ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Football (0-1) hits the road for the first time in 2019 with a trip to No. 25 Fort Hays State (0-1) on Thursday night. Kickoff at Lewis Field Stadium in Hays, Kansas is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• Both teams fell victim to two late touchdowns last week. The Griffs led Northwest 35-31 in the fourth quarter, but two Northwest touchdowns, one with four minutes remaining, spoiled the upset bid. Fort Hays State had a 30-21 lead with 14:25 to go at Central Missouri before the Mules scored twice in the final five minutes, taking their first lead of the game with 1:33 left, to come back on the Tigers.
• MWSU upset then No. 5 Fort Hays State 23-13 last year in the Griffons' home opener. MWSU picked off three Fort Hays State passes, had a special teams touchdown and held the Tigers to 32 yards rushing on 17 carries.
• The Griffons gave up 45 points last week, but had help to get there. Northwest scored two defensive touchdowns, one a fumble recovery and one on an interception. Only three of Nortwest's scoring drives started with an MWSU punt or kickoff. Three of the five started with a Griff turnover and the other off a failed fourth down conversion.
• Missouri Western freshman returner Trey Vaval shined in his first collegiate action last week, but his opportunities may be limited at Fort Hays State. Reigning Don Hansen National Special Teams Player of the Year Dante Brown had four of his seven kickoffs go for touchbacks last week and UCM was only able to manage two returns against the senior for a total of 45 yards.
• This is likely the second of three-straight ranked opponents to open the season for MWSU. Last week it was then No. 6 Northwest, this week No. 25 Fort Hays State and next week current No. 21-ranked Central Missouri.

 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS

• The big question mark going into the season was likely answered as Wyatt Steigerwald threw for 270 yards and was responsible for all five MWSU touchdowns, three passing and two rushing. The senior was 14-for-28, but did throw two interceptions.
• Aiding Steigerwald was a group of mostly young receivers. Devon Holmes caught five passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Damen Wheeler Jr. caught two passes for 75 yards and Shamar Griffith caught three for 71 out of the backfield, including a 46-yard catch on the Griffs' first play.
• The team rushing total from last week didn't really tell the story. Graduate transfer running back Markel Smith averaged 7.5 yards per carry on 13 attempts for 97 yards. Two errant snaps and three sacks hurt the team total. MWSU only got credit for 79 yards after the losses, but actually gained 149 on the always stout Northwest run defense.
• After leading the nation in red zone scoring last season, the Griffs went 5-for-5 last week.
• Kobe Cummings picked up where he left off, leading the team with 11 tackles against Northwest.
• Trey Vaval took his first-ever kick return 86 yards to the Northwest 10-yard line to set up the Griffs' first touchdown of the game. He averaged 55 yards on three kick returns for 166 yards last week.

 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS

• Chance Fuller went 27-for-42 for 333 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions last week.
• Charles Tigner led the FHSU rushing attack with 65 yards on 15 carries and also caught eight passes for 55 yards.
• Layne Beiberle caught four passes for 99 yards and a score while Harley Hazlett hauled in six catches for 70 yards and a TD.
• Dante Brown averaged 63.9 yards on seven kickoffs and was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, including a 51-yard kick early in the second quarter.
• Last week's loss at UCM dropped the Tigers from No. 11 to No. 25 in the AFCA poll. FHSU claimed a share of the MIAA title last season after winning it outright in 2017. The Tigers were the preseason MIAA coaches' pick to repeat as conference champs.

 
THE SERIES

• MWSU took a 15-12-1 lead all-time with last year's win to snap a two-game skid to FHSU.
• Prior to 2016, MWSU had won 11-straight in the series.

 
MISSOURI WESTERN HEAD COACH MATT WILLIAMSON

• The 1996 Missouri Western graduate and two-time All-MIAA defensive lineman is 11-13 in his third season as a head coach.

FORT HAYS STATE HEAD COACH CHRIS BROWN

• Now in his ninth season leading the Tigers, Brown is the two-time reigning MIAA Coach of the Year and enters with a 58-35 record at FHSU.

 
HONOR THE PAST. DOMINATE THE NOW. 50 SEASONS OF GRIFFON FOOTBALL

• Each of the five home games will serve as a throwback to a different decade of Griffon Football, beginning with the 1970s on Sept 5.
• Various historical elements, including the five All-Decade teams can be found on gogriffons.com throughout the 2019 season.
• Each edition of Griffon Game Day magazine this season also pays homage to the game's corresponding decade with in-depth information on the All-Decade team and Griffon Football history.
• 2019 could potentially bring the program its 300th victory as the Griffons enter season 50 with 291 wins.

 
MEANINGFUL UNIFORMS

• A first in the program's history, MWSU will wore all gold uniforms Sept. 5 in honor of the Golden Season of Griffon Football.
• Gold had long been a prominent part of the program's uniforms with gold helmets worn by the first 20 Griffon teams and predominantly gold pants worn through the first two decades of the program's history.
• This year's team will also wear throwback helmet decals as a nod to the past. This week's "MW" decal was worn on gold helmets from 1974-82 and again, briefly, on a black helmet in the early '90s. Other than the black helmet with the iconic gold Griffon logo, which was the primary helmet between 1998 and 2017, the "MW" was the most worn helmet decal in the program's history.
• While the decals are a throwback, the helmets they're rest on are state-of-the-art. Funded exclusively by a private donation, all Griffon Football players are now equipped with helmets that meet the top-performance standards from recent studies by the NFL. The Griffons became the largest NCAA DII client of VICIS ZERO1 helmets, the highest rated in the most recent performance testing. The team was also able to purchase additional top-rated Riddell and Schutt helmet models in the off-season.
• On the back of this year's helmets are 50 Seasons of Griffon Football and 150 Years of College Football logo decals.