ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A romp between the two best rushing attacks in the MIAA is slated for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. when Griffon Football meets No. 12 Northwest Missouri State at Bearcat Stadium in the Battle of Highway 71.

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 1:30 p.m. with pregame starting at 12:30. Game admission can be found by clicking on the "Tickets" tab. 

ABOUT LAST WEEK'S LOSSES
For the first time since Nov. 11 of 2017 in week 10, both Missouri Western (2-2, 2-2 MIAA) and Northwest Missouri (3-1, 3-1 MIAA) both lost on the same day. Despite a career night with three passing touchdowns by quarterback Reagan Jones, the Washburn Ichabods (3-1, 3-1 MIAA) and James Letcher, Jr. had a career night as well, defeating MWSU 38-31 in the Griffons' first overtime matchup since a 48-45 loss in week three of 2019 vs. UCM. It was all the first OT game between the Ichabods and the Griffons since a 28-21 Griffon win in 2005's week 11.

Northwest's 23-14 loss against Central Oklahoma (2-2, 2-2 MIAA) is the Bearcats' first two-possession regular-season loss since a 31-21 defeat to UCO in week four of 2018, with both games taking place in Edmond, Oklahoma. Only rushing for 97 yards as team, Northwest QB Mike Hohensee threw a career-high three interceptions. Meanwhile, UCO's offensive line kept QB Stephon Brown upright, allowing only one sack vs. the team with most sacks (16) in the MIAA. 

PROLIFIC POSITION PREVIEWS
Coaches
Missouri Western Head Coach Matt Williamson is 28-22 overall and 26-22 in the MIAA. In six years at MWSU. Williamson is 0-4 vs. Northwest, coming close to a win in week one 2019 in a 45-35 effort. Northwest is the only MIAA team Williamson hasn't beaten yet.

In his seventh year as head coach, Rich Wright is 45-11 overall and 40-7 in the MIAA. He is 4-0 vs. MWSU. 

Quarterbacks
After last week's loss, MWSU's Jones falls to 5-2 as a starter but did set new career-highs in passing TDs with three, a new mark in completions and attempts, going 20-for-34, a new season-high of 246 passing yards and led his first-ever game-tying drive in the fourth quarter. Jones' interception vs. Washburn marks the first time he's thrown picks in consecutive games. Despite Jones' 51 rushing yards last Saturday, he's still fifth in the MIAA with 279. He prepares to start vs. Northwest for the first time ever, as passed 3-for-7 for 22 yards in last year's 30-7 defeat in week five.

Hohensee is 13-2 as a starter since taking the reins in 2021's week three in a 40-7 over Central Missouri. For the last two weeks, defenses have held Hohensee to under 160 passing yards and 50 rush yards each contest, resulting in Northwest trailing both times. He has also thrown an interception in back-to-back weeks, the time he's done so in his career. 

Running Backs
Missouri Western RB Brandon Hall had his quietist outing as a Griffon last week, rushing the ball three times for seven yards after running for a combined 242 in the first two weeks. Hall is fourth in the MIAA in rush yards with 280, still bolstering the three-headed backfield the barrage the Griffons carry. Hall finished with five carries for negative four yards last year vs. NWMSU. Jared Scott sits seventh in the league with 266 yards. Both he and Jones average 6.5 and 6.6 yards per carry, good for seventh and eighth respectively in the conference. Jonas Bennett had one of his best days as Griffon last Saturday, rushing for a career-high 76 yards boosted by a career-long run of 41 that eventually set up his game-tying scamper from eight yards out. Missouri Western's 11 ground touchdowns lead the MIAA, while its 252.8 rush yards per game is the second most in the conference and eight best in Division II. The Griffons face their toughest test on turf yet, as Northwest's defense only gives up and MIAA-low 35 rushing yards per game, the least number of yards in the country. 

Northwest's Jamar Moya is sixth in the league with 269 rush yards but has yet to hit the century mark in a game. In fact, his only 100-yard game occurred last season in 169-yard effort on eight attempts vs. Northeastern State in week seven. He did not play vs. MWSU last season. The Bearcats are third in the conference in rush yards per contest with 204 and have the second most rushing scores with 10. Missouri Western's run defense of 147.3 yards per game is fourth in the MIAA. Before an 83-yard run by UCO's Jaylen Cottrell last Saturday, Northwest's prior longest run given up was 20 yards. However, Cottrell only gained 13 more yards the entire game.

