#22 EMPORIA STATE FOOTBALL OPENS SEASON AGAINST MO. SOUTHERN

Football | 9/2/2014 8:00:00 AM

Emporia State Game Notes	Missouri Southern Game Notes
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LET'S GET IT STARTED 
The #22 Emporia State football team kicks off it's 117th season at home against Missouri Southern. The Hornets have won 12 of their last 13 season openers and are 20-5 in season openers over the last 25 years. In the 116 years of Emporia State football, the Hornets are 65-46-5 in season openers. Emporia State is 16-7 in MIAA openers since joining the league in 1991.

HISTORY LESSON
The Hornets have gone 19-4 over the last two years and are 23-6 since a come from behind victory over Missouri Southern in 2011.  The six losses are all to teams that advanced to the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Emporia State has finished second in the MIAA each of the last two years.  The Hornets 29 wins since 2010 are the most in a four year period under one coach since Larry Kramer's teams won 32 from 1987-90. The 1990 season capped a run of six straight winning seasons, and was the last time Emporia State had at least three winning records in a row.

THE COACHES
Garin Higgins has compiled a career record of 89-49 as he starts his 13th season as a head coach. He led the Hornets to the NCAA playoffs last year after becoming just the second coach to win ten games in a year in 2012. He is 38-40 in his eighth season at his alma mater and is 29-16 over the last four seasons. He had a 51-9 career record as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma, including two trips to the national championship game. Higgins was a quarterback for Emporia State from 1987-90 and was on the 1989 national runners-up team. He is 2-3 against Missouri Southern.
Daryl Daye is 13-8 in his second year at Missouri Southern and 30-46 in seven years as a head coach. This is his first meeting with Emporia State.

SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is ranked #22 in the AFCA Preseason Coaches Poll after going 9-2 last year. The Hornets return nine starters from an offense that ranked 15th in the nation in scoring offense and 20th in total offense. Quarterback Brent Wilson was sixth in the nation in passing efficiency and ranked seventh in the nation touchdown passes.  Four of the five starters on the offensive line return, including preseason All-American Jarrett Statsny.  Defensively the Hornets have seven starters returning on defense. Emporia State led the MIAA in interceptions last season with 22 and have the players responsible for half of them returning.    

SCOUTING THE LIONS
Missouri Southern went 7-3 last year, 5-3 in the MIAA. The Lions led the nation in time of possession and ranked second nationally in both rushing yardage and fewest passes intercepted. Southern was picked seventh in the MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll.

THE SERIES
This is the 40th meeting in the series that dates back to 1970. The Hornets lead the series 11-10 in MIAA play with the Lions leading the overall series 22-16. The last six games played between the two at Welch Stadium have been decided by less than seven points or in overtime.

LAST TIME AGAINST MSSU
Tyler Eckenrode went 19 of 30 for 261 yards and three touchdowns in the second half to lead Emporia State to a 31-24 come from behind victory over Missouri Southern at Welch Stadium. Eckenrode ended the game 26 of 43 for 317 yards with the three touchdowns. The Hornets trailed 17-0 at the half, making it their biggest second half comeback since joining the MIAA.
 
UP NEXT
Emporia State will travel to Warrensburg, Mo. next Thursday to play Central Missouri. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m.

QUICK STARTS
Emporia State scored on their opening drive in six times and scored first in eight of 11 games last year. They never trailed at the end of the first quarter last year. The Hornets led for 466:08 (70.6%) of the 660 minutes played this season, been tied for 82:39 (12.5%) and trailed for 108:58 (16.5%) of action.

THE POLLS SAY
For the first time in school history, the Emporia State football team will begin the season ranked in the top 25 of both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and D2Football.com NCAA Division II Preseason Polls.  The Hornets ranked #22 in the AFCA poll and #19 in the D2Football.com poll. Emporia State is one of three MIAA teams in the AFCA Top 25 and one of four in the D2Football.com Poll. Emporia State has received votes in the last 24 AFCA polls dating back to Sept. 17, 2012.   Missouri Southern is unranked, breaking a string of games against nationally ranked teams dating back to the end of last season for Emporia State. The Hornets went 2-2 against nationally ranked teams last season defeating then #12 Missouri Western 35-30, #23 Washburn 34-23 and falling to then #2 Northwest Missouri 48-21 and #5 Minn.-Duluth 55-13. The Lions were 1-2 against ranked teams last year, falling to then #4 Missouri Western 35-21, #2 Northwest Missouri 43-7 and defeating then #6 Pittsburg State 35-21.

