ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Football (2-3, 1-2 MIAA) is back home for its annual Homecoming game, facing the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (0-5, 0-3 MIAA) at Spratt Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m.

The game has been labeled as the 'MIAA Game of the Week' and therefore is being televised regionally on The Spot Kansas City 38 (Optimum Channel 17 in St. Joseph).

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 5:30 p.m. with the East Ridge Car Wash Pregame Show.

Look Back at Last Week
Griffon Football put up 610 yards of offense and Isaiah Tate set a school record with 494 passing yards, but missed chances in the red zone cost MoWest in a 34-22 loss at No. 10 Emporia State on Saturday at Welch Stadium.

MoWest went 3-for-5 in the red zone Saturday and had 'goal-to-go' on four total possessions, but none of those ended in touchdowns.

Tate completed 28-of-55 attempts for a record 494 yards and two touchdowns. He finished with two INTs. The Griffons turned the ball over three times in all, but finished with 610 total yards on 87 snaps.

Crew Myers had a career-best nine catches for 175 yards and a score. Austin Adair had career-highs in catches (five) and receiving yards (102). Peyton Hatfield also hit new career marks with six catches for 92 yards. Emmanuel Ellison had three snags for 71 yards and a score.

Rickie Dunn led the way on the ground with 18 carries for 99 yards. Ken Pierre-Charles led the defense with 11 tackles. Andon Carpenter recorded a sack. Latrell Armstrong hit a career-best three field goals and accounted for 10 of the Griffons' 22 points.

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 (35.6 ppg), second in total offense per game (504.6 - No. 7 NCAA DII), first in offensive efficiency (159.3) and first in passing yards per game (372.2 - No. 2 NCAA DII). In fact, the 372.2 pass yards per game ranks fifth most among ALL levels of NCAA football as well as the NAIA.

Meanwhile, Isaiah Tate...
No. 1 in the MIAA in passing TD (13 - t-7th NCAA DII).
No. 1 in the MIAA passing efficiency (158.6 - No. 22 NCAA DII).
No. 1 in the MIAA in passing yards per completion (16.66 - No. 8 NCAA DII).
No. 1 in the MIAA total offense (1701 - No. 9 NCAA DII).
No. 1 in the MIAA passing yards per attempt (9.51 - No. 12 NCAA DII).
No. 1 in the MIAA in total offensive yards per game (340.2 - No. 3 NCAA DII).
No. 2 in the MIAA passing yards per game (280.5 - No. 8 NCAA DII).
No. 2 in the MIAA total passing yards (1616 - No. 9 NCAA DII).
No. 2 in the MIAA fewest interceptions (3).

Receiving Crew
Crew Myers has an MIAA-leading 618 receiving yards (No. 5 NCAA DII), 33 catches (t-3rd MIAA, t-12th NCAA DII) and four touchdown receptions (t-4th MIAA). Malik Moore sits No. 3 in the MIAA with 406 receiving yards, No. 8 with 23 receptions and is tied for second in the MIAA with three TD catches.

Getting it Dunn
Running back Rickie Dunn ranks No. 2 in the MIAA in total rushing yards (445), No. 7 in yards per carry (5.4) and No. 3 in rushing scores (5). He had a career-best 25 carries for a career-best 124 yards rushing in the victory over Fort Hays 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. 3 in NCAA Division II with 412 kick return yards. He leads the league with 707 all-purpose yards (No. 17 NCAA DII) and he sits No. 3 in the MIAA with 40 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. 16 in NCAA Division II with 489 kick return yards. MoWest is the only team in the MIAA thus far to have a kickoff return for a touchdown in 2026.

Elsewhere, Mason Grove continues to set the standard in kickoffs, leading the league with 17 touchbacks. In 137 career kickoff attempts, Grove has tallied 83 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 position group is performing very well with eight passes intercepted so far in 2026 - second most in the MIAA and tied for fifth most in NCAA Division II. The Griffs have intercepted in a pass in three of their first five games in 2026.

A'Mon Walker has been strong at the corner position with six passes defended (t-3rd MIAA), while safety Ken Pierre-Charles sits No. 5 in the MIAA with 43 total tackles.

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 now 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 28 games and made 24 starts over the last four seasons.

Left tackle Quentin Garrett and center Adam Sotelo also bring ample starting experience. Garrett has made 23 starts since 2024, while Sotelo now owns 11 career starts.

UNK trying to break through
At 0-5 on the season, Nebraska-Kearney is off to its worst start since going 0-11 in 2015. The Lopers have been competitive in nearly every game with four of their five losses coming by 10 points or less, including the most recent setback - a 34-27 OT loss to previously winless Pittsburg State.

That's after UNK led 24-3 at halftime. Insert Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl reference here.

Due to varying injuries through the season, UNK has struggled offensively, ranking No. 9 in the MIAA scoring offense (16.8), last in total offense (250.4), last in passing offense (99.4), last in total TDs scored (9), last in third down conversion rate (23%) and last in first downs (75). The Lopers have been solid in the ground game, sitting fourth best in the conference with 151 rushing yards per game. Somehow, UNK is leading the conference in time of possession (33:11 - No. 15 NCAA DII).

The Lopers have connected on seven field goals (t-2nd MIAA) and are averaging 40.4 yards per punt (3rd MIAA). Marty Mormino leads the league with an impressive 45.7 yards per punt (No. 4 NCAA DII).

The big star offensively for UNK is now graduate student running back Isaiah Harris, who was second team all-MIAA in 2024, but missed six games last year and two this year with injury. However, the Omaha native has bounced back with 134 net yards and two scores in three games.

At quarterback, four different men have completed a pass this season for UNK, but none have yet thrown for a TD. Devin Tate played the first three games and passed for 362 yards. Most recently, Ziggy Harper came in against Pitt State and completed 12-of-18 passes for 50 yards while rushing for 58 yards and a score.

On defense, senior linebacker Parker Wise has shown the way with a team-best 36 tackles, including 4.5 TFL. Defensive end Weston Heinemann has two sacks and a forced fumble. The Loper defense has forced seven takeaways thus far and the Lopers are +3 in turnover margin.

Series History
Saturday marks the 36th all-time meeting with UNK. The Lopers have had the upper hand, leading the all-time series 22-13, including 5 of the last 6 since 2019. UNK has been victorious in each of their last three trips to St. Joseph (2019, 2022, 2024). MoWest hasn't bested the Lopers at Spratt Stadium since 2016.

This series has been littered with close games through the years with eight meetings being decided by three points or less since 1970. And those eight games have been split 4-4.

Griffs on TV
MoWest will be televised again on Saturday, October 10 vs. Nebraska-Kearney. That'll be a prime time kickoff at 6 p.m. It's also MoWest's Homecoming game. This marks the third time this season that MoWest has been televised on The Spot. Viewers in St. Joseph can watch 38 The Spot on Optimum Channel 17, and Channel 38 on United Fiber, DirecTV and Dish Network. It's also broadcast free over-the-air on Channel 38.1. All MIAA football games will continue to be streamed live on The MIAA Network.

Trends and Tidbits
Since the start of the 2023 season, MoWest has played in 39 games - 19 of them decided by a single possession. The Griffons are 8-11 in those games. Dating back to November 2022, 12 of the last 22 losses for Griffon Football have come by eight points or less.

The Griffons are 9-20 in their last 29 games overall, with 10 of those 19 losses coming by eight points or less. The Griffs are just 5-9 in their last 14 at home and 4-11 in their last 15 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 328 games entering 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.