ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — For a record-breaking third time in program history, Griffon Football is set for another showdown in the Live United Bowl, once again taking on Southern Arkansas this Saturday at Razorback Stadium in Texarkana, Arkansas.

TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon Football (8-3, 7-3 MIAA) will grace the airwaves of KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with the "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac and MWSU 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. Kickoff is set for noon, with pregame starting at 11 a.m. Game admission can be found in the "Tickets" tab.

ABOUT THIS SEASON
MWSU
Missouri Western State has experienced quite a turnaround in a year's time. Going from 5-6 a year ago and picked ninth in the 2023 MIAA Preseason Polls, the Griffons are now playing in their third-ever Live United Bowl, the most out of any Division II program in the game's 10-year history. Along the way to an amazing first year under new Head Coach Tyler Fenwick, the Griffons went 2-0 vs. teams in the top-25 polls, defeating No. 11/10 Emporia State 34-31 on Sept. 30 before picking up the team's highest win over a ranked opponent with a 31-30 victory over No. 2/3 Pittsburg State on Nov. 4, with both games taking place at Spratt Stadium.

Missouri Western barely missed the NCAA-II Playoffs after a 47-41 loss at Missouri Southern in double overtime on Nov. 11 in the final game of the regular season. Nonetheless, Western was still rewarded with 20 All-MIAA selections, including Seth Cromwell's honor as the MIAA Freshman of the Year and the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year, Dakari Streeter. Also picked for the all-conference first team were junior kicker Cody Watson and senior offensive lineman Keith Russell, with the latter of the two being a unanimous decision. 

For Fenwick, this is his third straight year coaching in the Live United Bowl, going 1-1 with Southeastern Oklahoma State from 2021-22. He is the first coach in the bowl's history to have his respective team compete in the event thrice. For MWSU, this is its 18th season with eight or more wins, finishing third in the MIAA this fall and receiving 20 votes in the AFCA Top-25 Poll.

THE CHALLENGERS
SAU
Also coming off a 5-6 season a year ago, Southern Arkansas (9-2, 9-2 GAC) picked up its ninth campaign with nine or more victories, giving Muleriders a tie for second place in the Great American Conference. This is SAU's 10th appearance of all-time in the postseason, going 2-6-1. In their six previous bowl games, the Muleriders are 2-4-1. Southern Arkansas started off 2-0 before falling to No. 5/9 Ouachita Baptist 52-24 on Sept. 16. The Muleriders then wrangled together four straight wins, culminating in a 35-24 win over No. 18 Henderson State on Oct. 14. The streak came to a halt on Oct. 21 when No. 6/7 Harding handed SAU a 54-20 loss in the Murphy USA Classic.

Winning their last three games, the Muleriders earned nine All-GAC honors, their most since 2019. Leading the way out of the three first-team selections is junior running back Jariq Scales, who rushed for 1,017 yards (fourth in the GAC) and became the first player in SAU history to tally three 1,000-yard seasons in a row. He is joined on the first team by junior offensive lineman Colton Grier and junior cornerback Melvin Smith Jr.

After finishing below .500 in 2021 and 2022, this is SAU's first winning season since 2019 when the Muleriders went 8-4. It's their first nine-win season since going 9-3 in 2016. Southern Arkansas earned 19 votes in the latest AFCA Top-25 Poll.

COACHING CHECKLIST
Tyler Fenwick is currently 8-3 with MWSU and 61-51 overall as a head coach. During his time as head coach at Southeastern Oklahoma from 2019-22, Fenwick's Savage Storm went 2-1 vs. Southern Arkansas.

In his first DII head coaching job and second season at SAU, Brad Smyley is 14-8 with the Muleriders and 0-1 vs. Fenwick. The two faced off in 2022 when Fenwick's Storm beat the Muleriders 35-32 in Durant, Oklahoma.

RIVALRY RECORD RABBIT HOLE
By the Numbers
It's a rather short rabbit hole, but it's a memorable one. Missouri Western is 1-0 all-time vs. SAU, first playing them in 2018 at the Live United Bowl. As for that story...

Last Time We Met
Box Score
With both teams' seasons culminating in the 2018 Live United Bowl, MWSU won 30-25 at Razorback Stadium. The Griffons jumped out to a 20-0 lead at halftime thanks to a pair of Jared Bailey Jr. touchdown runs. After SAU got on the board with a field goal halfway through in the third quarter, the Griffs struck again, this time in the form of a 9-yard TD connection between quarterback Dom Marino and tight end Austin Burau. The Muleriders came within eight early in the fourth quarter thanks to their own 9-yard TD pass between Barrett Renner and Jared Lancaster, but Tyler Basch's third field goal of the day put MWSU's lead at arm's length for good. Basch earned the game's MVP award for his 3-for-3 performance, with his second kick of 58 yards tying MWSU's record and breaking the Live United Bowl record.

