Kickoff
The 12th ranked Missouri Western football will look to stay undefeated on the road this season when they travel to Emporia, Kan. for a Thursday night game against the undefeated #15 Emporia State Hornets. Kick off is set for 6:00 pm on October 25 in Welch Stadium.

Game Information Date / Time: October 25, 2012 / 6:00 p.m. CST Site: Emporia, Kan. - Jones Field at Welch Stadium (7,000) Radio: Griffon Sports Network (KFEQ 680 AM St. Joseph & KMRN 1360 AM Cameron)     Talent: Dave Riggert (pxp), Bob Orf (analyst),       Brett Esely (sideline) Twitter Updates: @gogriffons Series: MWSU leads 23-11     St. Joseph, Mo.: MWSU leads 11-6     Emporia, Kan.: MWSU leads 12-5 First Meeting: October 23, 1976 - at MWSU         MWSU defeated ESU 21-7 Last Meeting: October 5, 2011 - at ESU     MWSU won 22-16

Missouri Western Grffons (7-1, 6-1 MIAA) Football Page Roster Statistics (2012) Schedule Game Notes Athletic Website

Emporia State (8-0, 8-0 MIAA) Football Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Athletic Website

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STORY LINES
• This marks just the 34th meeting between the Hornets and the Griffons.
• This marks the 18th meeting in Emporia and third in the last four years. MWSU won last years meeting 22-16 on October 15, 2011 in Emporia.
• The Griffons are 3-0 at road this season and 3-0 in MIAA play at home...MWSU beat Fort Hays State 21-3, Northeastern State 45-31 and #7 Pittsburg State 63-14.
• The Griffons have won the last four games that have been played in Emporia, Kan. and the last seven in the series.
• The Griffons been very good against the Hornets in October. The Griffons are 10-2 on the road in October against ESU and 19-7 overall. They are 9-5 in St. Joseph against the Hornets in October.
• The last time the two teams played a television game was on October 8, 1998...ESU won 42-34 when they were ranked 18th...it was in St. Joseph, Mo.
• The Griffons highest ranking ever in the AFCA poll is 4th while their highest in the D2Football.com poll is 3rd.
• Dating back to last season the Griffons have won 14 of 15 regular season games with 13 being MIAA games.
• Missouri Western broke the single game record for yards per rush against William Jewell with 8.8 yard per carry average. The old record was 7.8 which was set on October 22, 2005 vs. Southwest Baptist.
• Taylor Anderson broke the record for most consecutive PATs made in a season with 43 and has made 49 straight in his career.
• MWSU leads the MIAA in rushing yards per game averaging 276.1 yards per game while senior running back Michael Hill is fourth in the the nation averaging 155.5 yards per game.
• Senior defensive end David Bass leads the MIAA in sacks per game averaging 1.06...he is 14th in the nation.
• Hill is tenth in the nation in All-Purpose yards per game averaging 175.25 per game.
• Missouri Western is coming off a season where they went 9-3 and made their third trip in school history to the NCAA Division II National Playoffs and hosted its first ever playoff game at Spratt Stadium.
• Travis Partridge has thrown for or ran for 27 touchdowns in MIAA games this season...he leads the MIAA and is 9th in the nation in passing efficiency at 162.33.
• The nine victories tied a school record for most victories in a season. Missouri Western has done it six times (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011).

COACHES
MWSU head football coach Jerry Partridge. . .
• Named the sixth head coach of the Griffon football program in 1997
• Is 119-63 (.654) in his 16th season as the Griffon head coach.
• Is 90-48 (.652) against the MIAA.
• Has led the Griffons to three NCAA Playoff
appearances and six Mineral Water bowl appearance.
• Led the Griffons to the 2003 Co-MIAA regular season championship.
• Has recorded six winning seasons in last seven years
• Led the Griffons to a school record nine victories in six of his 15 seasons which included last season.
• Is Missouri Western's all-time winningest coach with 119 wins.
• Is third in all-time wins in the MIAA.
• This marks Coach P's 16th meeting with Pittsburg State.
• Played four years at Missouri Western.
• Partridge id 68-23 at home in his career with three undefeated seasons at home (2003, 2006, 2010).
• Marks the 5th meeting against coach Higgins..Partridge is 4-0 against Higgins.
• Coach P is 10-5 against the Hornets.

Emporia State head coach Garrin Higgins. . .
• Garin Higgins has compiled a career record of 78-45 as he is in his 11th season as a head coach.
• He has led the Hornets to within just one game of a post season berth each of the last two seasons.
• He is 27-36 in his sixth season at his alma mater and is 18-12 over the last three seasons.
• He had a 51-9 career record as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma, including two trips to the national championship game.
• Higgins was a quarterback for Emporia State from 1987-90 and was on the 1989 national runners-up team. He is 0-5 against MWSU.

