterback Drew
Newhart would connect with junior tight end Billy Babcock for a 7 yard
scoring strike to finish off a 6 play 37 yard drive.
The Western defense would continue to play well as they would force the
Tigers to miss a 45 yard field goal attempt. Western would then march 72
yards on 12 plays with Newhart connecting with Cedric Houston for a 17
yard scoring strike to put the Griffons up 14-0 with 6:17 left in the
half.
The Tigers would drive the ball down to the Griffons 25 yard line on
the ensuing possession, but Griffon senior corner back Jarrett Morris
would intercept a Smith pass and scamper 82 yards to set the Griffons up
on the Hays four yard line with 20 seconds left in the half. Newhart
would sneak in from a yard out to give the Griffons a 21 point lead
going into the half.
The Tigers would hold the Griffons to a three and out to open up the
second frame. C.J. Lovett would then return a Jamie Hanson punt 54 yards
to cut the Griffon lead to 14 with 14:23 left in the third quarter.
Western would answer as Dustin Stickler capitalized on a 41 yard field
goal to put the Griffons up 24-7 with 7:03 left in the third.
The Tigers would continue to play tough defense as Jason Carr would
intercept a Drew Newhart pass and scamper in from 14 yards out to cut
the lead to 10 with fewer than four minutes to go in the third quarter.
The Griffons would answer when Ian Thomson recorded his first career
interception and ran in from 69 yards out to stretch the Griffons lead
to 17.
The Tigers would not give up as they would score 14 unanswered fourth
quarter points to cut the lead to 31-28 with 2:18 left in the contest.
The Tigers would hold the Griffons and get the ball back with 1:42 left
in the game. A Smith pass was batted down by Morris on a 4th and 7 play
to seal the Griffon victory.
The Griffons had 189 yards on interception returns and converted on all
four red zone opportunities. Western had 195 yards of total offense in
the contest. Thomas Hodges led the Griffons on the ground as he had 50
yards on 18 carries. Cedric Houston led the way receiving as he had 3
receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown.
Jamie Hanson had a nice day punting the ball as he averaged 54.0 yards
on three punts with a long of 64 yards. Dustin Strickler tied his
consecutive extra point mark of 52 as he went 4-of-4 on the day along
with a 41 yard field goal.
Sean Whiters led the defense from his linebacker position as he had 13
tackles with 7 solo and 6 assisted. Thomas Madget had a career high 10
tackles with 6 solo and 4 assisted. Nate Bruto had a nice game playing
free safety as he had 6 tackles an interception and one pass break-up.
The Tigers had 306 yards of total offense with 243 yards coming on the
ground. Smith led the way with 134 yards on 21 carries and two
touchdowns. On defense Fort Hays State was led by Allen Walker as he had
9 tackles with one tackle for a loss.
Western will be in action next on Saturday, October 11 when they take
on the Mavericks of Nebraska-Omaha at 1:00 pm in Omaha, Neb. This will
mark the first ever meeting between the two schools.