THAT'S OFFENSIVE
Emporia State was ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense, total offense, passing offense, passing efficiency, red zone offense, completion percentage and turnover margin.  The Hornets averaged 40.5 points per game last year and have scored at least 28 points in 21 of their last 27 games.  Of their 846 plays run last year, 264 of them (31.2%) went for either a first down or a touchdown.

LEADING THE WAY
Quarterback Brent Wilson (Jr./Ponca City, Okla.) was named second-team All-MIAA at quarterback. He was named to preseason All-American watch lists by BSN and USA College Football.  He lit up the record book at Emporia State before suffering a season ending injury against Washburn. He set the single season touchdown passes record with 33, is just the second Hornet to go over 3,000 yards of total offense with 3,381 yards, and is third in passing with 2,985 yards in just ten games on the season. He was fifth in the nation in points responsible for, sixth in passing efficiency, seventh in touchdown passes and completion percentage, tenth in total offense, and 12th in passing yards per game. He led the MIAA in total offense, points responsible for, and passing touchdowns, and was second in passing yards, completion percentage and completions per game. He was 25 of 35 for 362 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters against Washburn. He led his first fourth quarter comeback at Missouri Western going four of six for 27 yards and adding two carries for 14 yards on the Hornets go ahead touchdown drive. He went 19 of 23 for 385 yards and three touchdowns with seven carries for 60 yards in the first half against Southwest Baptist. He was 27 of 41 for 410 yards and five touchdowns with 75 rushing yards on 13 carries against Northeastern State. He was named MIAA, D2Football.com and BSN National Offensive Player of the Week after setting MIAA records for passing yards, total offense and touchdown passes at Central Oklahoma.  He was 38 of 47 for 522 yards with seven touchdowns against the Bronchos and added 49 yards rushing for a total of 571 yards.  He was the first quarterback in Emporia State history to throw for over 300 yards in his first start as he went 21 of 29 for 301 yards and three touchdowns against Ft. Hays State.  He also ran for 74 yards on 13 carries with a pair of rushing touchdowns. He saw action in nine games as a true freshman in 2012. He is 227 of 341 for 3,097 yards with 34 touchdowns and has added 482 rushing yards to record 3,579 yards of total offense in 19 career games.

WITHIN REASON
Quarterback Ty Reasnor (Fr.-RS/Cashion, Okla.) traveled as the third quarterback last season for Emporia State and has moved into the backup spot this season. He earned first-team Class A All-State honors as he threw for 3,562 yards and 48 touchdowns with just three interceptions to lead Cashion HS to a 13-1 record as a senior.
WHAT YOU TALKIN' ABOUT
Receiver Austin Willis  (Sr./Topeka, Kan.) was a second-team All-MIAA pick despite missing two games with an injury. He was on the USA College Football preseason All-American watch list. Willis caught 45 passes for 911 yards and ten touchdowns in nine games.  He was 23rd in the nation in receiving yards per game at 101.2 yards per game. Five of his ten touchdown receptions went for over 50 yards, including a 55 yarder against Minn.-Duluth in the NCAA Playoffs. Of his 45 receptions last year, 15 have gone for more than 25 yards including seven catches for over 50 yards. He had a 51 yard reception and a 63 yard kick return at Lindenwood and finished the game with 127 all-purpose yards on four touches. He had five catches for 83 yards with a 52 yard touchdown - all in the second quarter - against Southwest Baptist. He had nine catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns against Northeastern State. He was the first Hornet to have over 125 yards receiving in four straight games as an NCAA Division II school. He had eight catches for 196 yards and a touchdown against Central Oklahoma. He had six catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns against Neb.-Kearney. He caught nine passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns at Fort Hays State.  He also had a rush for 18 yards to give him 234 all-purpose yards. Also a member of the Hornet track team, his 74 yard touchdown catch gave Emporia State the lead at Southwest Baptist in 2012 and was the fourth longest play from scrimmage for the Hornets that year. He has 1,248 yards on 72 receptions in his career for a 17.3 yards per catch average.
 