LIVE UNITED BOWL HISTORY

• 2023 | Missouri Western vs. Southern Arkansas II
• 2022 | Emporia State 48, Southeastern Oklahoma 27
• 2021 | Southeastern Oklahoma 37, Emporia State 34
• 2019 | Missouri Western 35, Henderson State 14
• 2018 | Missouri Western 30, Southern Arkansas 25
• 2017 | Pittsburg State 48, Arkansas Tech 31
• 2016 | Texas A&M-Kingsville 24, Southern Arkansas 17
• 2015 | Central Oklahoma 38, Southwestern Oklahoma 21
• 2014 | Central Missouri 48, Southeastern Oklahoma 21
• 2013 | Harding 44, Texas A&M-Commerce 3

MWSU IN THE POSTSEASON
Missouri Western is 10-7 all-time in the postseason, going 8-3 in bowl games. The Griffons are the only team to win the Live United Bowl more than once and have won their last three bowl appearance dating back to 2009. 

• Postseason: 10-7
• Mineral Water Bowl: 4-3
• Live United Bowl: 2-0
• MOILA Shrine Bowl: 1-0 (1979, NAIA)
• Boot Hill Bowl: 1-0 (1977, NAIA)
• NCAA DII Playoffs: 2-4

QUICK WESTERN HITS

• In their 53rd season (excluding 2020), the Griffons are 321-255-9 all-time.
• Dating back to 2013, Western has beaten its last four out-of-conference opponents, with the last three occurring away from Spratt Stadium.
• Fenwick has not experienced a losing season in either tenure at MWSU.
• With Fenwick on staff from 2007-12 and now in 2023, MWSU has made the postseason every year he's worn the Griffon Black & Gold. The Griffs made three straight bowl games from 2007-09 before making three straight playoff trips from 2010-12.
• Western is 4-4 in the postseason with Fenwick on staff. 

BATTLE OF THE BACKFIELDS
Missouri Western is first in the MIAA and 22nd in DII with 202.2 rushing yards per game. Western also led the conference with 31 rushing touchdowns, the ninth most in the country. Southern Arkansas is third in the GAC and fourth in DII with 281.3 rushing yards per contest. The Muleriders' 41 ground scores are also tied for third in the nation. 

ALL-SUPER-REGION 3 STUDS
Streeter was just named to the D2CCA All-Super Region 3 First Team on Thursday morning thanks to his 12.5 sacks, the second most in the country. For SAU, junior offensive lineman Colton Grier made the first team, and junior cornerback Melvin Smith Jr. made the second team.

CROMWELL: TOP OF THE CLASS
Despite not playing since Nov. 11, Cromwell is seventh in DII with 16 rushing touchdowns. With two more, he would tie Travis Partridge's single-season record of 18 from the 2012 campaign. He is tied for third with Griffon Hall of Famer Michael Hill. Cromwell has rushed for two or more touchdowns in five games this season.

THE DAKARI STREETER SHOW
At 18.5 career sacks, Streeter only needs two more to move into a tie for fifth place in Western history with Michael Cobbins (2003-06, 20.5). With 12.5 sacks this season, a career-high, Streeter has the third-most QB takedowns in a single Griffon season, only trailing David Bass' total of 14.5 in 2011 and Eric McDowell's single-season record of 15 from 2003. He is MWSU's second-ever finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award, joining Bass' 2012 effort. 

THE HITMEN: ONE LAST HAUL
Four offensive linemen have started all 11 games this season: junior James Lucio, senior Evan Clark, senior Brenden McClure and senior Keith Russell. The entire offensive line has only given up 13 sacks in 313 pass-protection snaps, the fourth-fewest allowed in the MIAA. 

GRIFFON NATION = SACK NATION
With 29 sacks on defense, Western is first in the MIAA and 13th in DII. This ties the 2023 team for ninth in program history.

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON FOOTBALL HISTORY
Western's lone game all-time on Dec. 2 is the 2000 Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. That day, the Griffons battled Winona State to a bitter finish, falling 43-41 in triple overtime. However, also on this day in 2015, cornerback Michael Jordan was selected to the D2CCA Super Region First Team. Jordan officially started his Griffon career on the field in 2012, the last year of Fenwick's tenure as MWSU's offensive coordinator.