TEAM NOTEBOOK
Quick Starts Key for Griffons
• Missouri Western was 5-1 when leading after the first quarter last season and are 7-1 this season...The Griffons were ahead 14-7 against PSU on Saturday after the first quarter winning 63-14.

September Success
• In the month of September under Partridge the Griffons are 38-24 overall and 19-12 in Spratt Stadium and 19-12 on the road.

Outstanding October
• In the month of October under Partridge the Griffons are 48-22 overall, 25-9 in Spratt Stadium and 23-13 on the road...Against ESU under Partridge in October the Griffons are 19-7. The Griffons are 9-5 at home and in Emporia, Kan. the Griffons are 10-2.

Playing on October 25
• The Griffons are 5-2 all-time on October 25. The
Griffons are 3-0 at home and 2-2 on the road. MWSU is 3-1 on October 25 under Partridge going 2-0 at home and 1-1 on the road. The last time the Griffons played on October 25 was in 2008  when they beat Missouri Southern 17-3 in Joplin, Mo.

In Spratt Stadium
• The Griffons are 121-64-3 since 1979 in Spratt Stadium...MWSU is 4-1 this season.

Red Zone Success
• In their first eight games of the season Missouri Western is 33-36 with 27 touchdowns and six field goals when in the red zone.

• In 2011 the Griffons continued that trend scoring on 46 of 51 trips into the red zone with 29 touchdowns and 17 field goals. Opponents scored on 29 of 37 trips in the Griffons red zone collecting 21 touchdowns with eight field goals.

• In the 2009 and 2010 seasons the Griffons were outstanding in the red zone converting on a combined 95 of 115 trips into the red zone scoring 71 touchdowns with 24 field goals.

Missouri Western at home when ranked since 1989
• When the Griffons are ranked and play at home under coach Partridge they are 16-8.
• The Griffons are 26-18 when they are ranked.
• Missouri Western is 26-16 when ranked under Partridge.

Missouri Western against ranked opponents
Western is 21-36 against DII ranked opponents after defeating 3rd ranked NW Missouri State 31-28 on November 4, 2011 in Spratt Stadium. Under head coach Jerry Partridge the Griffons are 17-29 against ranked opponents as their previous victory came on September 10, 2011 by a score of 23-6 against the 12th ranked Central Missouri Mules.

Missouri Western against ranked opponents at home
The Griffons are 12-14 under Partridge at home against ranked opponents after their victory against Northwest last season. The previous victory at home against a ranked opponent was on September 10, 2011 when they beat #12 Central Missouri by a score of 23-6.

Missouri Western against ranked opponents on the road Under Partridge
Missouri Western is 5-15 under coach Partridge on the road against ranked opponents. MWSU's last victory on the road came last week by a score of 63-14 against Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kan. Before that it was in 2010 defeating #15 Washburn by a score of 36-33 on September 18, 2010. The Griffons first victory against a ranked opponent under Partridge on the road was on October 2, 2004 when they defeated 16th ranked Central Missouri 49-44.

Griffons in TV Games Under Partridge
Missouri Western is 5-4 under Partridge in television games after defeating Nebraska-Kearney 38-14 on Saturday evening. Missouri Western went 2-1 last season in televised games. Last season MWSU defeated UCM and NWMSU on the MIAA Television Network and lost to Washburn on CBS College Sports. In 2010 the Griffons went 1-1 in television games defeating Pittsburg State 42-24 on September 25 in St. Joseph and falling 42-0- against Northwest Missouri State on October 2. Western fell at 10th ranked Pittsburg State 21-14 back on November 6, 1997 and to #18 Emporia State on October 8, 1998 by a score of 42-34 in St. Joseph, Mo. Western is 0-1 in nationally televised games falling to Washburn last season. The Griffons only televison game against ESU was in 1998 when the Hornets won 42-34 in St. Joseph, Mo.

When rushing for over 200 yards since 2011
Last season the Griffons were 11-0 when they rushed for over 200 yards as a team. This season they are 7-1 as they went for 240 in their victory against PSU. They went for 260 loss against MSSU. In their victories they went for 237 against Northeastern State, 243 against Central Oklahoma, 264 against Fort Hays State., 358 against Nebraska-Kearney, 216 yards against Central Missouri Mules and 398 against William Jewell.

When controlling the time of possession
When the Griffons lead in time of possession they are 12-1 since last season. They were 8-1 in 2011 and 4-0 this season controlling the ball.