MAGIC
Receiver Kavaski Ervin (Jr./Mesquite, Texas) earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors last season. He was eighth in the MIAA in receiving touchdowns with eight. He caught six of the last ten touchdown passes thrown by Emporia State and had 18 catches for 324 yards and five touchdowns in his four games against nationally ranked teams last year.  He had career highs of seven receptions for 129 yards including a Hornet season best 74 yard touchdown against Washburn. He had five catches for 114 yards and two scores against Northwest Missouri. He had four receptions for 45 yards and two touchdowns at Missouri Western. He had a break out game with six catches for 93 yards with two touchdowns and he also blocked a punt against Northeastern State. He played at both receiver and corner back as a freshman. He was the only Hornet to have a rush of over 25 yards and a reception of over 40 yards in 2012. He averaged 17.2 yards per catch as a freshman including a 42 yard touchdown reception against Central Oklahoma.

BIG FOOTE
Mitchell Foote (So./Enid, Okla.) caught five passes for 61 yards against Washburn. He had two catches for 43 yards against Northwest Missouri. He had a catch of at least 15 yards in five of the last eight games. He had five catches for 50 yards at Lindenwood. He had four receptions for a career best 82 yards against Southwest Baptist. He  snagged a five yard touchdown pass the first time he set foot on the field for the Hornets on a fade against Neb.-Kearney. Twelve of his 16 receptions last year were good for either a first down or a touchdown. He was a first-team All-State selection and was Enid HS's all-time leader with 102 receptions for 1,552 yards and 19 touchdowns in his career.

STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM
Receiver Drake Smithon (Jr./Woodward, Okla.) caught three passes for 22 yards against Southwest Baptist. He had five catches for 52 yards on the year with a long of 17 yards. He had four catches for 34 yards as a freshman after transferring from Oklahoma State.

MORE TARGETS
A total of 14 players caught at least one pass last season and 11 had a reception of at least 11 yards. Logan Clothier (So./Topeka, Kan.) was a medical redshirt last season after playing in nine games as a redshirt freshman in 2012. A pair of true freshman have made their way onto the two-deep. Justin Brown (Fr./El Reno, Okla.) scored touchdowns by receiving, rushing, kickoff return, punt return and interception return on his way to 22 touchdowns his senior year. Jaylon Raydel (Fr./Gardner, Kan.) was a first-team All-State selection for Gardner-Edgerton HS and was a two-time All-Eastern Kansas League pick.

REESE'S PIECES
H-back Reese Richards (So./Azle, Texas) got his first career start against Northwest Missouri. He had two catches for 31 yards against Southwest Baptist. He caught a 37 yard touchdown pass at Lincoln. He had five catches for 93 yards, an average of 18.6 yards per catch, on the season. He was the team MVP and earned second-team All-District honors for Azle (Texas) HS as a senior.

DOMINATE AT THE LINE
H-back transfer Dominique Jones (Jr./Kilgore, Texas) played in 18 games with six starts as the primary blocking tight end in two years at the University of Texas. He had a touchdown reception in the Longhorns 2010 game at Kansas State. He was a three-time all-district performer and starter at tight end and defensive end for Kilgore HS He was tabbed one of the top 10 defensive ends in Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football as a high school senior.

