ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Football (3-7, 2-6 MIAA) plays its final game of the 2025 season Saturday, hosting Central Oklahoma (5-5, 5-3 MIAA) at Spratt Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Pregame coverage starts at 1:30 on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen). The game will also be available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription.
Voice of the Griffons Tommy Rezac will be on the call, with Chris Roush and Kyle Schmidt providing color and sideline commentary.
Saturday is also Senior Day for MoWest, as the Griffons will honor their 22 seniors prior to kickoff. The Griffons have won each of their last four Senior Day games.
MoWest also looks to avoid its first three-win season since 1986. The Griffons haven't had fewer than four wins in a single season since a 2-8 mark in 1990.
About Last Week
Griffon Football took a 38-7 loss to No. 14 Northwest Missouri State last Saturday at Bearcat Stadium.
The Bearcats dominated after MoWest scored a touchdown on its opening series of the game. Northwest outgained MoWest in rushing yards 273-22 and in total yards 495-178.
Kane Donovan, who threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Damir Abdullah to begin the game, went out late in the second quarter with an apparent injury and did not return.
Donovan completed 6-of-15 passes for 95 yards and an interception. Branden Berwald completed 5-of-10 passes for 45 yards. He rushed for 10 yards as well.
Abdullah finished with 59 yards receiving and the score. Crew Myers had a team-best four catches for 34 yards. Desmond Green and Kamron Lee each led the defense with eight total tackles.
Nicc Oliver and Marvin Gant each had a sack.
Stopping the Run
MoWest ranks No. 2 in the MIAA and No. 29 in NCAA Division II in rushing defense, holding opponents to an average of 111.9 rush yards per contest. The Griffs are holding opponents to just 3.6 yards per rush (2nd MIAA).
The Kane Chronicles
Kane Donovan has taken command of the MoWest offense in 2025, ranking No. 3 in the MIAA in completions (180), No. 3 in completions per game (18), No. 6 in passing yards (1857), No. 5 in passing touchdowns (11), No. 6 in passing yards per game (185.7) and No. 7 in total offense (1948).
His 180 completions is currently seventh most in a single season in MoWest history. His 226 career completions is also eighth in the career record books at MWSU.
Since transferring from Southeastern Oklahoma State in 2024, Donovan has made 14 starts for the Griffons, throwing for 2244 yards and 14 touchdowns, completing 58% of his passes in that time. He's also rushed for 108 yards and two scores.
Long Drive Runnin'
MoWest is No. 2 in the MIAA and No. 25 in the nation in time of possession, averaging 31:39 per game. The Griffons have had touchdown drives of 89 yards or more in four of their games this season.
Broncho Bullet Points
Picked as the MIAA preseason favorites by the league's coaches, last year's MIAA champions have had an up-and-down 2025.
Central Oklahoma, who returned seven starters on offense and five on defense when the season began, scored key wins early over No. 13 Pittsburg State and Washburn, but have since taken losses to Central Missouri, Northwest Missouri State, Northeastern State and Nebraska-Kearney.
The Bronchos bounced back last week on their Senior Day, however, with a sound 44-17 win over Missouri Southern in Edmond.
Adam Dorrel is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Bronchos. A three-time national championship winning head coach at Northwest Missouri State (2011-2016), Dorrel will try and secure his third winning season with UCO, as he's gone 26-20 with the 'Chos overall since 2022.
UCO features a dynamic offense that averages 453.4 yards per game (3rd MIAA), including 190.1 per game on the ground (3rd MIAA). The passing attack is also third best in the league, averaging 263.3 yards through the air per game.
William Mason is the top rushing threat. The junior running back is third in the MIAA with 735 net rushing yards. He's tallied five rushing scores this season. The other running back, Jaylen Cottrell, has 551 yards rushing and six rushing TDs.
At quarterback, 2024 All-American Jett Huff missed two games in September with injury, but has bounced back strong, passing for 1996 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2025, ranking No. 1 in the MIAA with a 63% completion rate (34th nation).
Ashton Schumann has been the top receiving target with 74 catches (2nd MIAA), 994 yards (1st MIAA) and five receiving TDs (t-3rd MIAA).
Defensively, UCO's pass rush has been its strength, ranking 4th in the MIAA with 24 total sacks. All-American linebacker Jack Puckett has impressed again with 13 TFLs (2nd MIAA), four sacks and an interception.
Series History
Saturday will be the 15th all-time meeting with UCO on the gridiron. MoWest leads the series 9-5, with these two splitting each of the last eight meetings since 2016. Last November, UCO overcame a 14-point deficit late in the fourth quarter and stunned MoWest, 37-34, in overtime at Spratt Stadium.
Special Teams Standouts
Kicker Mason Grove has been impressive again in 2025 on kickoff with 31 touchbacks (No. 2 MIAA) on 46 attempts. Grove, as a freshman in 2024, was No. 2 in the MIAA with 31 touchbacks, putting him up to 62 in his career.
In the return game, MoWest is still the only team in the MIAA with a kickoff return for a touchdown in 2025, thanks to Jaelon Dixon's 98-yard run to the house vs. Central Missouri on September 20. MoWest has now returned a kickoff for a touchdown in four of the last six seasons, including twice in 2019.
The Griffons are also No. 1 in the MIAA currently with 159 punt return yards. Crew Myers ranks No. 2 in the league with 128 punt return yards himself.
Halling the Load
Two-time all-MIAA running back Brandon Hall is back for a fifth and final season after a promising 2024 was cut short with an ankle injury in week four. Even though he missed seven games last year, Hall was the team's lead rusher last season with 557 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 139.25 rush yards per game and 8.3 yards per carry, while also hauling in 11 passes for 66 yards and a score.
Hall is now ranked fifth in program history with 2936 career rushing yards. Hall's career average of 5.7 yards per carry is currently No. 9 in the program record books, and his 517 career carries now ranks sixth all-time.
This season, Hall ranks No. 4 in the MIAA in rushing yards (696), No. 1 in rushing attempts (152) and No. 4 in yards per game (69.6).
Personnel Pieces
Missouri Western welcomes back a plethora of talent in 2025 with 21 total starters back, including 11 players on the offensive side who started four games or more in 2024.
The Griffons also made some key additions in the offseason, signing 30 freshmen and 10 transfers. The position of choice in this class was defensive backs with 14 DBs joining the team.
MoWest also signed seven new receivers, as each of the top four pass catchers from 2024 graduated. The Griffs did, however, bring back each of their top five rushers from 2024, returning 97.4% of their 1800 net rushing yards from last season.
Game of Inches
Since the start of the 2023 season, MoWest has played in 33 games - 18 of them decided by a single possession. The Griffons are 8-10 in those games. Dating back to November 2022, 11 of the last 19 losses for MWSU have come by eight points or less.
Workin' Overtime
MoWest has gone 0-5 in overtime games since 2022 and 0-6 since 2013. The last overtime victory was in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division II playoffs - a 57-55 3OT win at home vs. Minnesota-Duluth. The last regular season game that went to overtime and ended with a Griffon victory was the 2006 season opener - a 32-29 double overtime win at Central Oklahoma.
Tune Into the Griffons
The Griffon Sports Network will once again provide live and free coverage all season long for all home and away games.
Tommy Rezac is back as 'Voice of the Griffons' for a fifth season. All games can be heard for free on the Varsity Network App and at GoGriffons.com/listen. To listen on the Varsity Network App, simply search "Missouri Western" once you have downloaded the app on your mobile device. Pregame coverage for each radio broadcast starts 30 minutes prior to kickoff.
