The Missouri Southern football team will honor its 17 seniors this Saturday when the Lions play host to Missouri Western in the final game of the 2014 season. Kickoff from Fred G. Hughes Stadium is slated for 1 pm.
Game Information
Team Records: MSSU - 4-6, 4-6 MIAA | MWSU - 6-4, 6-4 MIAAA
Date: Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014
Kick-Off: 1:00 p.m., CT
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Fred G. Hughes Stadium (6,232)
Series Record: Southern leads 23-21
Coaches: Daryl Daye (17-14 at MSSU, 33-52 overall) | Chris Brown (20-22 at FHSU and overall)
Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: FM 99.7 Real American Country - Mike McClure, Play-by-Play, Tom Cox, Color
Video Webcast: http://www.mssulions.com/links/hlqdgb
Live Stats: http://www.mssulions.com/sports/fball/2014-15/boxscores/20141115_4npv.xml
Lions on Facebook: Facebook.com/missourisouthernlions
Lions on Twitter: @mososports; @mosofootball
The Coaches: Daryl Daye is in his third season as the head coach at Missouri Southern. In his second season at the helm of the Lions, Daye lifted the program to a level unseen in the past 20 years. The Lions finished the season 7-3 overall and were 5-3 in the MIAA. Southern also broke a 20-year drought with a 35-21 win at No. 9 Pittsburg State in the season-finale. The Lions won for the first time in Pittsburg since 1983 and for the first time against the Gorillas since 1993. Nine Lions were named All-MIAA, and 11 players were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll. The Lions' Chris Barnwell and Gatlin Ridgway were named All-Region with Barnwell earning All-American honors. Giresse Forchu was an Academic All-District selection and the Lions ended the 2013 campaign as Division II's leader in time of possession, holding onto the ball for an average of 35:14 each game. Southern also ranked second nationally in both rushing yardage and fewest passes intercepted. In all, the Lions ranked in the top ten nationally in nine different categories, while ranking 14th in turnovers lost.
The winningest coach in Missouri Western history, Jerry Partridge holds an 138-68 overall record and has led the Griffons to ten post-season (2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012) appearances, including trips to the NCAA playoffs the last three seasons. Under Partridge, the Griffons were co-champions of the MIAA in 2003 and outright champs in 2012. Partridge began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Missouri Western following his playing days for the Griffons. Partridge was a three-year letterwinner for Western from 1981-84 in the defensive secondary. Partridge served as a graduate assistant coach at both the University of Notre Dame and the University of Missouri and was a member of the Notre Dame coaching staff when the Fighting Irish won the 1988 national title by winning the Fiesta Bowl.
The Series: Missouri Southern holds an all-time record of 23-21 against the Griffons, including a 14-10 mark at Fred G. Hughes Stadium and 9-11 in St. Joseph. The Lions have won three of the last four against the Griffons, including a huge fourth-quarter comeback against then 12th ranked Western two years ago in St. Joseph and another fourth-quarter comeback last season in St. Joseph against then fourth-ranked Western. Southern dominated the series with the Griffons early on, winning the first five meetings in a row, and ten out of the first 13. But the series is nearly split in the last nine meetings with Western taking five and the Lions, four.
A Victory vs. Missouri Western Would: be the fourth win in the last six games against the Griffons. It would also give the Lions a 24-21 advantage in the all-time series.
NFL Representation: The Lions will be one of just two MIAA teams (Washburn) to have two different starters on NFL rosters to start the season. Brandon Williams is a starter on the defensive line for the Baltimore Ravens, while Allen Barbre started on the offensive line for the Philadelphia Eagles, but suffered an ankle injury in game one and will be out for the 2014 season.
2014 NCAA Stat Leaders: After ten games, the Lions currently lead Division II in fewest blocked punts. The team ranks third in passing yards per completion, while ranking 10th in rushing, 11th in time of possession and 12th in blocked kicks allowed. They rank 13th in third down conversion percentage, while ranking 18th passes intercepted. They rank 28th in passes had intercepted, 30th in sacks allowed, 31st in team passing efficiency, 36th in punt returns, 37th in red zone offense and 48th in punting.
MIAA Stats Leaders: The Lions currently lead the MIAA in blocked kicks and punts allowed, as well as rushing, sacks allowed, and passing yards per completion. The Lions rank second in third down conversion percentage, passes had intercepted, red zone offense and team passing efficiency. They also rank third in time of possession, punt returns and passes intercepted.
National Rankings: Giresse Forchu ranks 14th in rushing touchdowns, while Kyle Jaski ranks 9th in punting and Ty'Quan Hayes ranks 23rd in punt returns. Martice Buckly ranks 37th in fumbles recovered, while Forchu ranks 46th in scoring and Johnquavious McBride ranks 49th in interceptions.
MIAA Individual Rankings: Forchu leads the MIAA in rushing touchdowns, while ranking third in scoring. Hayes leads the MIAA in combined kick returns, while ranking second in punt returns. Jaski leads the MIAA in punting, while Buckley is second in fumbles recovered and McBride is fourth in interceptions.
Rushing It: The Lions are ranked 10th nationally in rushing and lead the MIAA after ten games. The Lions are averaging 279.4 yards rushing and have 36 rushing touchdowns going into week ten.
Multiple Touchdown Games: Giresse Forchu had three rushing touchdowns against Central Missouri. He has four multiple touchdown games this year and has 14 rushing scores through ten games. He ranks sixth in the single-season rushing TD records.
Spread the Wealth: The Lions have seven different players with rushing touchdowns this year, led by Forchu's 14. Shannon Saunders has seven, while Michael Nelson and Scott Lathrop have six and four, respectively. Chris Barnwell and Will Gregory have two each and Chris Jeffries has one.
First Time For Everything: The Lions' game with Pittsburg State this year saw a few firsts that the fans hadn't seen in some time. For the first time in the Daye era, the Lions threw for more yards than they rushed for. The team was also held without a rushing touchdown for the first time since September of 2012 at UCM. The Lions also threw for more than 200 yards for the first time since the opener in 2013. It was also the first time the Lions had been held under 100 yards rushing since the final game of the 2010 season.
Sack Em Up: Senior defensive lineman Ryon Phillips had two sacks against No. 1 ranked Northwest Missouri. The two gave him 14 on his career, ranking him fifth all-time in MSSU history.
Team Captains: The Missouri Southern coaching staff and team have voted in four captains for the 2014 season. Seniors Austin Wolfe, Ryon Phillips and Dalvin Taylor, along with junior Jay McDowell will serve as team captains this year.
Tough League/Region The MIAA has two teams in the coaches top 25 this week. Pittsburg State is 6th, followed by Northwest Missouri at No. 7. The Super Region Three, which the Lions are a part of, has nine teams in the top 25. There are 10 teams total that are either ranked or receiving votes in the poll from the region.
Climbing The Charts: With his team's 34-7 win over Northeastern State, head coach Daryl Daye moved into fourth-place overall in all-time wins at MSSU, passing Bill Cooke. He is currently second in overall win percentage.
Pass It Long: The Lions don't throw the ball often, but when they do it tends to be effective. Southern has seven pass plays of 50 or more yards this year with a long of 83.
Weather Report: The weather report for the Joplin area on Saturday calls for a high of 38 degrees with mostly cloudy conditions and a chance of snow. Winds are expected to be out of the South at 10 MPH.
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