BROWN AND SERVE
Running back Antonio Brown (So./St. Louis, Mo.) was the Offensive Freshman of the Year in the MIAA and was named honorable mention All-MIAA last season. He was ranked ninth in the MIAA in rushing touchdowns. His nine rushing scores were the most by a Hornet since Kevin Smart had 11 touchdowns in 2009. He had 536 rushing yards last year with 463 coming in the final seven games of the year. It was the most rushing yards by a Hornet freshman since Seville Ko gained 559 in 2005 and his nine touchdowns are the most by a Hornet freshman since joining the MIAA. He rushed for 66 yards against Washburn with 60 of them coming on ten carries in the fourth quarter. He had 13 carries for 68 yards against Northwest Missouri. He had 109 yards on 14 carries at Missouri Western.  It was his second 100 yard rushing day of the season, the first time a Hornet has had two 100 yard games in a season since LaDarrian Page and Dasor Horton each did it in 2011. He gained 76 yards on 16 carries with a pair of touchdowns against Lindenwood. He had a career high four rushing touchdowns on 16 carries with 102 yards at Lincoln.  It was the most rushing touchdowns by a Hornet since Brian Shay had four against then Missouri-Rolla in 1998. He was a first-team All-State selection at Christian Brothers HS in St. Louis. He scored 46 touchdowns with over 2600 rushing yards combined as a junior and senior.

TICE IS NICE
Running back Jordan Tice (Sr./Osage City, Kan.) has averaged over 4.1 yards per carry in his career with just one fumble in 159 career rushes. He had a season high 43 yards on eight carries at Central Oklahoma last year. He had 320 yards on 82 carries as a sophomore with two touchdowns. He led Emporia State with 12 carries for 67 yards at Southwest Baptist. He had a career high 91 yards on 12 carries against Central Oklahoma. He had 88 yards from scrimmage on 14 carries and four catches with a touchdown against Ft. Hays State. He averaged 9.6 yards per carry with a touchdown as a freshman.

JOSHING AROUND
Running back Josh Matthews (Sr./McKinney, Texas) had 81 yards on 14 carries last season including a career high 52 yards on eight carries against Lincoln. He had six carries for 29 yards in his Hornet debut at Ft. Hays State. He transferred to Emporia State from Drake where he played in 22 games as a defensive back for the Bulldogs. He is the brother of former Hornet defensive end and current graduate assistant Aaron Matthews.

ON THE LINE
Emporia State returns four of five starters on the offensive line from last year and has five players with at least nine career starts.  The average size of those five players is 6'4" and 303.8 pounds. The Hornets are the only team to return three offensive linemen that earned All-MIAA honors last year and two players have been named to preseason All-America watch lists.

OFF THE ICE
Guard Jarrett Stastny (So./Sanger, Texas) is a consensus preseason All-American, earning D2Football.com, Lindy's, BSN, and USA College Football honors. He was named First-Team All-MIAA on the offensive line and was the only freshman tabbed First-Team. He was a second-team Daktronics All-Region pick and earned third-team all-region honors from Hansen's Football Gazette. He earned the Squarehead Award three times last season. His first honor was against Neb.-Kearney and he has won the award in the Hornets wins over nationally ranked Missouri Western and Washburn.

PUTTING IT BLUNTLY
Tackle Aaron Blount (Sr./Garland, Texas) was named Third-Team All-MIAA last season. He was named to the USA College Football preseason All-American watch list. He earned Squarehead Award honors for the Northeastern State and Lincoln games last year. He was the Squarehead winner for the Truman and Northwest Missouri games as a sophomore. He was the first overall pick in the Hornets 2012 Spring Game Draft.
 
A FEW GOOD MEN
Center Danny Goodman (Sr./Emporia, Kan.) stepped in for four year starter Lance Uhles at center and earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors as a junior last season. He was named the Squarehead Award winner against Ft. Hays State.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU
Tackle Clayton Brown (Jr./Braymer, Mo.) earned Squarehead honors against Lindenwood and Central Oklahoma last season. He was the Squarehead winner at Neb.-Kearney as a sophomore after transferring from Iowa Central CC.

SCOOBY DOO
Guard Jordan McAdoo (Jr./Piedmont, Okla.) was named Squarehead Award winner off the bench against Northwest Missorui. He has rotated in at several positions along the line last season. He started eight games between the guard and tackle position as a freshman and earned Squarehead honors against Lindenwood.

IN THE TRENCHES
Guard Eric Pruitt (Jr./Chicago, Ill.) has worked his way into the starting line-up this season. He worked out on the defensive side of the ball last season after transferring from Ellsworth CC

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Emporia State returns seven players that started at least five games last year.  The Hornets led the MIAA and were ranked fourth in the nation in interceptions with 22 last year and have the players responsible for half of them returning. Four of the top five tacklers from a year ago return led by linebackers Deshawn Dinwiddie and Tariq Allen.

