tT. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Football (3-4, 2-3 MIAA) returns home to face Missouri Southern (1-6, 0-5 MIAA) at Spratt Stadium for the annual Rogers Pharmacy Hall of Fame Game. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and available to stream on the MIAA Network.
Voice of the Griffons Tommy Rezac will be on the call, with former Griffon quarterback Branden Berwald as analyst, and MoWest broadcast student Tucker Holden on the sideline. Radio pregame coverage starts at 1:30 p.m. with the East Ridge Car Wash Pregame Show.
Look Back at Last Week
Griffon Football went back-and-forth all day in a game with six lead changes, but ultimately fell 45-42 at Pittsburg State (2-5, 2-3 MIAA) last Saturday at Carnie Smith Stadium in Pittsburg, Kansas.
Quarterback Isaiah Tate finished with 352 all-purpose yards and three all-purpose touchdowns, completing 27-of-46 for 321 yards through the air with another 31 on the ground.
Crew Myers had another strong showing with a career-high tying nine catches for 85 yards and a score. Peyton Hatfield had seven catches for 72 yards. Moore finished with four grabs for 59 yards and a TD. Austin Adair caught three passes for 44 yards.
Rickie Dunn finished with 68 total yards on 17 carries to go with three scores. MoWest piled up 457 yards of offense on 72 snaps, but surrendered 519 yards to Pitt State. Ken Pierre-Charles led the defense with 10 total tackles. Both teams were called on nine penalties.
Big Numbers Offensively
MoWest continues to be among the MIAA and D2 nation's leaders in offensive production, ranking third in the MIAA in scoring offense (35.9 ppg), first in total offensive yards (3377 - No. 9 NCAA DII), first in total offense per game (482.4 - No. 9 NCAA DII), first in passing yards per game (352.1 - No. 3 NCAA DII), first in offensive efficiency (156.5) and second in first downs (174 - No. 11 NCAA DII).
MoWest has had nine scoring plays on offense this season of 30 yards or more, three of 40 yards or more and two of 50 yards or more.
Meanwhile, Isaiah Tate...
No. 1 in the MIAA in passing TD (18 - t-6th NCAA DII) - t-No. 10 in single season at MWSU
No. 1 in the MIAA passing efficiency (155.7 - No. 27 NCAA DII) - No. 4 in single season at MWSU
No. 1 in the MIAA in passing yards per completion (15.42 - No. 12 NCAA DII).
No. 1 in the MIAA passing yards per attempt (9.10 - No. 16 NCAA DII).
No. 1 in the MIAA total passing yards (2200 - No. 5 NCAA DII) - No. 11 in single season at MWSU
No. 1 in the MIAA passing yards per game (317.1 - No. 5 NCAA DII) - No. 1 in single season at MWSU
No. 1 in the MIAA total offense (2338 - No. 4 NCAA DII).
No. 1 in the MIAA in total offense per game (334 - No. 4 NCAA DII) - No. 1 in single season at MWSU
Receiving Crew
Crew Myers has an MIAA-leading 772 receiving yards (No. 6 NCAA DII), 47 catches (2nd MIAA, t-9th NCAA DII) and four touchdown receptions (t-2nd MIAA). Myers also leads the MIAA with 110.3 receiving yards per game (6th NCAA DII). Malik Moore sits No. 4 in the MIAA with 542 receiving yards and is tied for second in the MIAA with four TD catches.
Getting it Dunn
Running back Rickie Dunn ranks No. 2 in the MIAA in total rushing yards (614) and No. 2 in rushing scores (8). He had a career-best 25 carries for a career-best 124 yards rushing in the victory over Fort Hays State, and a career-best three rushing scores in the game at Pittsburg State.
Heralding Hatfield
Freshman WR Peyton Hatfield has made quite the name for himself already. The Lee's Summit High School alum leads the MIAA and ranks No. 5 in NCAA Division II with 506 kick return yards. He leads the league with 1016 all-purpose yards (No. 12 NCAA DII) and sits No. 4 in the MIAA with 45 punt return yards.
Special Teams Stars
Special teams continue to be a bright spot for MoWest. Since 2019, Griffon Football has returned seven kickoffs for touchdowns - two in 2019 (Trey Vaval), one in 2020 (Sam Webb), one in 2021 (Cooper Burton), one in 2024 (Javerius McGuinn), one in 2025 (Jaelon Dixon) and again in 2026 with Peyton Hatfield doing so against Augustana on August 27.
MoWest currently ranks No. 1 in the MIAA and No. 22 in NCAA Division II with 631 kick return yards. MoWest is one of just three teams in the MIAA to have a kickoff return for a touchdown in 2026.
Elsewhere, Mason Grove continues to set the standard in kickoffs, leading the league with 27 touchbacks. In 150 career kickoff attempts, Grove has tallied 92 career touchbacks with only three attempts going out of bounds.
Ball Hawks
The defensive backfield is completely new for MoWest this season. The Griffons lost seven starting DBs from the 2025 roster. MoWest reloaded, adding 19 new DBs, including seven transfers. There are now 24 defensive backs on the Griffon roster, including true freshmen.
This group has intercepted nine passes so far in 2026 - second most in the MIAA and tied for sixth most in NCAA Division II. The Griffs have intercepted at least one pass in four different games this season.
