ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A near upset over No. 5 Pittsburg State now in its rearview mirror, Griffon Football returns home for Saturday's showdown with Missouri Southern in the Rogers Pharmacy Hall of Fame Game at Spratt Stadium.

TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon Football is once again gracing the airwaves of KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with "The Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac and sideline reporter Derek Zimmerman-Guyer. The game can be heard on KFEQ - AM 680 and the KFEQ Live Stream.

The game is also available to watch for a subscription fee on the MIAA Network. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. with pregame starting at noon. Game admission can be found by clicking on the "Tickets" tab. 

ABOUT LAST WEEK'S GRIFFON LOSS
No. 5 PSU 28, MWSU 16 - Box Score
The Griffons grabbed their second lead of the day on a two-yard Jonas Bennett reception from quarterback Reagan Jones, resulting in Bennett's first-career TD through the air. Eerily similar to week five's 16-3 loss to then No. 12 Northwest Missouri, the Griffons' (3-5, 3-5 MIAA) 10-7 halftime lead was let go early in the third quarter with Pitt State (8-0, 8-0 MIAA) taking the lead just 40 seconds into the half. Chad Dodson Jr. hit Kolbe Katsis on a dime in stride for a 67-yard strike and ultimately sparked a 21-0 run for the Gorillas. Missouri Western accumulated 13 first downs in the first half but only finished with five more in the second half, while Pitt pieced together 11 plays pushing itself past the sticks. 

The Griffons' second-best ground attack in the MIAA came to a grinding halt against Pitt's defense, with MWSU rushing for only 119 yards — their second-lowest mark this season. Jones was sacked three times at Carnie Smith Stadium, pushing the opposing defense's multi-sack streak vs. MWSU to three-straight games. However, the Griffon defense did dish out some pain of its own against Pitt, sacking Dodson Jr. thanks to C.J. Ravenell and A.J. Crayton's efforts to move MWSU's multi-sack streak to three games in a row.

ABOUT LAST WEEK'S LION LOSS
(RV) ESU 24, MSSU 21 - Box Score
An opposing fourth-quarter put Missouri Southern (4-4, 4-4 MIAA) to bed for the second week in a row after Braden Gleason gave Emporia State the 24-21 win Joplin, Missouri. It was Gleason's third touchdown toss of the day, which signals the most Southern has surrendered so far this season. Down by three with 12 seconds left and backed up at their own 20-yard line, the Lions leaped 36 yards down the field to the ESU 44 in just two plays but couldn't get back to the line in time as the clock expired.

After starting the first six weeks with at least one sack, MSSU failed to do so in week seven vs. Central Missouri and Emporia State, resulting in the team's first back-to-back losses of 2022. On that note, the Lions only gave up one sack vs. ESU and have kept their signal-caller upright as of late, only allowing two sacks in the last three weeks. 

PROLIFIC POSITION PREVIEWS
Coaches
Missouri Western Head Coach Matt Williamson is 29-25 overall and 27-25 in the MIAA. In six years at MWSU. Williamson and the Griffons are 4-0 vs. Southern since 2017, beating the Lions by an average margin of 21.8 points.

In his second season as head honcho for the Lions, Atiba Bradley is 8-12 overall and in the MIAA. Under his first season in command during 2021, Southern went 3-8, losing to MWSU on Oct. 30, 45-28 in Joplin. Bradley was previously the defensive coordinator at McKendree University and served as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers at South Dakota from 2016-2018. He is the 14th head coach in MSSU history.

Quarterback
Commanding the Griffons behind center is sophomore Reagan Jones, who is 6-7 as a starter MWSU since taking the reins in this very matchup last season on Oct. 30, beating the Lions and winning his first five starts. He is fourth in the MIAA in pass attempts and completions, going 130-for-241. Jones is also slippery in the backfield, rushing for the fifth-most yards in the MIAA with 478 under his belt. 

Jones rushed for a career-high 159 yards vs. MSSU in 2021, which was also the first time he eclipsed the century mark in his young career. He also passed 12-for-16 for 181 yards and one touchdown. 

Fellow sophomore Dawson Herl is in charge of Lions, notching a 7-12 record in his near two years with MSSU. Herl's passing abilities are put on display as much with standout back Nathan Glades, but he put on a show vs. MWSU last fall, tallying 307 yards while going 16-for-36 and three touchdowns. He has only passed for five TDs so far this season, the third least in the conference.

