ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Sitting at 5-1 for the first time since 2010, No. 21 Griffon Football faces off against Northwest Missouri State this Saturday at Spratt Stadium.

TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon Football (5-1, 4-1 MIAA) will grace the airwaves of KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with special guest Joey McWilliams and Director of Athletic Communications Derek Zimmerman-Guyer on the call. The game will air 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 and parking tickets can be found in the "Tickets" tab.

ABOUT WEEK SIX
MWSU
From the MIAA sacks leader running fake punts to special teams scoring aplenty, what didn't last Saturday's game have? Scoring more points against Washburn than any other Missouri Western team has done before, the Griffons dominated the Ichabods in all facets of the game, winning 61-21 at Yager Stadium to move to 3-0 on the road. Once the Griffs survived a scrappy 14-14 tie in the first quarter, Western went off in the ground game, rushing for a season-high 407 yards, the sixth-most team rushing yards in team history. Eight seconds into the second quarter, an end-around reverse sprung senior wide receiver Jalen Lampley loose for a 36-yard touchdown run, igniting a 47-0 run by MWSU. Also thanks to a first-half TD hat trick by senior running back Jared Scott, Western led Washburn 44-14 at the break and never looked back. In the win, freshman running back Seth Cromwell totaled a touchdown and a season-high 154 rushing yards on just 11 totes, scampering for a career-high 71-yard run that now stands as the longest rush in the MIAA this season.

NWMSU
In a matchup that pitted Northwest (3-3, 2-3 MIAA) against their former coach Adam Dorrel, the Bearcats beat Central Oklahoma 34-21 last weekend in Maryville at Bearcat Stadium. Northwest struck first with a 15-yard trip to the end zone by sophomore running back Jay Harris, who went on to rush for 274 yards and four TDs. Harris now leads the MIAA with 842 yards and is tied with Cromwell for the MIAA lead with nine TDs apiece. Central Oklahoma (1-4, 1-4 MIAA) answered back later in the first to knot the game up at 7-7, but the Bearcats benefited from two more Harris scores in the second quarter to go up 20-7. The Bronchos made it interesting with a late TD run by Trevon Woolfolk to make it a 20-14 game at halftime, but Northwest outpaced UCO 14-7 in the second half to keep their postseason hopes alive. 

FACULTY/STAFF APPRECIATION DAY
Griffon Football student-athletes will honor their favorite MWSU faculty and staff members before the game begins this Saturday on Craig Field.

PROLIFIC POSITION PREVIEWS
Coaches
Head Coach Tyler Fenwick is currently 5-1 with MWSU and 58-49 overall as a head coach. During his first run with MWSU as offensive coordinator from 2007-12, the Griffons went 2-6 vs. Northwest, going 1-3 vs. the Bearcats at Spratt Stadium. Fenwick's last win vs. the Bearcats was in 2012 when MWSU won the MIAA Championship 21-20 in Maryville.

In his sixth year, Rich Wright is 55-16 with the Bearcats. Since taking the job in 2017, Wright is 5-0 vs. MWSU and 3-0 in St. Joseph. 

Quarterbacks
Once again the fourth-most efficient QB in the MIAA, senior Armani Edden has a rating of 151.3. Edden is one of the most accurate signal callers in the conference, coming in at fourth place with a clip of 68.1%, well above the league average of 63.8%. The senior transfer from Hawaii hit a season-high 81.2% of his passes at Washburn, completing 13-of-16 attempts for 154 yards and one touchdown. Edden kept clean once again, as his offensive line kept him upright for the entire first half before junior Reagan Jones took over.

Coming in with the third-most interceptions in the league with five so far, senior Mike Hohensee is two games back after missing a game and a hald due to an injury. Hohensee only has five TD passes, the second least in the league. He passed for 154 yards, one score and one pick vs. UCO, completing 16-of-26 passes. He was also sacked once. 

QB STATS VS. OPPONENT

• Reagan Jones: 0-1 starting record | 24-of-56, 43.9%, 293 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, five sacks, long pass of 40. | Rushing: 13 attempts, 26 yards, 0 TDs, long rush of 14 yards.
• Armani Edden: N/A
• Mike Hohensee: 1-0 starting record | 12-of-16, 75%, 214 yards, 2 TD, 0 INTs, 1 sack, long pass of 72 yards. | Rushing: 1 attempt, -13 yards.

