THIS WEEK IN GRIFFON FOOTBALL
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Missouri Western (5-2) vs Emporia State (2-5)
 
ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Football goes for its fifth straight victory when Emporia State visits Spratt Memorial Stadium this Saturday.
 
It's Rogers Pharmacy Hall of Fame Weekend at Missouri Western as seven individuals and one team will be inducted into the Griffon Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
SETTING THE STAGE

• For a fifth straight week, the Griffons face a team coming off three consecutive losses to Northwest Missouri, Fort Hays State and Central Missouri.
• Missouri Western's four game win streak is its longest since starting the 2013 season 7-0 and its 5-2 record is the best start for the program since 2014. If the Griffons get to 6-2, it will be the best start since that 7-0 beginning to the 2013 season.
• The Griffons sit in a four-way tie for third place in the MIAA standings with Fort Hays State, Nebraska Kearney and Pittsburg State. The quartet is a game behind Northwest Missouri for second and two back of undefeated Central Missouri.
• There is bound to be some separation this weekend with Nebraska Kearney travelling to Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State playing at Central Missouri.
• Saturday is the next-to-last home game for MWSU with a trip to Pittsburg State next week before hosting Nebraska Kearney for Senior Day, Nov. 9, and the season finale at Lincoln on Nov. 16.

 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS

• MWSU has won four straight after a 50-43 win at Central Oklahoma last week. The Griffons led 35-17 at the half and 42-23 midway through the fourth quarter, but UCO twice got within a score before MWSU iced the game by recovering an onside kick and driving to the Broncho 8-yard line in the closing seconds.
• For the second consecutive week, the Griffons are receiving votes in the AFCA Top-25 poll.
• The Griffons are up to 2^nd in the MIAA and eighth in DII in scoring offense after five straight weeks of scoring at least 43 points. That matched a streak of five straight games over 40 points from 2017. Another 40-plus-point output this week would be the first six-game streak in program history.
• Earlier this season, the team became the first in program history to put up over 500 yards of total offense in three consecutive games (Central Missouri, Northeastern State and Washburn) and came very close to making it five with 457 yards against Missouri Southern and 467 last week at UCO.
• 16 different Griffons have scored touchdowns this season, 15 offensive. They've been balanced with 20 on the ground, 20 through the air and one kickoff return TD.
• Missouri Western leads the MIAA and ranks seventh in DII averaging 26.97 yards per kick return. The Griffons are second in the nation, allowing zero yards per punt return.
• Wyatt Steigerwald is tied for the third most touchdown passes in Division II with 20. He's thrown at least two in every game this season and ranks eighth in DII with 140 points responsible for. The senior has thrown just three interceptions with his last coming 77 pass attempts ago in week four at Northeastern State. That was his only interception since week one. His 20:3 touchdown to interception ratio is the best in the nation among QBs with 20 or more touchdowns and only two other DII quarterbacks have thrown three or fewer interceptions on 190 or more attempts.
• Markel Smith moved into fourth in DII and leads the MIAA with 11 rushing touchdowns. The senior is seventh in DII in total touchdowns and 10^th in scoring. He's also 16^th in the nation and first in the MIAA, averaging 6.6 yards per carry.
• Smith's teammate Shamar Griffith is second in the MIAA, averaging 6.4 yards per carry and ranks fourth in the conference averaging 115.7 all-purpose yards per game.
• After another blocked kick last week, Arnold Crayton is tied for the conference lead with two and ranks fourth in DII.

 
SCOUTING EMPORIA STATE

• The Hornets hung with No. 11 Central Missouri last week, but dropped their third straight game, 34-27.
• ESU ranks third in the MIAA in total defense (338.1) and fifth in scoring defense (26.6).
• The Hornets have allowed the second fewest passing yards in the conference at 1,201 and the fifth fewest rushing yards at 166.6 per game.
• The ESU defense rnaks fourth in the MIAA with eight interceptions this season.
• Jace McDown is second in the MIAA with 67 total tackles this season.
• Carlos Grace leads the team with 430 rushing yards and five rushing TDs.
• Dalton Cowan is completing 59.4% of his passes for 1,525 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• MWSU leads the all-time series 25-16.
• The Griffons snapped a string of five straight losses to ESU with a 42-28 win in Emporia last year.
• The series is even at nine wins apiece in St. Joseph with the Griffs holding a 16-7 advantage in Emporia.

 
MISSOURI WESTERN HEAD COACH MATT WILLIAMSON

• The 1996 MWSU graduate and two-time All-MIAA defensive lineman is 16-14 in his third season as a head coach.
• After beginning his coaching career at MWSU as a graduate assistant, Williamson spent 11 years as an assistant at Arkansas-Monticello, Central Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin.

 
EMPORIA STATE HEAD COACH GARIN HIGGINS

• In his 13^th season leading his alma mater, Higgins is 80-65
• Higgins also spent five seasons as head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma (2000-04), compiling a 51-9 record.