QB STATS VS. OPPONENT

• Reagan Jones: 1-0 record vs. MSSU - 12-for-16, 181 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, long of 50, 0 sacks - 17 attempts, 159 yards, 3 TDs, long of 56
• Dawson Herl: 0-1 record vs. MWSU - 16-for-36, 307 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, long of 60, 0 sacks 0 - 4 attempts, 28 yards, 0 TDs, long of 19
• Luke Sampson: N/A (redshirt)

Defensive Line
The Griffons may just have nine sacks overall, but they have taken the quarterback twice for three games in a row. C.J. Ravenell's two sacks is tied for first on the time with linebacker Anthony Villanueva, throwing down his first QB at Pitt since week one vs. Central Oklahoma's Stephon Brown. A.J. Crayton got in on the QB-sacking fun against PSU as well for his first sack of the season.

Eight different Lions have brought the QB this season, with six pass rushers racking up multiple so far this season. Missouri Southern has the third-most sacks in the MIAA with 17, led by Jamie Tago's and Solomona Fetuato's three apiece. However, the Lions have lost their pass rush as of late, putting up goose eggs in that category for two-straight games.

Running Backs
The story of the 2022 Griffons' offensive identity is their rushing attack, with Jones and Brandon Hall leading the ground charge for MWSU. Hall is ninth in the MIAA with 418 rushing yards, while Jared Scott in just outside the top 10 at 11th with 365 yards. Missouri Western's 190.3 yards per game is the second most in the MIAA and ranks 31st in Division II.

Nathan Glades' 729 yards ranks second in the MIAA, making him the only pure RB in the MIAA averaging 90 or more yards a game with 91.1. He's also tied for first with Pitt State's Caleb Lewis in rushing TDs with six scores. Southern's second-leading rusher is Herl, who has 226 yards and four TDs.

RIVALRY RECORD RABBIT HOLE
This is the 51st meeting in the history of this rivalry dating back to 1970, as MWSU holds the 28-23 advantage. Since 2017, 
Williamson's offense vs. Southern is averaging a staggering 38 points per game on the dot, and his defense is holding the Lions to a lean 19.8 points per game. Overall since 1970, the Griffons average 26.8 points a contest, while MSSU tends to put up an average of 24 points each outing.
With eight-straight wins vs. MSSU under the Griffons' belt, MWSU' last beat its across-state foe on Oct. 30, 2021, in Joplin, 45-28. This was the first career start for QB Reagan Jones, who led the Griffons with 159 rushing yards and three touchdowns, making him just the first MWSU QB to rush for 150 yards since Joe Reid ran all over Emporia State for 170 yards and a score on Oct. 15, 1988. Jones threw 12-for-16 for 181 yards and touchdown, hitting Cooper Burton three times for 90 yards and a TD.

STACK THE SACKS
With two more sacks at Pitt State, the Griffons have taken down the quarterback in back-to-back-to-back weeks for the first time all fall. The Lions are in fifth in the MIAA with 12 sacks given up but have only give up three sacks in the last three games.

TAKE YOUR TIME
The Griffons are second in the MIAA in time of possession with an average of 31:36 minutes per game, only trailing Northwest and its mark of 32:44. MWSU won the battle of clock control vs. Pitt, holding onto the ball for 31:43 compared to PSU's 28:17.

RED HOT IN THE RED ZONE
Going 25-25 in the red zone this fall, MSSU is the best and only team to hold a perfect red-zone conversion percentage in Division II. The Lions have scored 17 touchdowns and are 8-for-8 when kicking field goals.

CRAYTON AND RAVENELL- CLIMBING UP THE RANKINGS
With 11 career sacks apiece, A.J. Crayton and C.J. Ravenell are only half a QB takedown away from tying Daniel Atkinson for 10th all-time in Griffon history. Ravenell— a 2021 All-MIAA Third Team — member brought down the QB seven times after a two-sack season in 2019. So far in 2022, Ravenell's two sacks are six weeks apart, taking down UCO in week one and Pitt State in week eight. Crayton took down the QB for the 11th time in his career and for the first time this season last week at Pitt.

KOBE'S DEFENSIVE CANOPY
Senior safety Kobe Cummings is once again making plays all over the field and is near the top of the MWSU tackling leaderboards, listed third with 46 this season. His 271 career tackles list him at sixth all-time within the program. Cummings needs four more tackles to pass Pierre Thomas (2000-03) total of 274 tackles to take fifth all-time in team history.

ON THIS DATE IN GRIFFON FOOTBALL HISTORY: OCT. 29
The Griffons found themselves in a nail-biter in 2005, taking No. 17 St. Cloud State to the brink in a 31-28 loss in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Missouri Western trailed 17-7 in the third quarter but stormed back on a 21-7 run to take a 28-24 lead, but St. Cloud scored with 38 seconds left to close out the game.

Jeremiah White led the Griffons with 137 rushing yards on 30 attempts, while QB Michael Burton passed 17-for-28 for two touchdowns and 254 yards. Jarrett Brooks and Gijon Robinson went in tandem with six receptions for 121 yards and seven catches 96 yards respectively, as Brooks brought in both of Burton's TD passes.