THE GOVERNOR
Linebacker Deshawn Dinwiddie (Sr./Hutchinson, Kan.) was an honorable mention All-MIAA selection last year. He was the second leading tackler for the Hornets last year with 70 stops in ten games and top returning tackler. He is ranked 12th in the MIAA solo tackles andwasis 19th in total tackles in the league. He had seven tackles, a pass break up and a forced fumble with the recovery against Northwest Missouri. He was credited with 11 tackles including a tackle for loss at Missouri Western. He had seven tackles, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and and a pass break up against Lincoln. He cracked double figures in tackles for the first time against Northeastern State, ending with 11 total including one for a loss. He played in 21 games for NCAA Division I-FCS Champion North Dakota State before transferring to Emporia State. He recorded 24 tackles in 11 games as a sophomore for the Bison and played in 10 games as a true freshman, primarily on special teams. He was a second team all-Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League Division I selection for Hutchinson HS in 2010.

STRIKER
Linebacker Tariq Allen (Sr./Irving, Texas) was third on the team last year with 64 tackles. He had nine tackles against Minn.-Duluth in the NCAA Playoffs. He had 12 tackles, a sack and an interception at Missouri Western. He had four solo stops, including a TFL and a pass break up at Lindenwood. He was credited with six tackles against Southwest Baptist. He was credited with eight solo stops against Northeastern State. He had a career high 13 stops with a sack and a quarterback hurry against Neb.-Kearney. He had four tackles and was credited with the Big Stick Award against Ft. Hays State. He was rated among the top 20 inside linebackers in the country at #4 by ESPN and #16 by rivals.com as a senior at MacArthur HS before joining the Texas Longhorns.

BLOODLINES
Linebacker Jason Tetuan (Jr./Topeka, Kan.) has been a big part of the special teams for the Hornets over the last two years and should be ready to step into a more prominent roll for the defense He had three tackles in his first career start at Central Oklahoma last year. He was credited with four tackles against Neb.-Kearney. He had seven tackles, six of them solo, as a freshman for the Hornets. He was an honorable mention All-State selection and earned All-Centennial League honors on offense and defense for Topeka Hayden HS. His brother John was an All-American baseball player at Wichita State, brother Jesse was a member of the 2003 Big 12 Champion Kansas State football team and brother Jarod was an All-MIAA performer for Washburn in 2007. 

BEDLAM
Linebacker Lyndell Johnson (Sr./Plano, Texas) transferred to Emporia State from Oklahoma State for his senior year.  He was the fifth leading tackler with 54 tackles and made three starts for the Cowboys last year. He had two fumble recoveries to rank sixth in the Big 12 and 34th in NCAA Division I-FBS last year. As a sophomore he was tied for the team lead with two interceptions and his seven tackles for loss were the fourth most for Oklahoma State. He had 58 tackles and two interceptions as a senior at at Plano East HS and was ranked as the #39 overall player in the state of Texas by Scout.

IT'S IN THE BAG
Safety Kadeem Satchell (Sr./Princeton, Texas) started all 11 games last year, finishing the season with 40 tackles and three interceptions. He recorded four solo tackles, one for a loss and had an interception against Washburn. He had three solo stops against Northwest Missouri. He had four tackles and an interception at Lindenwood. He had nine tackles at Central Oklahoma to share the team lead. He had two solo tackles against Ft. Hays State including one tackle for a loss of five yards. He had 45 tackles as a sophomore including a career high ten stops with a pass break up against Missouri Western. He had seven tackles, including a tackle for loss against Lincoln in his first career start. 

REVOLUTIONARY
Safety Josh Monteagudo (So./Cape Coral, Fla.) came on strong at the end of the year with 46 of his 52 tackles in the final seven games of the year. He had eight tackles at Minn.-Duluth. He was credited with eight solo tackles including two for a loss against Northwest Missouri. He had a career high 12 tackles, nine of them solo, and an interception at Missouri Western.  His interception came with 5:22 left in the game and led to a Hornet touchdown and 35-24 lead. He had eight tackles, seven of them solo, against Southwest Baptist.  He had seven solo stops, including three tackles for loss, and a forced fumble at Lincoln.  He is a transfer from Hutchinson CC where he redshirted as a true freshman after originally committing to Ole Miss.
 
