MIAA Week Eight Column

October 20th, 2022 9:05pm

The two big games in Kearney and Maryville shook up the MIAA this week. 

The playoff chase is heating up. Let’s take a look at the teams with two or fewer losses in Super Region Three.

GAC (4): Ouachita Baptist (7-0), Harding (5-2), Henderson State (5-2) and East Central (5-2).

GLIAC (4): Grand Valley (7-0), Davenport (6-0), Ferris State (5-1) and Saginaw Valley (5-2).

GLVC (3): Indianapolis (5-1), Truman State (5-1) and Quincy (4-2).

MIAA (5): Pittsburg State (7-0), Central Oklahoma (5-2), Emporia State (5-2), Nebraska-Kearney (5-2) and Northwest Missouri (5-2).

That is 16 teams battling for seven spots. There are a couple games that could knock teams from playoff contention this week:

Quincy (4-2) at Indianapolis (5-1)

Central Oklahoma (5-2) at Washburn (4-3)

Let the madness begin.

Week Seven Game Recaps

Emporia State 44 Nebraska-Kearney 21

I have talked about Braden Gleason a lot in this column, but let’s give a shout out to the Hornet’s offensive line and running backs Billy Ross Jr and Canaan Brooks here. Emporia State ran for 277 yards on 7.5 yards per carry in the road upset at Nebraska-Kearney. As good as the Hornets offense played, the defense played great as well. Not many teams can hold TJ Davis to 53 yards rushing on under four yards per carry. The Lopers went up 7-0 and it was Emporia State the rest of the way, going on a 44-7 run including a 27-0 run spanning 19 minutes of game action in the late second quarter into the early fourth quarter. 

Northwest Missouri 32 Washburn 30

A tremendous football game in Maryville. Northwest Missouri took a 23-10 lead into halftime. After a scoreless third quarter, things got nutty in the 4th quarter. Four touchdowns, 29 total points, four lead changes, 292 yards of offense and a game winning field goal in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Kellen Simoncic is a tough kid for Washburn. Simoncic threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns despite being sacked seven times by the Bearcats defense. James Letcher Jr and Peter Afful are nearly unguardable on the outside. For Northwest Missouri, the running game was nonexistent (73 yards on 2.1 yards per carry) so they had to lean on the arm of Mike Hohensee. Hohensee did not start in the last two games due to an injury but he played a fantastic game against Washburn. 24 of 31 for 366 yards and four touchdowns. Some of the throws Hohensee made in the fourth quarter were big boy throws. Kashan Griffin and Jamar Moya were on the receiving end of those throws and were a big reason the Bearcats offense came back to life.

Central Oklahoma 35 Fort Hays 23

Fort Hays controlled the first quarter and led 10-0 early on. Central Oklahoma scored the next 22 points including an 80 yard touchdown pass from Stephon Brown to Oscar Hammond off play action. Fort Hays was able to make it a one score game going into the fourth quarter but a couple more Stephon Brown passing touchdowns secured the win for the Bronchos. 

Central Missouri 20 Missouri Southern 17

Talk about a must needed win for Central Missouri. The Mules have played a brutal schedule so far and Central Missouri controlled this game despite it being a three point win. The Mules ran 20 more plays, had 111 more yards, 11 more first downs and won the turnover battle. A nice win for Central Missouri, we’ll see if they can build on it next week.

Missouri Western 23 Northeastern State 16

Weird? Puzzling? Baffling? I was trying to find the right word to describe this game in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and I came up short. Just like Northeastern State did in this one. Missouri Western scored the last 17 points of the game (that spanned over a long weather delay) to squeak out a win on the road. This Missouri Western team is too talented to be in a dog fight with a team like Northeastern State. 

Pittsburg State 49 Lincoln 10

Did you expect anything else from this game?

MIAA Week Eight Power Rankings

1. Pittsburg State –

2. Emporia State +2

3. Northwest Missouri --

4. Nebraska-Kearney -2

5. Central Oklahoma +1

6. Washburn -1

7. Central Missouri +3

8. Missouri Southern --

9. Missouri Western -2

10. Fort Hays -1

11. Northeastern State --

12. Lincoln --

MIAA Picks

Last Week: 4-2 (66.7%)

Season: 32-11 (74.4%)

Week Eight Game Previews

Two big games on the docket this week. A third loss will eliminate a team from playoff contention. Let’s dive in.

Game of the Week: Central Oklahoma (5-2) at Washburn (4-3)
Saturday, 1pm
All-time series: Central Oklahoma leads 6-4.
Last Year: Washburn won 29-17.

Central Oklahoma 28 Washburn 27

Emporia State (5-2) at Missouri Southern (4-3)
Saturday, 2pm
All-time series: Emporia State leads 24-22.
Last Year: Emporia State won 24-21.

Emporia State 42 Missouri Southern 21

Missouri Western (3-4) at #5 Pittsburg State (7-0)
Saturday, 2pm
All-time series: Pittsburg State leads 35-12.
Last Year: Pittsburg State won 34-14.

Pittsburg State 35 Missouri Western 16

Central Missouri (2-5) at Fort Hays (1-6)
Saturday, 1pm
All-time series: Central Missouri leads 10-5.
Last Year: Fort Hays won 21-17.

Central Missouri 30 Fort Hays 28

Northeastern State (1-6) at #16 Northwest Missouri (5-2)
Saturday, 2pm
All-time series: Northwest Missouri leads 11-0.
Last Year: Northwest Missouri won 59-7.

Northwest Missouri 45 Northeastern State 6

#22 Nebraska-Kearney (5-2) at Lincoln (0-7)
Saturday, 2pm
All-time series: Nebraska-Kearney leads 3-1.
Last Year: Nebraska-Kearney won 56-0.

Nebraska-Kearney 60 Lincoln 10