Offensive & Defensive Line
The Griffon defense was dominant through the two weeks but are still looking for more ways to improve with only three sacks on the year -- tied for the least in the MIAA. They are led by Grant Finley's sack-and-a-half performance vs. UCO in week one, but nobody has taken down the QB since then.

Meanwhile in Maryville, Elijah Green is second in the conference with four-and-a-half sacks, claiming four two on Sept. 17 vs. UCM, falling half a sack shy of the Northwest single-game record. He'll face a Griffon offensive front that's allowed just the third and 17th-least sacks in the MIAA and DII with three. Northwest's 16 sacks are a league high and eighth most in DII. 

X-FACTORS
Caleb Martin and Trevon Alexander are two profiles in the passing game to keep an eye on in Saturday's matchup. Martin snagged his first TD as a Griffon in his first-ever catch at Spratt Stadium last week, going for 56 yards on three receptions with a long of 36. He has caught two-out-of-three of the Griffons' longest pass plays (40, 36) and is second on the team with 129 receiving yards behind Traveon James' 166. 

After going for 233 yards in 2021, Northwest's Alexander is third in the MIAA in receiving with 283 yards, highlighted by a career-high 126-yard day at Lincoln on Sept. 10. 

RIVALRY RECORD RABBIT HOLE
This season marks the decade anniversary since MWSU last bested Northwest -- a 21-20 Griffon victory to claim the MIAA Championship in Maryville on Nov. 12, 2012.Since then, the Bearcats are winners of eight-straight meetings vs. their Highway 71 counterpart, with no games being decided by less than 10 points to take a 29-13 overall advantage. This No. 12 Northwest team is just the second-lowest ranked Bearcat team the Griffons have seen since play the No. 18 team in 2017, as the Griffons have faced a ranked Bearcat every season since 2008. 

Last Time Out
Despite losing 30-7 last season a Spratt, the Griffons nabbed a 7-0 lead just five minutes in when Brandon Johnson ran home 50 yards for the score after C.J. Ravenell strip-sacked Hohensee. The game remained 23-7 for most of the second quarter and all of the third until Northwest notched a late score in the fourth. Missouri Western's 7-0 advantage was just its third lead over Northwest since 2013 (7-0 start in 2015; 35-31 lead in 2019). Hohensee passed for 214 yards and two scores last season and is meeting Jones as a starter for the first time. 

By the Numbers
Since 2017, Williamson's offense vs. Northwest averages 10.3 points per game, while the defense allows 29.8 points per game. Northwest's eight-game run vs. MWSU is the longest of the series, something the Bearcats have done twice vs. the Griffons all-time. Missouri Western's last win in Maryville was that 2012 MIAA Championship triumph. 

RAVENELL UP THE RANKINGS
With 10 career sacks, junior C.J. Ravenell is two-and-a-half QB takedowns away from tying Daniel Atkinson for 10-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 IS BACK
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. 

GIVE BENNETT THE BALL
Not only did Bennett have one of his best games a Griffon vs. Washburn, he's currently second in the MIAA in punt returns, averaging eight-and-a-half per touch with a long of 18. 

JONES GIVES A JOLT TO THE PASSING GAME
Jones set a season-high passing yards vs. Washburn, tossing the rock for 246, an interception and a career-high three touchdowns. His career-high in passing yards came way of last season's 344-yard effort in a week-10 win over UCM. He has also set a new season-high with five passing scores.

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 27 this season. His 169 career tackles lists him at seventh all-time within the program.

THIS DAY IN GRIFFON FOOTBALL HISTORY: OCT. 1
Missouri Western's last game and win on Oct. 1 took place place during Hall of Fame Weekend at Spratt Stadium in 2016. The Griffons feasted on Northeastern State, 45-14, thanks to dominant day on defense highlighted by a Ray Winters 30-yard pick-six. Running back Kendall Short rushed for 83 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, while quarterback Skyler Windmiller threw 9-for-15 for 199 yards and score from 53 yards out to Jesse Dickens on the Griffons' third offensive play from scrimmage.