October 8, 2018-Emporia State's Braxton Marstall and Jace McDown earned MIAA Football Player of the Week honors following the Hornets 28-24 win over then #18 Ft. Hays State.

McDown had a game-high 12 tackles, three for a loss, forced a fumble and had an interception on his way to defensive honors. With the Hornets trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, he had a tackle for loss on second and goal from the one yard line and Emporia State was able to force a fumble on the next play to stay within a touchdown. After  a three and out by the Hornet offense, he forced a fumble on the first play from scrimmage following a Tiger punt return to the ESU 36 yard line. In the second quarter McDown had a touchdown saving tackle on a first and goal play by FHSU and then got his first career interception on third down to keep it a one score game. McDown reached double figures in tackles for the fourth time this season. He leads the MIAA in solo tackles with 39 in six games this season.

Marstall led the Hornets to a fourth quarter comeback win for the second time this season, overcoming double digit deficits in both games. He threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns while adding a team-high 68 yards on the ground to garner offensive honors. In the second half alone, he was 18 of 23 for 200 yards and tossed all three of his touchdowns. He got things started after the break with a 72 yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter to tie the score at 7-7. The Tigers would score the next ten points to take a 17-7 lead with 6:36 left in the third period. He gave the Hornets a 21-7 lead with a ten yard touchdown pass to Jordan Reed with 8:05 left in the game.  After Ft. Hays State regained the lead with 5:28 remaining, he engineered a 15 play, 69 yard drive that took 4:41 off the clock.  He was nine of 11 for 56 yards through the air and added 15 yards on two carries on the drive.  He converted on fourth and one with a three yard run, had a nine yard completion on fourth and four and then had a 12 yard scramble on third and five to keep the drive alive before hitting Reed for a 14 yard touchdown with 51 seconds left.
 
The Hornets are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Warrensburg, Mo. to take on Central Missouri.  Kick-off from Kennedy Field/Walton Stadium is set for 1:00 p.m.