SAFETY IN NUMBERS
Brandon Gentz (Jr./Emporia, Kan.) had six starts at the end of last year and recorded 26 of his 29 tackles in those starts. He had seven tackles in his first career start against Southwest Baptist. He had a career high two interceptions at Lincoln that he returned a total of 39 yards.  The first came in the Blue Tigers end zone to end a scoring threat in the third quarter. He moved to safety after playing receiver as a freshman. He had a career high five catches against Lincoln for 16 yards and had one catch for 37 yards against Ft. Hays State.

THE BATTLE OF FIVE FORKS
Cornerback Deveon Dinwiddie (Sr./Hutchinson, Kan.) earned honorable mention honors as a punt/kick returner. was the top tackler among corners last season with 50 total, including 44 solo stops. He showed plenty of big play potential, averaging 32.5 yards on two interception returns and 12.5 yards per return on 12 punt returns. He recorded seven solo and an assisted tackle against Washburn. He had eight tackles and pass break up against Northwest Missouri. He had a 21 yard interception return, two punt returns for 22 yards and two kick returns for 34 yards at Lindenwood.  He had three tackles and a pass break up against Northeastern State. He led the Hornets with nine tackles, eight of them solo including a tackle for loss at Central Oklahoma. He had eight tackles against Neb.-Karney with a pass break up. He had three tackles and an interception return of 44 yards against Ft. Hays State. He also had a 23 yard kick-off return and a long punt return of 18 yards. He transferred from NCAA Division I-FCS Champion North Dakota State. He played running back and gained 206 yards on 29 carries in ten games for the Bison last year. He rushed 143 times for a team-high 860 yards and 12 touchdowns for Hutchinson CC and returned four kickoffs for an average of 21.8 yards per return. He was rated a two-star prospect and the 15th best player in Kansas by Rivals.com and played an integral role in Hutchinson HS's four straight state championships.

ACE OF MAYZE
Cornerback Ace Mayze (So./Arlington, Texas) saw action in all 11 games last year with 11 tackles. He had a season high five tackles, four of them solo stops, against Southwest Baptist. He has been a mainstay on special teams as a true freshman and saw his first extended action on defense against Southwest Baptist. He was a first-team All-District selection as a utility player for Seguin HS where he played wide receiver, quarterback, cornerback, safety and kick returner.

SPEEDY
Cornerback A.J. West (Fr.-RS./Yukon, Okla.) made the move from running back to corner during training camp.  He earned All-American honors last spring as a member of Emporia State's men's 4x400m relay team that placed eighth in the nation. He gained 1,702 yards on 195 carries as a senior for Yukon HS in his only year of high school football.

BRING THE LUMBER
Defensive lineman Nick Schutte (Sr./Elk Run Heights, Iowa) is teh only senior on the defensive line. He had three tackles against Washburn. He was credited with two tackles and a pass break up at Missouri Western. He had four tackles at Lindenwood. He had a sack and a forced fumble at Lincoln. He had his first career sack against Northeastern State. He had 36 tackles, 3.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks for Ellsworth CC in 2012. 

A TREE
Defensive lineman James Junious (Jr./Arlington, Texas) had a fumble recovery against Southwest Baptist. He recorded a tackle at Central Oklahoma. He had a solo tackle and a quarterback hurry against Neb.-Kearney. He saw action in nine of 11 games last year.  He had a solo tackle at Truman. He had five tackles and a quarterback hurry on the season. He was a second-team All-District pick at defensive end for Lamar HS.

CLEANHEAD
Defensive lineman Eddie Vinson (So./Omaha, Neb.) had 32 tackles and eight tackles for loss for Iowa Western CC last season. He was a first-team Academic All-Region selection for the Reivers.  He was named a first-team All-Metro performer for Omaha Central HS.

