ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Now back in the win column, Griffon Football returns back home for their Hall of Fame Game vs. Northeastern State this Saturday at Spratt Stadium.

TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon Football (6-2, 5-2 MIAA) will grace the airwaves of KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with the "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac 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.

STANDING IN THE HALL OF FAME
Griffon Athletics will proudly celebrate the Missouri Western Hall of Fame Class of 2023 at halftime of Saturday's game. A full list of this year's inductees can be found here.

ABOUT WEEK EIGHT
MWSU
Rebounding in an important way, Missouri Western won 20-17 in walk-off fashion last Saturday at Nebraska Kearney. While the Griffons did jump out to a 7-0 lead thanks to a 2-yard touchdown run by freshman running Seth Cromwell, UNK made its way out in front with a 17-7 advantage in the fourth quarter. Missouri Western started chipping away with a 14-yard TD connection between senior quarterback Armani Edden and junior wide receiver Jake Berrey. Junior kicker Cody Watson then tied the game up 17-17 with a 34-yard field goal with 7:31 minutes left. Just a few minutes later, the Griffon defense forced a punt with UNK in enemy territory, handing the ball back to the Griffons with three minutes left. Watson proceeded to kick a 31-yard field goal as time expired, giving MWSU its sixth win of the season and surpassing last season's 5-6 record.

NSU
Now on a two-game skid, the RiverHawks (1-7, 0-7 MIAA) fell to Central Oklahoma 37-21 at home in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The Bronchos jumped out in front to a big 23-0 lead in the first half before NSU got on the board with a 2-yard TD run by junior running back Blake May. After cutting the deficit to 23-14 in the third, the 'Hawks defense forced a three-and-out, setting up a 2-yard TD pass by junior QB Ben Ward to freshman tight end Shaw River. Now down 23-21 and riding a 21-0 run, the Northeastern defense broke down and gave up two long UCO scores in the fourth quarter, losing the President's Cup of Oklahoma on its home field.

PROLIFIC POSITION PREVIEWS
Coaches
Tyler Fenwick is currently 6-2 with MWSU and 59-50 overall as a head coach. During his first run with MWSU as offensive coordinator from 2007-12, the Griffons only played NSU once, defeating the RiverHawks 45-31 on the road. 

A 1998 graduate of NSU and in his fifth season as the team's leader, J.J. Eckert is 4-37 in his career. Since 2019, he is 0-3 vs. MWSU and 0-1 at Spratt Stadium. 

Quarterbacks
Edden keeps impressing in his first season at MWSU, holding the fourth-best completion percentage in the MIAA with a clip of 66.8%. The senior is also fifth in the conference with 1,706 passing yards. Edden made it happen with his legs last weekend at UNK, rushing nine times for a season-high 64 yards while passing for 193 more.

Ben Ward has thrown at least one pick in each game this season, throwing a season-high two interceptions last time out vs. UCO. Ward is second in the MIAA with nine interceptions this season, and his 565 passing yards and five touchdowns rank last in the conference.  

QB STATS VS. OPPONENT

• Reagan Jones: 1-0 starting record | 15-of-24, 62.5%, 199 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, long pass of 46 yards, 5 sacks. | Rushing: 14 attempts, 20 yards, 0 TDs, long rush of 13 yards. 
• Armani Edden: N/A
• Ben Ward: 0-1 starting record | 14-of-21, 66.7%, 155 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs, long pass of 51 yards, 2 sacks. | Rushing: 11 attempts, 27 yards, 0 TDs, long rush of eight yards. 

Defensive Backs
The Griffons have the fourth-most interceptions in the MIAA with 11 so far this fall. Out of those 11, four are courtesy of senior DB Taylor Williams, who is second in the conference in that category. With 56 total tackles, sophomore TreVon Holmes leads MWSU and is sixth in the conference  His 35 solo tackles rank second in the league, and he also has two interceptions to his name. 

Meanwhile, NSU ranks ninth in the conference with only five picks this season. Northeastern is in the MIAA with 264.4 passing yards given up per game and 10th in completion percentage against with an opposing clip of 69.6%. 

RIVALRY RECORD RABBIT HOLE
By the Numbers
The Griffons are undefeated all-time vs. NSU, going 12-0 since first playing in 1994. The Griffons are 6-0 when playing at home vs. the 'Hawks, last winning there 57-24 in 2021. Missouri Western averages 45.33 points per game when playing NSU. 

Last Time Out
Playing their closest game yet against NSU, MWSU escaped Tahlequah on Oct. 15, 2022, with a 23-16 win. The RiverHawks took a 16-6 lead in the fourth quarter that looked like it would lead to NSU's first-ever win over the Griffs. However, then-sophomore quarterback Ty Baker stepped up in relief, eventually tying the game up at 16-16 with a 13-yard touchdown run. Senior running back Titus McCoy sealed the comeback with a 3-yard scoring scamper with 2:38 left to play.

IN THE ZONE
With 27 touchdowns in the red zone, MWSU's offense ranks second in the conference. As for the Griffs' red zone defense, they rank first in TDs allowed (13) and scoring percentage, only giving up a touchdown or field goal 62.1% of the time.

ALL ABOARD THE WESTERN WAGON
Now with 188.9 rushing yards per game, the Griffons lead the MIAA and rank 30th across the nation.

TIME & LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE
The Griffons rank second in the MIAA and 18th in DII with 38.3 points per game this season. On top of that, MWSU is second in the MIAA in time of possession with an average of 32:02 minutes per game.

KEEP IT WITH CROMWELL
Now with 10 rushing touchdowns this season, the sixth most in the nation, Cromwell leads the team and is second in the MIAA. 

GIMME! GIMME! GIMME! (A GRIFF AFTER MIDNIGHT) VOL. 5
The Griffons have the most turnovers gained in the MIAA and sixth most in DII with 18 so far this fall. Missouri Western's game vs. UNK was its first without forcing a turnover since week one against Central Missouri.

DON'T DOUBT DAKARI
As he's done from the get-go, senior defensive lineman Dakari Streeter still leads the MIAA in sacks. With 10 this fall, he is second in all of Division II and is the first Griffon to etch 10 or more since MWSU Hall of Famer David Bass tallied 11.5 sacks back in 2012. With two sacks at UNK, Streeter has collected multiple sacks in four out of eight games. 

BACK IT UP
Missouri Western leads the MIAA and is 22nd in the nation with 64 tackles for a loss. They are also first in the MIAA and tied for 16th in the country with 24 sacks.

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON FOOTBALL HISTORY
Oct. 28 | Boc Score
Way back in 2006, the Griffons outlasted former MIAA foe Southwest Baptist in a war of attrition. Missouri Western jumped out to a 21-0 by the third quarter thanks to two runs by Jeremiah White and one by Jamison Burns. Baptist battled back to only trail 24-21 and was threatening to take the lead deep in MWSU territory before J.R. Graham picked off a pass heading to the end zone, sealing the Griffons' eighth win of the season.