ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — There's no place like Spratt Stadium on Homecoming Week, as the Griffons are back home for a critical showdown with Nebraska-Kearney in the 32nd edition of this rivalry on Saturday at Craig Field.

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, color commentator Paul Smith 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 4 p.m. with pregame starting at 3. Game admission can be found by clicking on the "Tickets" tab. 

ABOUT LAST WEEK'S GRIFFON LOSS
Similar to 2021's midway point, the Griffons have lost their last three games after losing to No. 12/11 Northwest Missouri and are preparing for yet another ranked team in No. 24/14 Nebraska-Kearney. The Griffons became the first team to hold Northwest scoreless in the first half in Maryville since 2010 and overall since 2012 but couldn't keep a 3-0 lead for long. MWSU led for 1:28 but allowed a 43-yard rushing score from Robert Rawie to begin the second half. MWSU rushed for its lowest total yet with just 65 yards against the No. 1 rush defense in Division II. Despite that, MWSU quarterback Reagan Jones passed for a season-high 271 yards and slung the ball a career-high 49 times, completing a season-high 21 passes. However, Jones was sacked three times by the Bearcats' No. 1 pass rush in the nation, the most he's been taken down all season. Wide receivers Cooper Burton and Traveon James had season-high days as well, respectively catching the ball six times for 101 yards and nine times for 95 yards. Burton is the first Griffon to hit 100 receiving yards this season — the third time he's done so in his career.

ABOUT LAST WEEK'S LOPER WIN
Meanwhile, UNK's No. 1 rushing attack in the MIAA was held to just 164 yards vs. Fort Hays, its lowest total of 2022. The Lopers led 14-13 midway through the third quarter when T.J. Davis threw one of his career-high three passing touchdowns to start a 24-0 UNK run. The Loper defense picked off Tiger QB Chance Fuller three times — a season-high for UNK. 

PROLIFIC POSITION PREVIEWS
Coaches
Missouri Western Head Coach Matt Williamson is 28-23 overall and 26-23 in the MIAA. In six years at MWSU, Williamson is 1-3 against UNK, as his first-ever game coaching MWSU took place against the Lopers on Aug. 31 of 2017 in a 14-3 Loper win.

In his sixth year as head coach for UNK, Josh Lynn is 28-23 overall and 27-22 in the MIAA. He is 3-1 vs. MWSU.

Quarterbacks
Saturday marks Davis vs. Jones for just the second time in their careers in a matchup between two of the best running signal callers in the MIAA. Coming off a career-high 49 attempts, Jones is fourth in the MIAA with 158 pass attempts and is fifth in completions with 86. Davis has only thrown the ball 59 times this fall with just a league-low 28 completions to show for it. His passing total of 559 yards is the second lowest in the conference, but Davis' seven touchdown strikes is tied for fourth. It's well known both QBs can beat you with their legs, as Davis leads the MIAA with 105 attempts, 611 rushing, seven scores and is the only player in the conference to average over the century mark at 122.2 yards per game. Jones is fifth in the MIAA with 304 yards and is tied for second with four rushing TDs. While Jones didn't start last season vs. UNK, he played the most at QB, making him technically 0-1 vs. UNK. Davis is 2-0 vs. MWSU with double-digit wins in 2019 and 2021.

QB STATS VS. OPPONENT

• Jones: 1 game, 0-1 - 7-15, 53 pass yards, 0 TD, 2 INTs, long of 16 - 8 attempts, 99 rush yards. 1 TD, long of 25
• Davis: 2 games, 2-0 - 12-22, 238 pass yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, long of 57 - 54 attempts, 201 rush yards, 3 TDs, long of 15

Running Backs
No. 1 meets No. 2 in a tangle for the top of the MIAA rushing leaderboards. Both offenses typically find its most success this season rushing the ball, with the Lopers boasting the best running game in the MIAA and fourth best in the country at 274.8 yards per game. While Davis is the main rushing weapon for UNK, he's joined by running back Damien Cearns, who is 10th in the MIAA with 235 rushing yards. The Griffons, on the other hand, still hold the most rushers in the MIAA's top 10: Brandon Hall with 315 yards (4th); Jones with 304 (5th); and Jared Scott with 275 (8th). The Griffons' 215.2 yards per game is still good for 22nd in the country, as they started the season with dual-100-yard rushers in the first two games but haven't had one since. Since week three at Emporia State, MWSU's best rushing performance since belongs to Jonas Bennett's 76 yards on eight carries during week four vs. Washburn. So far this season, Scott's week-two scamper of 59 yards vs. Fort Hays is the fifth-longest run in the MIAA. Scott didn't play vs. UNK in 2019 or 2021. 