LEARJET
Defensive lineman Lear Schrader (Jr./Irvine, Calif.) transfers to Emporia State from Orange Coast CC. He saw action in seven games as a sophomore last year with 17 tackles, four tackles for loss and an interception. He played in eight games as a freshman in 2012 and totaled 23 tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss. He was named OCC's Most Improved Player in 2012..

MAN OF STEELE
Defensive lineman Steele Fleming (Jr./Pratt,Kan.) was named Lifter of the Year for the Hornets this fall. He redshirted at Emporia State last year after transferring from Hutchinson CC.

ISN'T THAT SPECIAL
The kicking duties will be handed over to a new player this year after the Hornets lost school record holder Eli Kuhns to a career ending injury during the playoffs last year. Look for Austin Morton (Fr.-RS/Rockwall, Texas) and Justin Marcha (Fr./Edmond, Okla.) to split the kicking duties to begin the season. Kuhns also handled most of the punting chores last season. Marcha and back-up quarterback Ty Reasnor are in the mix at punter this year.
Deveon Dinwiddie earned honorable mention All-MIAA recognition as a returner. He averaged 22.1 yards per kick-off return to rank tenth in the MIAA. His 12.5 yards per punt return would have ranked third in the league, but he did not have enough returns to qualify for the leaders.
Long snapper Reid Buckingham (Fr./Lawrence, Kan.) was ranked 17th in the country last year at the position and is the only player in the top 30 not going to an NCAA Division I school.
As a team the Hornets ranked seventh in the nation in kick return defense, allowing just 15.6 yards per return.

DID YOU CATCH IT
For the fifth year in a row, the Hornets will have a home game featured on the MIAA Television Network when they play host to Northwest Missouri on November 8. It will be the second of two scheduled appearances on television for Emporia State with their game at Missouri Western on October 25 also scheduled to be on. Last year they defeated Southwest Baptist 63-17 on October 12 for Homecoming. It was just the second time in seven games that the Hornets played a team with an under .500 record on the MIAA Network. Emporia State was featured on the MIAA Television Network twice last year. The Hornets are third behind Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri for the most appearances on the MIAA Network over the last four years. The Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 game against Missouri Western was the first televised match-up of nationally ranked teams from Jones Field at Welch Stadium. The MIAA Network is available live to nearly 2 million homes. The Hornets have played 15 games on live television in the last 16 seasons with six of the games coming from Welch Stadium. Video webcasts for all of Emporia State's regular season games are available on a pay per view basis from Stretch Internet.  Audio of all ESU games are available at www.kvoe.com with Greg Rahe, Chuck Samples and Ron Thomas providing the call.  

OUTSIDE THE CONFERENCE
The Hornets have gone 10-2 in non-conference games under Garin Higgins and are 21-7 outside the MIAA in the 21st century. Since joining the MIAA, ESU is 30-12 in non-conference games and has lost only three games to unranked non-conference D-II opponents since 1996.  The MIAA has sent eight different schools to the NCAA playoffs in the last eight years and has had a team in the national championship game seven of the last nine seasons.  The MIAA was 15-5 outside the league last year year and are 44-10 outside the league over the last three seasons with two wins and a loss against NCAA Division I-FCS teams while six of the losses came in postseason play. Three MIAA schools are ranked in the preseason AFCA National Poll and four are ranked in the D2Football.com poll.

THE NFL EXPERIENCE
The Hornets have had 14 players play in one of the major professional football leagues.  Two Hornets have won Super Bowl rings - Kelly Goodburn with the Washington Redskins and Leon Lett with the Dallas Cowboys. Adam Schiltz caught two passes for the Houston Texans in exhibition action last season and was in training camp with the Kansas City Chiefs this year. Harold Ayodele was a part of the Kansas City Chiefs during training camp in 2011. Garin Higgins has coached three players that have gone on to play in the NFL regular season - Lynn Scott with the Dallas Cowboys, Sam Breeden with the Green Bay Packers, and San Diego Charger Patrick Crayton.

TOUGH LOSSES
The Hornets ten losses over the last three seasons have came to teams that went a combined 102-28 overall and included nine teams ranked in the top ten of Super Region-3. The last nine losses were to teams that were ranked in the AFCA top 25 nationally at some point during the season.

