Western’s defense has a strong showing against Fort Hays

Missouri Western’s defense played a big role in the Griffons, 37-9 victory as they held the Fort Hays Tigers to just 208 total yards of offense.

The Griffons (4-2) got on the board early when lineback­er Jacob Schoonover intercepted a pass and ran it back 26 yards to put the Griffons on the scoreboard. La’Darrian Page added a 14-yard touchdown run to put the Griffons up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Griffons improved to 3-0 on the road this season. Cornerback Jarrett Morris contributes their success on the road to the coaching staff.

“The coaches put it in our minds that to be a good team you must win on the road,” Morris said.

In the second quarter, Drew Newhart threw a 94-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Houston. That play was the sec­ond longest pass play in the history of Western football. The Tigers would add a field goal and recover a fumble in the end zone to make the score 20-9 at halftime.
The Griffons defense, after struggling last week against Washburn, bounced back in a big way against the Tigers, giving up only three points as a defense. Defensive Coordinator Regi Trotter thought the defense showed signs of maturity.

“Guys are starting to figure it out, we are starting to play up to our capabilities,” Trotter said.

Quarterback Drew Newhart had a career day. He passed for a career high 277 yards and also had career high in pass attempts with 32. Newhart believed ball con­trol helped the Griffons win the game.

“Offensively we had long drives to keep the momentum in our favor,” Newhart said.

The Griffons outscored the Tigers 17-0 in the second half. The Griffons would get another touchdown from Page as he scored from 26 yards out. Barron Bradshaw would throw a late touchdown to Anthony Anderson and Dustin Strickler added a field goal in the second half to make the final score 37-9.

The Griffons had a hard week of practice and Morris believes that harder practices in the future will equal to success.

“We need to practice harder and harder to keep getting better each week,” Morris said.
 
The Griffons will look to build off this victory, and keep momentum going into the homecoming game against Southwest Baptist. Trotter believes the team is building on these victories.

“We have been getting better and better each week; we keep improving,” Trotter said.

The Griffons need to finish this season strong to make another playoff appearance. They will start that run by facing Southwest Baptist this next weekend.