Defensive Line
Saturday's game features two of the best pass rushers in the MIAA. Senior defensive lineman Dakari Streeter leads the MIAA with eight sacks, notching one more vs. Washburn last Saturday. Along with an MIAA-best 1.33 sacks per contest, Streeter also leads the conference with 8.5 tackles for a loss, coming in first again with 1.42 TFLs per game. Fellow senior D-lineman CJ Ravenell is fourth in the MIAA with six TFLS, Meanwhile, junior nose tackle Brandon Johnson is second on the team with two sacks. The Griffs lead the MIAA with 19 sacks.

Northwest is nipping at MWSU's heels in the sack department, notching the second most in the MIAA with 15 this season. The Bearcats are led by sophomore defensive tackle Kobe Clayborne and his four sacks, good enough for second in the MIAA. Clayborne has three sacks in his last two games, taking down Central Missouri's Zach Zebrowski twice and Dawson Herl of UCO once. Junior defensive end Jake Fisher is second at Northwest and third in the MIAA with three sacks. Fisher is also tied for third in the MIAA with seven TFLs.

RIVALRY RECORD RABBIT HOLE
By the Numbers
Headed into the 44th meeting of a rivalry that first started in 1981, the Griffons trail the Bearcats 13-30 and are 6-17 when hosting in St. Joseph.

Last Time Out
Entrenched in a defensive slugfest on Oct. 1, 2022, the Griffons fell to Northwest 16-3 in Maryville. Thanks to a Cody Watson field goal from 18 yards out with 12 seconds left in the second quarter, MWSU led Northwest 3-0 at the half. However, Northwest scored on its opening drive in the third, as Robert Rawie found paydirt from 43 yards out. Despite 271 passing yards from Reagan Jones, three more Bearcat field goals sealed Northwest's ninth-straight win over Missouri Western.

SOMETHING SPECIAL
For the second straight week, the reigning MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week is a Griff. After junior kicker Cody Watson secured conference honors last week with his go-ahead kick vs. then-No. 11/10 Emporia State, sophomore defensive back Jake Leader claimed this week's honor thanks to his second punt block of the season. Leader's block at Washburn led to a 38-yard scoop and score by junior outside linebacker Lamont Washington.

WESTERN RUNS WILD
The Griffons are the best running team in the conference and 16th best in the nation, averaging 223.7 yards per game. Missouri Western's 407 yards and six TDs at Washburn last weekend are the most by any MIAA team in a single game this season. With 19 rushing TDs this fall, MWSU not only leads its league but is tied for the fourth most in Division II.

BUILT TO BULL RUSH
Speaking of rushing, the Griffon pass rush is out for blood this season, racking up a conference-high 19 sacks this year. Missouri Western's 123 sack yards also lead the MIAA by 25 yards. The Griffs' 19 sacks are also tied for the sixth most in Division II, ranking them 15th in the nation.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
With 43.8 points per game, the Griffons sit 11th in Division II and all alone atop the MIAA. With two 60+ point games so far, this is the first time MWSU has done so since 2013. Their season-low of 28 points came in a 21-point win on Sept. 23 vs. Fort Hays State, the best scoring defense in the MIAA at 16.5 PPG.

KEEP FEEDING CROMWELL
Now with nine rushing TDs, Cromwell is tied for the MIAA lead alongside Harris. Cromwell has now matched Titus McCoy's team-high nine TDs from last season and has the fourth most in the country. 

GIMME! GIMME! GIMME! (A GRIFF AFTER MIDNIGHT) VOL. 3
Once again, Missouri Western caused chaos on defense, this time forcing two interceptions at Washburn. Thanks to those interceptions by junior defensive back Javerius McGuinn and senior defensive back Taylor Williams, the Griffons now have 16 turnovers gained, the most in the MIAA and third most in Division II. McGuinns' pick last week is the first of his career, while Williams' interception marks No. 4 for him this season, the second most in the conference and third most among all DII players. 

FEELIN' ALRIGHT WHEN UPRIGHT
The Griffon offensive line is making a statement this season with only four sacks allowed, the least in the conference alongside Missouri Southern and Emporia State. The Griffons' four sacks allowed also rank them sixth in the country.

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON FOOTBALL HISTORY
Oct. 14 | Box Score
Engaged in a back-and-forth affair with Northwest at Spratt Stadium on this day in 1995, the scoreboard read 13-13 after the dust settled for halftime. The Bearcats took a 20-16 lead into the fourth quarter after holding then-Missouri Western State College to a field goal in the third quarter. However, the Griffs finally responded with a 40-yard scoring strike from quarterback Richard Lowery to running back John Fisher, proving to be the game-winning touchdown. In this 24-20 win, Fisher led Western with 128 rushing yards and 62 receiving yards. Jamie Grayson hauled in four receptions for 56 yards and a score, and the Griffon defense snagged two interceptions.