MIAA IN THE POSTSEASON
Since the MIAA first expanded in 1989 and the new teams became eligible for post season play in 1990, the MIAA has won six national championships and had a representative in 13 of 23 national championship games.  The MIAA has been represented in eight of the last ten national championship games.  In that time the MIAA is 32-12 in the NCAA Playoffs and 9-4 in bowl games for a combined post season record of 41-16 against non-conference opponents.

HEAD COACH GARIN HIGGINS
Former Hornet Garin Higgins is the 21st head football coach at Emporia State and is just the second to lead the Hornets to ten wins in a season. Last he became just the second coach to take the Hornets to the NCAA Playoffs and is one of just six Emporia State coaches to take the Hornets to a post season game of any type. He is 89-49 as a head coach with a 38-40 record at his alma mater. He is 29-16 over the last four seasons and 23-6 over the last 29 games. He compiled a 51-9 record as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University before becoming the co-offensive coordinator at Minnesota State in 2005. He was the offensive coordinator at Northeastern State in 2006. 
He has built the Hornets the right way over his seven seasons and orchestrated one of the great turnarounds in Emporia State history. The Hornets have gone 19-4 over the last two years after going 19-36 in his first five seasons.  The 19 wins in back to back seasons are the most 19-5 in 1988-89, while Higgins was a quarterback for Emporia State.
With five more wins in 2012 than 2011, he led the Hornets to the biggest improvement in wins from one season to the next in Emporia State history.  He has helped establish a true home field advantage for ESU, with the Hornets winning at least four home games in four of the last five seasons. He had led the Hornets to within just one game of a post season berth in 2010 and 2011 before winning the Kanza Bowl in 2012. He is one of six Hornet coaches to win at least five games in four straight years.
While at NWOSU, he was named the Central State Football League Coach of the Year five straight years from 2000 through 2004. The Rangers won 31 consecutive games from 1998 through 2000 and were 15-3 against NCAA Division II schools under Higgins.
A native of Blackwell, Okla., Higgins graduated from Emporia State in 1992. He was a four-year letterman for the Hornets and helped lead the team to a national runner-up finish in 1989. He has been involved with four teams that have played for or won national championships as a player, coordinator or head coach. Higgins and his wife Heather, a 1995 graduate of ESU, are the parents of three children - son Halen and daughters Harlee and Gracyn.

A Hornet win would...
•make Emporia State 1-0 overall, 1-0 in the MIAA;
•make Emporia State 66-46-5 all-time in season openers;
•give Emporia State a 17-7 record in MIAA openers;
•make Emporia State 18-22 all-time against Missouri Southern;
•make Coach Higgins 39-40 at Emporia State and 90-49 overall;
•make Coach Higgins 7-1 in season openers at Emporia State and 12-1 all-time in season openers.

A Hornet loss would...
•make Emporia State 0-1 overall, 0-1 in the MIAA.
•make Emporia State 65-47-5 all-time in season openers;
•give Emporia State a 16-8 record in MIAA openers;
•make Emporia State 17-23 all-time against Missouri Southern;
•make Coach Higgins 6-2 in season openers at Emporia State and 11-2 all-time in season openers;
•make Coach Higgins 38-41 at Emporia State and 89-50 overall.

INJURY REPORT
The Hornets are relatively healthy entering the season opener.  Tariq Allen is the player listed as questionable.  

WORKING OVERTIME
• The Hornets are 3-8 in overtime games with wins in three of their last five after dropping their first four extra period contests.
• Three of ESU's 11 overtime games have come against Truman with ESU winning two of the three games.
• The quadruple overtime game in 2006 between ESU and PSU was the first MIAA regular season game to go to four overtimes and the first involving an MIAA team since NWMSU's 4 OT win against Carson Newman in the 1999 National Championship Game.
• ESU's 17 point deficit at the half against MSSU in 2011 was the largest half-time spread the Hornets have overcome for a win since joining the MIAA and matched the greatest deficit ever overcome for a win as an NCAA school. Including the win against MSSU, the Hornets have won 23 of their last 29 games with the six losses coming to nationally ranked teams.
•ESU came from 17-0 at the end of the first quarter to defeat Ft. Hays State 24-17 to open the 1992 season.