ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Football (0-1, 0-0 MIAA) goes on the road for its first MIAA game of the season, facing Central Missouri (0-1, 0-0 MIAA) at Walton Stadium in Warrensburg on Thursday night.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription. The game is also 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 6:30 p.m. with the East Ridge Car Wash Pregame Show.
Shootout Shatters Records
Griffon Football shined offensively and had some eye-popping performances, but No. 20 Augustana did as well, and the Vikings came away with a 63-58 win in a season-opening shootout at Spratt Stadium last Thursday night.
Quarterback Isaiah Tate put on a show, scoring all five of his touchdowns in the first half – four through the air and one on the ground. He completed each of his first 10 passes, and ended up going 18-for-29 for 420 passing yards (second most in school history) without an interception. He finished with 26 rushing yards and 446 yards of total offense (fourth most in school history). His five all-purpose TDs ties a school record, and hadn't been done by a Griffon since 2010 (Dalton Krysa).
Tate's four passing TDs ties for second most in a single game in program history, as he led five consecutive touchdown drives to start the game and earned MIAA Offensive Player of the Week honors.
In the closing minutes, Skyler Cassel came in and engineered the final scoring drive, ending with a 32-yard touchdown pass to true freshman Emmanuel Ellison. Ellison ended with 80 yards on four catches. Cassel completed 13-of-18 passes for 215 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Malik Moore had a career-night with 198 yards receiving (third most in school history) on eight grabs, including a touchdown.
Crew Myers turned in a career-best 126 yards receiving on eight catches and a score. Austin Adair had 97 yards receiving and his first career touchdown. Peyton Hatfield finished with two all-purpose touchdowns and 219 all-purpose yards (142 returning, 77 receiving).
Rickie Dunn was the lead running back with eight carries for 44 yards and a score. Altogether, MoWest shattered school records in total offensive yards (727), all-purpose yards (908) and total passing yards (635). The 123 points are the most combined points scored in a single game in program history. Augustana's 63 points ties for the second most scored by an opponent in a single game in program history.
Understanding UCM
Central Missouri (0-1) took a season opening loss at No. 6 Colorado State-Pueblo last Thursday, falling to the Thunderwolves 44-25. The Mules had 485 yards of offense, but were hindered by three turnovers and three turnover-on-downs.
Quarterback Jordan Pachot, who suffered a season-ending injury against MoWest last season, is back for UCM this season. While he was strong at times, throwing for 318 yards, he was also sacked five times in the loss.
UCM did have success running the ball last week, as the Mules racked up 167 yards on the ground. Over 97% of that was gained by Southeastern Oklahoma State transfer running back D.J. Brown, who rushed for 163 yards and two scores.
UCM went 5-6 last season overall and 5-4 in the MIAA. Picked to finish fourth and fifth in the MIAA preseason polls, Central Missouri returns 14 starters in all, including eight on an offense that led the MIAA last year in scoring, total offense and passing yards per game.
Like MoWest, UCM added a ton of new players in the offseason - 57 in all (33 freshmen, 24 transfers). They also have five new coaches on staff.
Series History
Thursday marks the 42nd all-time meeting with UCM. The Mules hold a slim 21-19-1 advantage in the series, and have won eight of the last 10 meetings since 2015, including a 34-26 triumph in St. Joseph last September. Each of the last four meetings in the series have been decided by 10 points or fewer.
Griffs on TV
The MIAA Football Game of the Week on Kansas City's 38 The Spot is back in 2026 and Griffon Football is set to be televised three times. MoWest's road game at Central Missouri on Thursday, September 3 at 7 p.m. will be televised on The Spot. The Griffons are then back on The Spot in consecutive weeks in October.
MoWest will be televised on Saturday, October 3 at Emporia State (1 p.m.) and then at home on Saturday, October 10 vs. Nebraska-Kearney. That'll be a prime time kickoff at 6 p.m. It'll also be MoWest's annual Homecoming game. 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 as well.
Trends and Tidbits
Since the start of the 2023 season, MoWest has played in 35 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 21 losses for Griffon Football have come by eight points or less.
MoWest looks to right the ship in 2026. The Griffons are 7-18 in their last 25 games overall, with 10 of those 18 losses coming by eight points or less. The Griffs are just 4-9 in their last 13 at home and 3-9 in their last 12 on the road. While Griffon Football has scored 24 wins over ranked opponents since the year 2000, MoWest looks to break what's now an eight-game losing streak to ranked teams.
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.
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.
