ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Week 10 of the Griffon Football season brings Missouri Western home for the final time in 2014. Twelve Griffon seniors will be honored prior to the 1:30 p.m. kickoff against Nebraska-Kearney. 

The Griffons are coming off their worst loss in four years. Despite allowing nearly 400 yards on the ground, the Griffon defense held Northwest to just 99 yards passing and added two more interceptions. Missouri Western's defensive unit ranks near the top of the MIAA in nearly every statistic, including scoring defense (17.6) and total defense (361.7). A steady climb in output from the Griffon offense was halted last week by an impressive defensive effort from Northwest. The Griffons were held to just 78 yards of total offense and six first downs. Despite last week's numbers, Raphael Spencer has moved into fifth on the career rushing yards list at Missouri Western. The junior nees just 159 more yards to move past Thomas Hodges for third on the all-time list. 

MWSU has claimed the last five over Nebraska-Kearney but the Lopers hold a 16-8 lead in the all-time series. Jerry Partridge has never lost to UNK and Loper head coach Darrell Morris is 0-2 against MWSU. The Griffons will be trying to avoid five losses in a season for the first time since 2008. MWSU has not lost five MIAA games since 2002 and will be looking to guarantee their 10th straight season finishing .500 or better with a win Saturday. 

Nebraska-Kearney enters the game 2-7 on the season. The Lopers are coming off a tough, 7-point loss to Fort Hays last week that saw the Tigers claim victory after reeling off 24 straight points in the third and fourth quarters after falling behind 10-0. Nebraska-Keareny averages nearly 200 yards rushing per game and close to 140 through the air. They're led by quarterback Bronson Marsh's 736 yards rushing. Defensively, Tyke Kozeal is among the MIAA's leaders with 115 total tackles. The Lopers rank ninth in the MIAA in total defense and seventh in scoring defense. 

Twelve Griffon seniors will play their last game in Spratt Stadium Saturday afternoon. The class enters the weekend with a 34-12 record at MWSU. This group of seniors has helped the team to two NCAA Division II Playoff appearances and the program's only outright MIAA Championship. This year's senior class includes: Marc Harrison, Jon Green, Stephen Juergens, Meshack Kennedy, Dominic Thomas, Scott Groner, Kirk Resseguie, Tony Baruth, Josh Williams, Jeff Massengale, Christian Orduno and John Schmiemeier.