ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Football plays its first home game of the season Saturday, as MoWest welcomes former MIAA member and in-state foe, Missouri S&T (2-0), to Spratt Stadium.
 
Kickoff between the Griffons and Miners is set for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the MIAA Network and broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (GoGriffons.com/listen, Varsity Network App) with pregame coverage starting at 5:30. Voice of the Griffons Tommy Rezac and KQTV's Chris Roush have the call.
 
MoWest (0-1) had an early bye week last week after a trip to No. 23 Augustana on Saturday, August 30 - a game in which the Griffons came up just short in a 30-26 battle that featured five lead changes.
 
Quarterback Kane Donovan completed 15-of-27 passes for a career-best 226 yards, a career-best two touchdowns and an interception against the Vikings. Bryce Marcus III was the top receiving target, collecting two passes for 89 yards and a score.
 
Tight end Michael Haggerty finished with two catches for 27 yards and a touchdown - the third of his career.
 
Linebacker Kienen Gaskin led the Griffon defense with 10 tackles and one solo tackle for loss. Deontae Young and Marvin Gant combined for one sack in the game.
 
Three QBs, Please
Missouri Western returned each of their top three quarterbacks from the 2024 season. Junior Kane Donovan started each of the first four games in 2024 before going down with a season-ending knee injury at Emporia State in week four.
 
Donovan has since recovered and he got the nod at QB in the first game of 2025, completing 15-of-27 passes for a career-best 226 yards and a career best two touchdown passes at No. 23 Augustana on August 30.
 
Donovan's injury last season opened the door for seniors Branden Berwald and Kody Kirk to get a heavy dose of snaps last season.
 
Statistically, Berwald was the leader in the clubhouse in 2024, starting each of the last six games and finishing with 1501 passing yards and 11 touchdowns to go with 439 rushing yards and a running TD. Together, all three QBs combined for 2547 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. In fact, the Griffons set a school record in 2024 with 402 total pass attempts.
 
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 is the lead returning rusher with 557 yards and five touchdowns in 2024. He averaged 139.25 rush yards per game and 8.3 yards per carry, and hauled in 11 passes for 66 yards and a score.
 
Hall currently ranks No. 7 in program history with 2289 career rushing yards. His career average of 6.1 yards per carry is currently No. 5 in the program record books, and his 275 career carries is No. 9 all-time.
 
Defensive Diamonds
Defensively, the Griffons bring back eight starters this season, including three all-MIAA performers. Among them is last year's leading tackler and senior linebacker Kienen Gaskin (third team all-MIAA), who finished with 84 total tackles - fifth most in a single season in program history.
 
Also back on defense is senior corner Desmond Green (second team all-MIAA), who shined with a team-high four interceptions in 2024. He now has six INTs in his career, including a pick-six against Northwest Missouri State in 2023.
 
Holding the Line
Missouri Western's offensive line had four new starters in 2024, but that position group held its own, giving up an MIAA-low 16 sacks last season. Quentin Garrett, Joe Turner, Connor Holt and Braydon Wickliffe (honorable mention all-MIAA) are all back in 2025 after starting every game the previous season.
 
Digging Deep on the Miners
Missouri S&T is off to a strong start in 2025 with non-conference wins over NAIA Central Methodist (51-10) and then at Northeastern State last week (27-24), marking the Miners' first 2-0 start since 2018.
 
S&T looks to improve off of a 4-7 record in 2024. The Miners brought in Hawaii transfer quarterback Jake Farrell, and he's performed well with 606 passing yards and six touchdowns while completing 56.6% of his passes through the first two games.
 
Farrell's top target is former S&T QB Tyler Gioia, who's hauled in 11 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Reid Weber is close behind with 129 yards receiving and three scores.
 
Defensively, S&T is tied for first in the GLVC and third in the nation with eight sacks. The Miners have also blocked three kicks so far this season - more than any other NCAA Division II team currently.
 
Bound Together
There are several unique connections between MoWest and Missouri S&T entering this matchup.
 
Not only were these two teams conference rivals from 1989-2004, but MoWest head coach Tyler Fenwick got his first head coaching job with S&T from 2013-18 after a highly successful run as MWSU's offensive coordinator from 2007-12.
 
Fenwick piled up 37 wins during his time in Rolla, including a Mineral Water Bowl victory and GLVC Coach of the Year honors in 2018. He led S&T to a 10-2 record that season - just their third 10-win season in history and their first postseason win since 1950.
 
The ties don't stop there. Missouri S&T head coach Andy Ball, who's in his fourth season with the Miners, was hired by Fenwick at S&T in 2018 to be the offensive coordinator.
 
Ball was promoted to the role of head coach at S&T in 2022. Since he took over the offense in 2018, the Miners have had two of their top four seasons in program history for yards gained and three of their top seven scoring seasons of all time.
 
Before going to S&T, Ball worked at MoWest as the offensive line coach from 2015-16 under then head coach Jerry Partridge. In 2017, Ball served as the interim head football coach at St. Joseph Central High School.
 
There's a couple more former Griffons on the S&T sideline. S&T's offensive line coach, Max Oeser, was the tight ends coach for MoWest from 2017-19. He also played tight end for MWSU from 2014-2017 and was a two-time all-MIAA selection.
 
S&T's wide receivers coach, Ryan Watts, is in his first year in Rolla, but he spent 2017-2022 at MWSU as the receivers coach, Director of Football Operations and Recruiting Coordinator.
 
Series History
Saturday marks the 28th all-time meeting with Missouri S&T. The Griffons hold a 19-7-1 lead in the series. MoWest has won each of the last eight meetings with the Miners from 1998-2013.
 
The last meeting between the two was Sept. 14, 2013 when then No. 6 MoWest handled the Miners, 63-3, in St. Joseph.
 
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. Missouri Western also signed seven new receivers, as each of the top four pass catchers from 2024 graduated.

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 the app downloaded on your mobile device. Pregame coverage for each radio broadcast starts 30 minutes prior to kickoff.

Game of the Week
Game of the Week The MIAA has announced its partnership with Scripps Media and their independent television station, KMCI (38 The Spot), will broadcast an MIAA Football 'Game of the Week' again in 2025.

MoWest will play in the 'Game of the Week' twice in 2025 - first at Missouri Southern on Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. and then at home the following week vs. Washburn on Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. The 'Game of the Week' can be viewed in St. Joseph on Optimum Channel 17.

Every game, as usual, will be available to stream on the MIAA Network as well.
 
What's Next
MoWest stays home to host Central Missouri in the first MIAA game of the season on Saturday, September 20. Kickoff in that game is set for 6 p.m.
 
That game also marks the 'Turn Back the Clock Night,' where the 1975 Griffon football team will be honored on their 50-year anniversary.

The 1975 Griffons went 8-3-1 and beat Graceland 44-0 in the Mineral Water Bowl, marking the first winning season, the first postseason appearance and postseason victory for Griffon football.