Safeties
Kobe Cummings comes into week six tied for second in total tackles on the team with fellow safety Domanic Chapa at 31, which is good 19th-place tie in the MIAA. Also tied for 19th with the Griffon duo is UNK safety Darius Swanson, whose niche is snagging interceptions.  The Griffon secondary is looking for its first interception since Desmond Green's endzone pick in week two at Fort Hays. The Lopers themselves have five Swanson is tied for first place in the MIAA with Central Missouri's Noah Blair with three interceptions, including an 18-yard pick-six vs. Missouri Southern during week one. He led the Lopers with four interceptions in 2021, giving Swanson seven for his career.

YIELDING THE YELLOW ON THE FIELD
Missouri Western comes in as the 10th-most penalized team in the MIAA with 31 flags for 320 yards. On the opposite end of the league, UNK has only been flagged a league-low of 24 times for a conference minimum of 199 yards.

RIVALRY RECORD RABBIT HOLE
By the Numbers
Nebraska-Kearney leads the overall series 19-12 and owns an 8-7 record in St. Joseph. However, MWSU is 7-3 in the last 10 matchups, heavily influenced by the Griffons' eight-game winning streak over UNK from 1996-2016. Since the Lopers joined the MIAA in 2012, MWSU is 6-3 vs. its conference counterpart. In the four games since 2017, Williamson's defenses are allowing 25 points per contest, while the offense is averaging 14. 

Last Time Out
Last season's showdown in Kearney saw Davis dice up a career day passing the ball, throwing for a career-high three touchdowns with 86 yard rush yards and a score to boot. UNK built a 28-7 lead by the beginning of the fourth quarter that was protected by a staunch defense. The Lopers forced and recovered three fumbles and picked off Reagan Jones twice. Jones didn't start that game but did have a good day on the ground, rushing for 99 yards and one score. Jones wasn't sacked once, but former Griffon QB Anthony Vespo went down twice, as did Burton on a trick play. Missouri Western is searching for its first win over UNK since Nov. 3, 2018 when the Griffons took home a 25-17 victory in Kearney. MWSU's last win over UNK in St. Joseph took place on Sept. 1, 2016 in a 44-21 thumping of the Lopers. Saturday's game vs. the Lopers mark the second-straight year of the Griffons taking on a ranked UNK team, as the Lopers were No. 22 during week six in 2021.

THIS DAY IN GRIFFON FOOTBALL HISTORY: OCT. 8
Missouri Western Football is 3-0 in its last three games on Oct. 8, most recently defeating Lindenwood during 2016 in St. Charles, 37-29. The Griffons' offense was highlighted by a 266 yard, three-touchdown day by quarterback Skyler Windmiller, who hit receiver Dijuan Ussery for three receptions, 90 yards and a long score of 67 yards. 

The 2011 edition of Oct. 8 was hard to watch for visiting Lincoln fans, with the Griffons scoring their most points in program history with an 81-20 win. Griffon running back Dominic Thomas went off for 124 yards and two scores on just nine carries, averaging 13.8 yard per pop. St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Famer Michael Hill ran for 94 yards and two TDs on only eight carries.

In 2005, MWSU beat down Missouri Southern, 39-6, at Spratt Stadium. Jarrett Brooks caught six passes for 159 yards and one score.

RAVENELL UP THE RANKINGS
With 10 career sacks, junior C.J. Ravenell is one-and-a-half QB takedowns away from tying Daniel Atkinson for 10th all-time in Griffon history. The 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 one sack is courtesy of a second quarter third down-and-11 stop over UCO's Stephon Brown in week one. Ravenell had Washburn's Kellen Simoncic wrapped for a second sack last Saturday, but it was negated by a facemask call against Ravenell midway through the third quarter. Washburn went on to score on that drive to go up 24-17. Ravenell also forced a fumble vs. Washburn, giving MWSU its second forced turnover of the season.

BURTON BRINGS IT IN BACK-TO-BACK WEEKS 
After being held to 61 receiving yards and no scores throughout the first three weeks, Cooper Burton showed why he is MWSU's leading receiver from 2021. He snagged two game-tying touchdowns vs. Washburn with the latter clocking in with just 45 seconds left in regulation. 

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 tackle leaderboards, tied for second with 31 this season. His 256 career tackles list him at seventh all-time within the program.

CRAYTON VS. DAVIS
Longtime Griffon defensive end A.J. Crayton is the last Griffon to sack Davis, tallying two sacks for 11 yards vs. UNK in 2019. Crayton needs one-and-half more sacks to tie Daniel Atkinson for 10th all-time in Griffon history. He has been at MWSU since 2017.

CONSISTENT CAM
As one of the longest-tenured offensive players for MWSU, tight end Cam Grandy has seen two matchups vs. UNK barring his injured 2021 season. The big man caught his first career TD on a 11-yard pass from QB Dom Marino in 2018's 25-17 Griffon win. In 2019's meeting, Grandy caught two passes for 15 yards during the week-10 clash at Spratt Stadium.