A'Mon Walker has been strong at the corner position with eight passes defended (t-3rd MIAA), while safety Ken Pierre-Charles sits No. 4 in the MIAA with 57 total tackles, including 36 solo stops (2nd MIAA, t-14th NCAA DII).
Strength in O-line numbers
MoWest dealt with numerous injuries on their offensive line last season, with four players suffering season-ending ailments, including starters Keegun Daniels and Joe Turner.
MoWest shored up some strength here as well with 21 offensive linemen on the roster, including six returners with starting experience. Chief among them is third team all-MIAA right tackle Connor Holt, who's played in 30 games and made 26 starts over the last four seasons. Left tackle Quentin Garrett and center Adam Sotelo also bring ample starting experience. Garrett has made 25 starts since 2024, while Sotelo now has 13 career starts.
Opponent Preview: Missouri Southern
The good news - there are no winless teams left in the MIAA. The bad news - there's one team left without a conference win and that's Missouri Southern.
The Lions, under fifth-year head coach Atiba Bradley, scored their first and so far only win at home over Upper Iowa in September 5, but have since dropped five games in a row to open conference play. But like Nebraska-Kearney and Pittsburg State, MoSo has competed hard with four of their six losses coming by 14 points or less.
Most recently, Southern fell at Kearney this past Saturday 16-13. Both teams had less than 70 yards passing and less than 220 yards of total offense. But, a late safety by UNK and a pair of turnovers cost the Lions in what was their best chance at a conference victory so far this season.
Southern has sputtered offensively, ranking last in the MIAA in scoring (14.6 ppg), while allowing 31.4 ppg (9th MIAA). The Lions are also last in the league in total offense (259), rushing offense (83), red zone touchdowns (9) and next to last in passing offense (175.3), time of possession (27:26) and third down offense (31.2%).
On a positive note for MSSU, they tie for the least amount of penalties in the MIAA with 33. Offensively, Allen Mitchell has been solid at running back with 329 yards rushing and three scores. Quarterback Tillman Martin has passed for 1223 yards (6th MIAA) with five touchdowns and an MIAA-leading nine interceptions. Tillman has accounted for 1196 yards of total offense (6th MIAA).
Isaiah Green is the lead receiver with 44 catches (t-4th MIAA) for 551 yards (3rd MIAA) and four TD (t-2nd MIAA). On defense, Tugase Williams is tied for the MIAA lead with four sacks. On special teams, David Bethune ranks fourth in the MIAA in kick return yards (234) and has a KOR for a TD this season.
Series History
Saturday marks the 56th all-time meeting with Missouri Southern. MoWest leads the all-time series 31-24, winning 11 of the last 12 meetings since 2013. MoWest has topped MoSo on each of their last five trips to St. Joseph dating back to 2015. Each of the last four games between the Griffons and Lions have been competitive. Each of the last four contests have been settled by 8 points or less. MoWest is 3-1 in those 4 games.
Trends and Tidbits
Since the start of the 2023 season, MoWest has played in 41 games - 20 of them decided by a single possession. The Griffons are 8-12 in those games. Dating back to November 2022, 13 of the last 23 losses for Griffon Football have come by eight points or less.
The Griffons are 10-21 in their last 30 games overall, with 11 of those 21 losses coming by eight points or less. The Griffs are 6-9 in their last 15 at home and 4-12 in their last 16 on the road. While Griffon Football has scored 24 wins over ranked opponents since the year 2000, MoWest looks to break what's now a nine-game losing streak to ranked teams.
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 OT win at Central Oklahoma.
Griffon Football History
Griffon Football has won 329 games in what's now the 57th season, winning two conference titles and making the NCAA Division II playoffs four times. MoWest has competed in 12 bowl games throughout its history, going an impressive 9-3 in those contests. Since the year 2000, MoWest has had 18 winning seasons, six bowl victories, four playoff bids and two MIAA championships. In all, MoWest has had 29 winning seasons since the program's founding in 1970 and 93 All-Americans in that time as well.
Griffs in the NFL
There are four Griffon Football alumni who are active in the NFL in the 2026 season - defensive lineman C.J. Ravenell (Giants), tight end Cam Grandy (Vikings), fullback Grant Finley (Giants) and safety Jonathan Owens (Colts).
Four Griffons in history have been NFL draft picks - Vince Thomson (DE 1985), John Fisher (DB 1996), Greg Zuerlein (K 2012) and David Bass (DE 2013). Other former Griffs to have played in the NFL include Gijon Robinson (TE 2008-10), Roger Allen (OG 2009-2012), Michael Hill (RB 2013-14), Leonard Wester (OT 2016-18), Sam Webb (CB 2022-25), D.J. Stirgus (2023 CB) and Mike Jordan (CB 2016-18).
Tune Into the Griffons
The Griffon Sports Network will again provide live, free audio coverage all season for ALL home and away Griffon Football games.
Tommy Rezac is back as 'Voice of the Griffons' for a sixth 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.
Former Griffon Football players Jonas Bennett and Branden Berwald serve as the color analysts, with MoWest broadcasting student Tucker Holden as the sideline reporter.
All games are available to watch with a subscription on the MIAA Network as well. Rezac's radio broadcast is synchronized with Griffon home games broadcast on the MIAA Network.