Defensive Success
This season the Griffons defense has been outstanding. MWSU is second in the MIAA and is T-20th in the nation giving up just 17.75 points per contest. They are tied for 12th in the nation and second in the MIAA sacking the quarterback 3.25 times per game. David Bass is 14th in the nation and 1st in the MIAA averaging 1.06 sacks per game.

Against ESU when Ranked Under Partridge
The Griffons are 2-0 against ESU when ranked in the top-25 and are 1-0 in Emporia. The only time they were ranked against EsU was in 2009 when they won 29-6 in Emporia. MWSU was ranked #23.  

Against ESU Under Partridge when ESU is ranked
The Grifofns are 0-2 against ESU when the Hornets are ranked under Partridge. MWSU is 0-1 at home and 0-1 on the road.

Getting After It
Senior defensive lineman Ben Pister has been getting after the quaterback and running back this season. He has 16.0 tackles for a loss through eight games..He also has 7.0 sacks. He has 40.0 tackles for a loss in his caraeer and is just 4.0 away from tying the single season record which is held by teammate David Bass.

About ESU:
• The Hornets lead the MIAA and are ranked second in the nation in pass defense efficiency.
• ESU leads the MIAA and is ranked tenth in the nation in total offense.
• Tyler Eckenrode leads the MIAA and is eighth in the nation in total offense.
• The Hornets are 12-2 since Oct. 8, 2011.
• The 11 wins against MIAA teams are tied for the most against conference foes in regular season play with Missouri Western, who is 12-1 in that time.

Griffon Football History
Western is 252-204-9 in their 43rd year of Griffon football.

A win for Missouri Western would
Lift the Griffons to 253-204-9 in their football history...be the eighth straight victory over the Hornets...lift the Griffons to 24-11 against ESU..improve coach Partridge to 11-5 all-time against the Hornets....lift the Griffons to 13-5 in Emporia and fifth straight in Emporia...improve Travis Partridge to 2-0 against ESU and 2-0 in Emporia

A loss for Missouri Western would
Drop the Griffons to 252-205-9 in their football history...snap a seven game winning streak against ESU...snap a four game winning streak in Emporia...drop Partridge to 10-6 all-time against ESU...drop Travis Partridge to 1-1 agiainst ESU...give the Griffons their first loss this season.

Series Notes
This marks the 35th meeting between the two schools. The Griffons hold the 23-11 advantage in the series. The Griffons have won 11 of 17 in St. Joseph and 12 of 17 in Emporia. The Griffons have won the last seven games which includes a 22-16 victory last season in Emporia on October 15, 2011. The Hornets longest winning streak in the series had been 4 while the Griffons longest streak was 10 tames. The largest margin of victory for the Griffons came in 1978 when they defeated ESU 49-17 in St. Joseph. The largest margin of victory for the Hornets was in 1986 when they defeated the Griffons 32-0 in St. Joseph. Coach Partridge is 10-5 all time against the Hornets and is 6-2 in St. Joseph, Mo and 4-3 in St. Joseph. This marks the fifth meeting between Partridge and coach Garrin Higgins.

Climbing The Record Books
Griffon senior running back Michael Hill keeps climbing the record book in the rushing category. Hill sits in 1st all-time with 4,045 yards in his career. He is also first all-time in carries with 793 which broke the career mark of Thomas Hodges (693). Defensively David broke the MWSU record for sacks in a career with 37.5. He broke the record the second week of the season against William Jewell.  In 2011, Bass sent a single season record with 20.0 tackles for a loss last season. He broke Eric McDowells mark of 18.5 which was set in 2003. He had 14.5 sacks which was .5 sack behind Eric McDowell's record of 15 set in 2003 and he has 37.5 sacks in his career broke Kinney Redding 30.5 which he set during the stretch of 1974-1977. He is 1.0 tackles for a loss away from tying Michael Cobbins 50 which was set between 2002-2006. Taylor Anderson broke the school record for most PAT's made consecutively in a season with 43. The most consecutive PAT's in a career is 61...Taylor has made 49 straight.

Griffons in the National Polls
The Missouri Western Griffons were tabbed No. 12 in the AFCA preseason top 25 poll. Missouri Western has been ranked in the top 25 in the last 16 polls and has received votes in 34 of the last 37 polls by the American Football Coaches Association. Missouri Western was listed at No. 12 in the d2football.com media poll. The #3 ranking the Griffons had earlier this season is the highest ranking for the Griffons. The #4 ranking was the highest by the AFCA.

Up Next
The Griffons return home for their final regular season home game of the 2012 regular season on Saturday, November 3 when they host the #16 Washburn Ichabods. Game time is set for 1:30 pm from Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph, Mo.